This fun and engaging workshop will focus on identifying materials. Yes, we all know what a magazine is (or do we?) How do we "know" what a magazine is? What information is unique to serials? What is an analytic? What about things with numbering? How do we decide what they are? What do we do when we find records that are in different formats for the same title?

This workshop will explore characteristics of different types of formats including physical presentation, data presentation, and tips for determining treatment (is it a book? is it a serial?) when information may be conflicting. We'll also touch on series and how they can help you
reign in the chaos of some publisher's titles!

Public Library staff will find this webinar beneficial since many public library staff especially those doing technical services work (ordering, cataloging, etc.) encountering different formats of materials in the course of their work. Having the skills to make better data decisions by understanding the formats of materials will increase accuracy of data in the ILS, and thus should facilitate access to materials.

Academic Library staff will be interested in this webinar to learn more about MARC, cataloging, and glean tips and best practices from an expert cataloger with years of experience in the field. Having the skills to make better data decisions by understanding the formats of materials will increase accuracy of data in the ILS, and thus should facilitate access to materials.

School Librarians and Media Specialists will benefit from this webinar because they often are responsible for editing data in their catalog systems or copy cataloging, encountering different formats of materials in the course of their work. Having the skills to make better data decisions by understanding the formats of materials will increase accuracy of data in the ILS, and thus should facilitate access to materials.

Special Libraries will be interested in this webinar as they often are responsible for editing data in their catalog systems or copy cataloging, encountering different formats of materials in the course of their work. Having the skills to make better data decisions by understanding the formats of materials will increase accuracy of data in the ILS, and thus should facilitate access to materials.

About the Presenter: Robin Fay

Robin Fay is an Instructor and Metadata Librarian who has worked with academic, public, community college libraries and multistate consortias on cataloging and metadata projects for Orbis Cascade Alliance, the Digital Public Library of America, the University System of Georgia, Omeka.Org, and SkillsCommon. Her interests are in immersive technologies and the intersection of machine learning, data (especially library data!), and us! Robin is also an avid designer and you can find her on instagram and elsewhere as @georgiawebgurl