Checklist category
Cataloging, Copyright & Library Records
The official records that outlive every listing: the copyright notice and registration, the Library of Congress prepublication records, the authority record libraries use to tell you apart from other people with your name, and the catalog records for the book itself. Slow, unglamorous, and the reason a library can find your book in twenty years.
The tasks in Cataloging, Copyright & Library Records
4 tasks, 12 steps
Confirm the copyright plan
3 stepsThe copyright notice on the page is right, you know who is registering the copyright and when, and the registration number is recorded once it is issued. This is the legal record of who owns the book.
CoreSix to three months before publication, and registration around publicationAuthor and PublisherSomeone else normally owns it. Get an answer, then record it.Legal or contract
Handle Library of Congress prepublication records
3 stepsIf your book is eligible, its prepublication cataloging record is requested in time and the data printed on the copyright page matches what was issued. These programs have real eligibility rules and real deadlines that close before printing.
ConditionalTwelve to six months before publication, before the copyright page is finalPublisher and Author and Library catalogerSomeone else normally owns it. Get an answer, then record it.Library or cataloging
Check how libraries identify the author
2 stepsYou know whether libraries have an authority record for your name, and whether it is yours rather than someone else's. This is how a catalog keeps two authors with the same name apart.
OptionalAfter publication, once a library has cataloged the bookAuthor and Library catalogerSomeone else may do it. Inspect the result yourself.Library or cataloging
Check the book's library catalog records
4 stepsYou have found the catalog records for your book, recorded their numbers, and checked that editions are not wrongly split apart or wrongly merged together. Catalog errors are quiet and they last.
OptionalAfter publication, then whenever a new format appearsAuthor and Library catalogerSomeone else may do it. Inspect the result yourself.Library or cataloging
Common questions
Is my book copyrighted without registering it?
In the United States, copyright exists from the moment the work is fixed. Registration is a separate step that creates a public record and affects what you can do if you ever need to enforce it. Your agreement and your own lawyer decide what is right for you.
From Confirm the copyright plan.
Who registers it, me or my publisher?
It depends entirely on your agreement. Many publishers register in the author's name; some do not register at all. This is a question to ask in writing, not to assume.
From Confirm the copyright plan.
What do I do with the registration number?
Record it with the rest of the book's settled facts. It is one of the few numbers that is genuinely hard to find again years later.
From Confirm the copyright plan.
What is CIP?
Cataloging in Publication is a Library of Congress program that prepares a catalog record before a book is published, so libraries can order and shelve it faster. It is aimed at publishers with a track record, and not every title is eligible.
From Handle Library of Congress prepublication records.
What is an LCCN?
A Library of Congress Control Number identifies the catalog record for the book. Publishers who are not eligible for CIP can often request one through a separate preassignment program instead.
From Handle Library of Congress prepublication records.
My publisher handles this. What is left for me?
Ask whether the title is eligible, ask what was requested and when, and check that what is printed on the finished copyright page is the data that came back. The printed page is the part nobody can fix later.
From Handle Library of Congress prepublication records.
What is an authority record?
It is a library's controlled entry for a name, so that every book by the same person files together and books by a different person with the same name do not. Catalogers create them; authors cannot.
From Check how libraries identify the author.
Why is this listed after publication?
Because an authority record is normally created when a library catalogs a book. For an unpublished first book there is usually nothing to find, and checking early only produces a confusing blank.
From Check how libraries identify the author.
What is VIAF?
The Virtual International Authority File gathers authority records from national libraries around the world. It becomes useful once at least one library has cataloged your book, not before.
From Check how libraries identify the author.
What is an OCLC number?
It identifies a catalog record in the shared database many libraries use. Recording the number for each of your editions makes every later check and correction much faster.
From Check the book's library catalog records.
What does a split edition look like?
The same book appearing as several unrelated records, so holdings and reviews scatter. The opposite problem, two different editions merged into one record, hides which one a library actually owns.
From Check the book's library catalog records.
Can I correct a catalog record myself?
No. Corrections go through a cataloging route, usually the library or the agency that created the record. Report politely, with the identifier and the correct data, and expect it to take time.
From Check the book's library catalog records.