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29 March to 1 April 2024

The German National Library will be closed at both locations. The exhibitions of the German Museum of Books and Writing will open from 10:00 to 18:00.

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.

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 9,3 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: 19.07.2023
Short-URL: https://www.dnb.de/cataloguing

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