CIP Getting Older, and Getting Better

The Library of Congress's 30-year-old CIP (Cataloging in Publication) program may soon be available over the Internet. A book's CIP record, typically available on the verso of the title page, offers catalogers call numbers and author, title, and subject headings, which save libraries the time and expense of cataloging each book they acquire. The LC may soon offer downloadable CIP MARC records for a small per-record charge, says Marilyn McCroskey, a school library representative on the CIP Advisory Group.

Also being considered is offering online access to the galley proofs or other printed information that LC receives from a publisher to do the CIP, plus a link back to the publisher to make it easy to order the book. LC staff have also worked with publishers to build a program called New Books, which provides more information, excerpts, and multimedia files. For more information, visit cips30th.loc.gov/cip.