{"id":21585,"date":"2026-07-10T22:43:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T22:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/?p=21585"},"modified":"2026-07-24T22:51:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:51:44","slug":"episode-27-cataloguing-collections-and-materials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/episode-27-cataloguing-collections-and-materials\/","title":{"rendered":"Episode 27. “Catalog(u)ing Collections and Materials”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

“The Research Group Speaks”
\nEpisode 27
\nSaturday 25 July 2026<\/h2>\n

“Catalog(u)ing Collections and Materials:
\nProcesses, Challenges, Requests, and Opportunities”<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

Featuring a Report on Work <\/strong>
\nby David L. DiLaura<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Part 1 in a series on
\n“Catalog(u)ing for Everyone”<\/h4>\n
\n

Part 1 of a Series<\/p>\n

[Posted on 11 July 2026<\/em>]<\/p>\n

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).<\/p>\n

The formats and long-term results for ‘catalogues’<\/strong> and ‘catalogs’<\/strong> differ, and deserve attention and respect in their own terms and for their different purposes.\u00a0 ‘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.<\/p>\n

The Plan<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\n

We’ll compare notes.<\/p>\n

The Prospects<\/h2>\n

As with our series of Episodes and Symposium Sessions on “Catalogues, Metadata, and Databases,”<\/strong> this roundtable may well lead to a series of Episodes and Sessions. For a precedent:<\/p>\n