Episode 27. “Catalog(u)ing Collections and Materials”
July 10, 2026 in Announcements, Early-Printed Books, History of Printing, Manuscript Studies, Research Group Episodes for The Research Group Speaks, Research Group Speaks (The Series)
“The Research Group Speaks”
Episode 27
Saturday 25 July 2026
“Catalog(u)ing Collections and Materials:
Processes, Challenges, Requests, and Opportunities”
Featuring a Report on Work
by David L. DiLaura
Part 1 in a series on
“Catalog(u)ing for Everyone”
Part 1 of a Series
[Posted on 11 July 2026]
By request, we explore the subject of catalogues and cataloguing (or catalogs and cataloging). Those of us with experience with making or using catalogues (traditional, digital) of original materials, of whatever kind (languages, genres, etc.), might wish to learn from each other’s perspectives. For example, we in the RGME continue to respond to conversations about descriptive catalogues of manuscripts, documents, printed materials, as we reflect upon “best practices,” wishes, and projects (individual, institutional, and collective).
The formats and long-term results for ‘catalogues’ and ‘catalogs’ differ, and deserve attention and respect in their own terms and for their different purposes. ‘Catalogues’ are works of scholarship by individuals, published in printed form. ‘Catalogs’ are digital items, as the work of many individuals, and can be updated as more information becomes available. The latter can have a fragility, as with the disruptions to the British Library database.
The Plan
An informal roundtable gathers participants who engage in cataloguing materials (such as their own or others’ collections), in consulting catalogues (online, in print) and metadata describing those materials or indicating features thereof, and in pursuing research about them.
We’ll compare notes.
The Prospects
As with our series of Episodes and Symposium Sessions on “Catalogues, Metadata, and Databases,” this roundtable may well lead to a series of Episodes and Sessions. For a precedent:
- “Catalogs, Metadata, and Databases: Part I
- Session on “Catalogs, Metadata, and Databases, Part II” in the 2024 Spring Symposium on “Structures of Knowledge”
- Session on “Catalogs, Metadata, and Databases, Part III” in the 2024 Autumn Symposium on “Supports for Knowledge”
- Catalogs, Metadata, and Databases: A Handlist of Links
Card Division in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Photograph circa 1900-1920. Image Public Domain.
Renewing our attention and explorations, we launch a Series on Catalog(u)es and Catalog(u)ing. It is dedicated to a subject of perennial interest — which inevitably has evolving approaches, not least as some goalposts have a habit of moving, as conditions or constraints of digital resources move forward or backward, and as research methods, approaches, and requirements might change or expand. For our series, panelists and speakers may include:
- Mildred Budny, David DiLaura, Hannah Goeselt, Beppy Landrum Owen, and others
For the plan, we quote our Associate, Jennifer Larson:
I love the concept of “Catalog(u)ing for Anyone.” It strikes me that a key difference between institutional cataloging and individual is that the institutional kind strives to meet a set of external criteria, formats and goals, while the individual kind is by nature flexible and the goal is to meet the needs of the collector. So it is an interesting question where they connect and cross-fertilize.
Do you wish to join us and contribute your observations, perspectives, questions, and requests? Please let us know.