The shared catalogue

The shared catalogue allows libraries to post their documents in the national catalogue by economising on the means allocated to this task.

Cataloguing task in Sudoc can be done by:

• locating an article in the base (that results from a recovery, from uploading by ABES or the production of its network members), i.e. adding copy data;
• obtaining a record from an external base which is accessible by Z39.50;
• obtaining a record from a supporting base;
• obtaining a record from an external base which is accessible by Z39.50;
• creating a record in the base in UNIMARC format (objective: maximum 15%).

The consistency of the data and of access is ensured by:

• the use of a common format (UNIMARC);
• the management of authority lists (RAMEAU Information);
• catalogue help tools

Among the documents present in Sudoc, it is possible to find all of the theses which have been presented in France since 1972 (1983 for the medical disciplines). The libraries catalogue the theses which have been examined in their universities, respecting the notification process which has been implemented on a national level.

 Statutory texts concerning theses

The catalogue librarians’ network

By extending the catalogue librarians’ role, several measures have been put in place to support cataloguing tasks:

• training, whether it is on an initial or an in-house basis, in use of the professional software and in Sudoc cataloguing rules. The training is co-ordinated by ABES teams.

The training institutions are the official partners to support this task, especially with regard to training in the pre-requisites necessary to learn how to work on WinIBW. ABES works closely with:

• ENSSIB (National College of Information Science and Libraries);
• CFCBLD (Training Centres for Book Library and Documentation Professions). 

• Cataloguing help is offered to professional users. In addition to the manuals which are distributed during the training course, the electronic version of which is available and is updated regularly, a methodological guide is available on-line using the WinBW software. It provides a detailed description of the UNIMARC format, accompanied by examples and a reminder about the different standards that are used in Sudoc.

• Work groups, which bring together the representatives and experts of ABES’ institutions, study the questions relative to cataloguing and put forward recommendations about the practices to adopt in the network.