The Cataloging Maintenance Center (CMC) provides statewide cataloging support for Illinois system-member libraries and consortia.
The CMC has been upgrading bibliographic records for Local Library System Automation Programs (LLSAPs) and individual libraries throughout the state of Illinois since 2001. The CMC is also a source for other cataloging assistance including:
- Database cleanup
- Original or copy cataloging of eligible collections
- Cataloging training
- Assistance with general cataloging questions, including questions on Resource Description and Access (RDA)
- Metadata consultation
Cataloging and Metadata Services
Is your item eligible for free cataloging?
Our highly trained team of catalogers is here to catalog your Illinois authors, genealogy, local history, and special collections. We've cataloged thousands of rare, unique, and difficult-to-catalog items for libraries and consortia, and we can do it for you, too, for free.
Service Eligibility
- The requesting library must be an Illinois library system member, including members of Chicago Public Library (CPL), Illinois Heartland Library System (IHLS), and Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS).
- Item/collections must be one of the following:
- Illinois authors (current or former residents or otherwise with a link to Illinois)
- Genealogy materials
- Local history items
- Special collections as defined by your library. For example, do you make a point to curate a subcollection of local authors, community cookbooks, government documents, world languages, realia, western romance novels, or large print? Those may all be considered special collections!
- Eligible collections of material in most modern world languages and Braille can be accommodated.
Before Sending Your Items...
- Please contact the CMC Staff to determine eligibility.
- Please send items through system delivery (IHLS) or through ILDS (RAILS, CPL). Please provide contact information and make sure your items are identified/property stamped for your location. Ship all items marked with the current ILDS label, including items shipped within IHLS.
- Send as many items as will fit in a box. The box should not weigh more than 40 pounds.
- In some circumstances, CMC staff may be able to visit your library to complete the cataloging. Travel by CMC staff will be on a limited basis, depending on several factors (i.e., availability of staff, distance, size of the collection to be cataloged, condition of the collection, etc.). WiFi capability is required.
- Items will be cataloged in the order they are received with turnaround time varying depending on the scope of the project and other factors. Most items will be returned within 30 days.
Cataloging Training
Looking to improve your or your staff's cataloging skills? We offer a large calendar of one-day and multi-day training opportunities for Illinois library staff.
Browse All Cataloging Training Events
Special topics in cataloging explained in 20 minutes
Learn the nuances of cataloging and collection discoverability in 20 minutes when you attend the Cataloging Maintenance Center’s Online with the CMC. These brief, 15- to 20-minute webinars, led by CMC cataloging and metadata experts, cover a different challenging or interesting cataloging special topic each month, such as examining accessibility in cataloging and how to use some of the less-common MARC fields. A 40-minute Q&A session follows each presentation, allowing participants to seek clarification or ask about additional cataloging topics.
Become a cataloging expert with in-depth cataloging courses
For seasoned librarians interested in exploring new avenues in metadata, as well as library workers looking to learn the fundamentals of cataloging, the Cataloging Maintenance Center provides cataloging training for library workers across the state of Illinois. Subjects range from the basic to the complex — from cataloging fundamentals to the nuances of metadata across lending item types.
All courses are asynchronous, so students may study each module’s materials as their schedules allow so long as they complete the assignments and quizzes by the end of each week.
All Online with the CMC webinars and asynchronous cataloging course are free to all system-member library workers in Illinois thanks to a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a Department of the Office of the Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).
Watch the recording of any of our past Online with the CMC webinars in our recordings archive.
Contact CMC Staff
Dr. Pamela Thomas, Bibliographic Grant Manager
cmc@illinoisheartland.org
General cataloging and metadata:
Kat Anderberg
Mary Cornell
Eric McKinney
Barbera Scoby
Shelley Stone
Dr. Pamela Thomas
CARLI special project:
Andrea Giosta
Katie Roberts
Blake Walter