Cataloging Legal Literature, 4th Edition. Melody Busse Lembke and Melissa Beck. Getzville, NY: William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 2016. 409 p. $95.00 softcover (ISBN: 9780837740126). Editor’s note: this title is also available as an electronic version via HeinOnline.

In the twenty years since the last edition of Cataloging Legal Literature was published, the cataloging has changed dramatically. Resource Description and Access (RDA) is the new cataloging standard, and it is impossible to overlook just how much the Internet has radically changed the world of legal literature. New to the publication of this edition is co-author Beck, who freely admits in the preface that her contributions are more about what she has learned and is learning rather than what she knows. This statement illustrates the fundamental tenant of the manual, that cataloging legal publications is an ever-changing and developing concept. The authors present information and sometimes unanswered questions to “help a cataloger analyze materials and think like a law cataloger” (xxi).

In the introduction, the authors stress that this book is not meant as a self-help guide for a beginning cataloger, but as a companion work to pre-existing cataloging handbooks. This means that at least a basic understanding of legal materials is necessary before reading. Legal publications are unique entities and follow different standards than those a non-legal cataloger would ordinarily encounter. The authors stress that this is not a how-to-manual. Instead, they suggest factors that need consideration before making a decision that is right for your library and your collection: “We cannot always say that there is only one correct way to handle these materials!” (132).

As in previous editions, the book is divided into two parts. The first half is primarily dedicated to types of legal publications and how they are unique. Each chapter concludes with additional resources that the reader can consult for more information. At the conclusion of part one, readers will find appendices that include a list of recommended tools, resources, illustrations, and tables.

The bulk of most law library collections is continuing resources, which are covered in Chapter 3. These publications run the gamut from loose-leaf titles to law journals to titles that are revised annually. Surprisingly, the phrase “continuing resources” was first defined in Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd ed. (AACR2R), but was not carried over into RDA. Within this chapter, the authors rely heavily on examples to show RDA’s impact on legal cataloging. Particularly helpful is a section that lists parts of a MARC record that may need to be added or updated when cataloging serials for different scenarios.

The most notable difference between this edition and the previous version is the increased attention on electronic resources. Previously, there was little focus on electronic, unsurprisingly since twenty years ago legal literature was almost entirely print based. Illustrating this point is a quote from the third edition, “To be comprehensive would be impossible, as legal publications are always appearing in wondrous new forms, such as electronic journals and CD-ROM products.”1 Electronic legal resources have certainly evolved since very few current publications include CD-ROMs. The fourth edition devotes all of Chapter 4 to electronic resources.

While the majority of Chapter 4 focuses on cataloging of electronic resources, there is a section on collection development and a discussion of whether these electronic resources should be cataloged. The authors offer arguments that need consideration during this process. Various electronic formats are covered with sample MARC records for each. Of particular note is that the authors also discuss how to handle the corresponding print resource.

No contemporary cataloging manual would be complete without mentioning the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR). Chapter 6 details how the majority of legal literature falls outside the established RDA and the FRBR models. In fact, the authors state that “legal literature unfortunately consists of many types of publications that are still being defined in the FRBR model” (126). This chapter tries to illustrate which legal publications are true new editions according to RDA and FRBR with extensive MARC examples.

The second part includes an A-Z glossary of terms, including genre/form terms, complete with explanatory MARC records. Comprising just over half of the book, the glossary articulates legal terms in relation to cataloging rules and practices. These are terms that are commonplace to those in the legal field but not necessarily applicable to a non-legal cataloger. The authors stress what a cataloger needs to know about a term and which RDA rules apply. The table of contents lists the page number for each entry in the glossary.

This book is being published both as a softcover publication and electronically. The authors have stated that there are plans for at least quarterly updates of the online version, while the print version will be irregularly updated. However, much of the book is written in such a way that the reader would probably prefer the online version as a reference tool. Similar to earlier editions, the authors have provided a plethora of examples that are commonly accompanied by the corresponding Library of Congress (LC) policy statement, AACR2R, or RDA rule. There is one very marked difference in this edition. Each rule is presented as a hyperlink that, if the reader is using the electronic version, links directly to the corresponding rule. While this presentation is less helpful in the print edition, the rule can easily be found for reference. Even in the print edition, the layout and addition of colored text does make for easier reference.

Complete with little bits of humor, such as “How will you maintain your sanity?” (52), this manual is, in this reviewer’s opinion, an essential reference tool for law catalogers. It should not be mistaken for the entire toolbox. As a reference manual, it should be a part of most law library collections but it is less essential for libraries with small law collections. It serves as an introduction to basic legal terminology for a beginning law cataloger. However, the manual is still an asset to more experienced legal catalogers as they navigate the changing world of legal publications.—Heather Mitchell (heather.mitchell@rutgers.edu), Rutgers Law Library, Camden, New Jersey

Reference

1. Melody Busse Lembke, Rhonda K. Lawrence, and Peter Enyingi, Cataloging Legal Literature: A Manual on AACR2R and Library of Congress Subject Headings for Legal Materials (Littleton, Colorado: F.B. Rothman, 1997).