The "Deceased" Preaches His Own Eulogy: Training Students to Provide Access Points on Discovery-Level Records

This paper is an outgrowth of Discovering a New World: Cataloging Old and Rare Imprints from Colonial and Early Independent Mexico, a project funded by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant developed a methodology by which Hispanophone student workers, with minimal training, can create discovery-level records for collections by inputting bibliographic metadata into a web-based template. In addition to descriptive elements, access points for corporate and personal names and some type of subject access are needed to truly make this collection discoverable by users. We asked: Can students with rudimentary training provide such access points? If so, are they limited to inputting uncontrolled terms, or can they be trained to use controlled vocabularies? We experimented with four input methods to evaluate which ones would effectively enable students to populate the access point elements: • Uncontrolled vocabulary: for example, name headings entered in a [surname, forename] format, keywords, and summaries. • Controlled vocabulary lists embedded in the metadata collection tool: for example, genre terms taken from the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) Controlled Vocabularies, and geographic subject headings taken from Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). • Dynamic feedback list: for example, an embedded list of controlled name headings for printers from the National Authority File (NAF), with a feedback mechanism permitting a cataloger update the list as needed. • Use of authorized thesaurus: for example, the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF), from which students can select authorized name headings. In this paper, we discuss the pros and cons of each method. We also note that while providing lists of controlled headings might be useful for small or homogeneous collections, this method proves unwieldy for a large heterogeneous collection, and it is worth training data inputters to use authority files.