Retro-cataloguing in the research library of the Herder Institute
All library stocks should be able to be researched promptly after acquisition and at the same time be able to be accessible in both form and content through the electronic catalogue for research. To this end, the volumes acquired before 1984 and only listed on index cards must be retro-catalogued.
For this reason, since 1996 the research library has been carrying out two central tasks in parallel within the scope of its national service function:
- It lists new acquisitions as quickly as possible in OPAC.
- It endeavours to retrospectively list electronically all literature acquired before 1984. To this end, bibliographic and content information that was previously only listed on conventional index cards in the library catalogue is being entered in the electronic catalogue. For specific reasons due to content, the stocks are not being processed according to the alphabetical catalogue (from A to Z, or vice versa) but using the classification catalogue, broken down regionally to the first classification level (see also the current processing status of retro-cataloguing work).
For this reason, individual volumes will continue to be listed only in the conventional alphabetical and subject catalogues on site until retro-cataloguing work has been completed. Therefore, should you not be able to find any relevant literature in OPAC, please search in the card catalogues in the catalogue hall of the research library, use the printed volume catalogue (library of the Johann Gottfried Herder Institute, Marburg/Lahn, Germany; alphabetical catalogue, volumes 1-5 and supplements; Hall&Co, Boston 1964-1981) or contact the research library with a request for the stock to be checked.