Learning about translators from library catalog records: implications for readers’ advisory
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to make public librarians aware of the wealth of information about translators that is contained in bibliographic records of their own library catalogs so they could use this information for the benefit of readers’ advisory (RA) work involving translated titles.
Design/methodology/approach
The article uses the method of bibliographic data analysis based on 350 selected translated fiction titles (and 2,100 corresponding catalog records) from six large Canadian public libraries.
Findings
As the results demonstrate, enhanced bibliographic catalog records deliver a wide spectrum of information about translators, which can be used by public libraries to provide more informed and insightful reading advice and to make more sensible purchasing decisions with regard to translated fiction.
Practical implications
The study shows how the most readily available tool – a library catalog with its enhanced bibliographic records – can be utilized by public librarians for improving RA practices. It focuses on the rarely discussed translated fiction, demonstrates a sample methodological approach and makes suggestions for implementing this approach by busy public librarians in real-life situations.
Originality/value
No recent studies that have investigated enhanced catalog records have dealt with translated fiction. Moreover, while authors/writers are often in the focus of RA studies, translators are often left behind the scenes, despite their crucial role in bringing international fiction to English-speaking readers.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Alexandra Kwan, a Toronto librarian, for her help with generating the original set of titles and other aspects of this paper; Prof Mary K. Chelton of Queens College, CUNY and Sharon Bailey, a Toronto librarian and a publishing expert, for their guidance and help; translator Lisa Carter for helping us sort out a complex situation with translations; Joan Keith, a librarian with Ottawa Public Library; and last but not least, amazingly dedicated and helpful staff of Edmonton Public Library, Toronto Public Library, and Winnipeg Public Library.
Citation
Dali, K. and Alsabbagh, L. (2015), "Learning about translators from library catalog records: implications for readers’ advisory", New Library World, Vol. 116 No. 5/6, pp. 264-276. https://doi.org/10.1108/NLW-07-2014-0091
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited