Cataloguing media works

An employee at the German National Library in Leipzig catalogues a book with the support of a PC; the second screen enables her to keep the tool kit of the “Resource Description and Access” cataloguing code in view

How we catalogue our collections

Cataloguing means using metadata to describe a media work – a book, a journal, a website, a map or musical score – in such a way that it can be found in an online catalogue or database.
The information provided in the cataloguing data includes who is involved in a media work and in which capacity, the title of the media work, and the subjects it deals with.

In cataloguing our entire collection, we are fulfilling our legal mandate of recording all works published in Germany.

Our collections are catalogued both descriptively and by subject. Descriptive cataloguing facilitates searches for individual media works using information such as persons, titles, publishers, ISBN, ISSN, URN, and DOI. Subject cataloguing is used to structure our collections thematically using subject headings, DDC Subject Categories, DDC numbers and genre terms. In our cataloguing work, we use cataloguing standards, authority data and classifications.

How you can use our cataloguing data

Our cataloguing data forms the basis of the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie (German National Bibliography). This is available to institutions and partners via our data services.

All cataloguing data flows into the German National Library’s catalogue. Whether you are searching by person, title, ISBN, DDC Subject Category, subject heading or DDC number: our catalogue offers a wide variety of search options, both internationally and on site.

Search. Find. Explore

To the cataloge

Cataloguing standards and tools

Cataloguing standards

Descriptive cataloguing follows the specifications in the international cataloguing standard Resource Description and Access (RDA).
The Regeln für die Schlagwortkatalogisierung, referred to as RSWK, are the basis used for intellectual cataloguing with subject headings in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.

Integrated Authority File

The German National Library operates the Integrated Authority File (GND) in cooperation with many other libraries, libray networks and other cultural and academic institutions. At present, the GND contains around 9,6 million authority records for persons, corporate bodies, congresses, geographic entities, specialised terms and works; these are supplemented, updated and used frequently. The GND plays an important part in our cataloguing work.

More about the Integrated Authority File (GND)

More information for professionals (only available in German)

Classification

The Deutsche Nationalbibliografie is divided into approximately 100 Subject Categories derived from Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC). Moreover, a large part of our media works collected are assigned the full or Short Numbers used in Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC).

More about the DDC at the German National Library

Genre terms

At present, we use 63 fixed genre terms to describe the literary genre of media works. These are aligned with the product groups in the directory of German Books in Print (VLB). We use genre terms for cataloguing works of fiction and literature for children and young adults.

List of genre terms used at the German National Library (Last updated: 25 July 2012, only available in German) 53kB, PDF - Not barrier-free file.

Publication groups and cataloguing procedures

The German National Library catalogues media works using intellectual and machine-based procedures. Here you will find an overview of our cataloguing practices.

Physical media works – in the Series of the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie

Series A – monographs and serials from the publishers’ book trade (except fiction and literature for children and young adults)

Descriptive cataloguing – intellectual
DDC Subject Categories – intellectual
Subject headings – intellectual
DDC numbers – intellectual

Series B – monographs and serials from outside the publishers’ book trade

Descriptive cataloguing – intellectual
DDC Subject Categories – intellectual
DDC Short Numbers – machine-based for the subject area medicine

Series C – maps

Descriptive cataloguing – intellectual
DDC Subject Categories – intellectual
Subject headings – intellectual

Series H – university publications

Descriptive cataloguing – intellectual
DDC Subject Categories – intellectual
Subject headings – machine-based for some areas
DDC Short Numbers – machine-based for the subject area medicine

Series M – scores and sheet music

Descriptive cataloguing – intellectual
DDC Subject Categories – intellectual

Series T – recorded music

Descriptive cataloguing – intellectual
DDC Subject Categories – intellectual

Fiction (DDC Subject Category B)

Descriptive cataloguing – intellectual
DDC Subject Categories – intellectual
Genre terms – intellectual

Literature for children and young adults (DDC Subject Category K)

Descriptive cataloguing – intellectual
DDC Subject Categories – intellectual
Genre terms – intellectual

School books (DDC Subject Category S)

Descriptive cataloguing – intellectual
DDC Subject Categories – intellectual

Non-physical media works

E-books – including university publications

Descriptive cataloguing – from external data
DDC Subject Categories – machine-based and from external data
Subject headings – machine-based
DDC Short Numbers – machine-based for some Subject Categories

Audio books

Descriptive cataloguing – from external data
DDC Subject Categories – from external data

Scores and sheet music

Descriptive cataloguing – from external data
DDC Subject Categories – from external data

E-journals – Titles

Descriptive cataloguing – intellectual
DDC Subject Categories – machine-based for some Subject Categories

E-journals – Articles

Descriptive cataloguing – from external data
DDC Subject Categories – machine-based and from external data
DDC Short Numbers – machine-based for some subject categories

E-papers – Titles

Descriptive cataloguing – intellectual
DDC Subject Categories – intellectual

E-papers – Editions

Descriptive cataloguing – from external data

Websites – Titles

Descriptive cataloguing – intellectual

Websites – Archival copies

Descriptive cataloguing – machine-based

Collections of the German Museum of Books and Writing

In the German Museum of Books and Writing, we catalogue a wide variety of museum materials such as archival documents, legacies, graphics, incunabula, art books, paper samples, watermarks and printing machines. We use RDA for both published and non-published resources, and enhance the data records with cataloguing elements for museum collections. Moreover, we have been working with the Integrated Authority File (GND) for many years in order to link the approximately 1.2 million objects with Linked Open Data (LOD) and make them accessible for research purposes.

More about the German Museum of Books and Writing

Collections of the German Exile Archive 1933–1945

In the German Exile Archive 1933–1945, we catalogue personal legacies with unprinted testimonies such as letters, documents, manuscripts, photographs and objects. This work involves the organisation and cataloguing of holdings. Our cataloguing work follows the recommendations of the RNAB (Cataloguing with Authority Data in Archives and Libraries) and RDA. Data relating to testimonies is enhanced with categories relevant to the exile topic. Particular importance is attached to the Integrated Authority File (GND) in both areas.

More about the German Exile Archive 1933–1945

Further information

Contact

Descriptive cataloguing

titelanfragen@dnb.de

Subject cataloguing

inhaltserschliessung@dnb.de

Machine-based cataloguing

ae-info@dnb.de

Last changes: 15.05.2024
Short-URL: https://www.dnb.de/cataloguing

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