Bibliography Section

Promotion of published heritage and national bibliography is the main interest of the Bibliography Section.

What is Bibliography?

National bibliographies are a permanent record of the cultural and intellectual output of a nation or country, which is witnessed by its publishing output. They gather the bibliographic information of current publications to preserve and provide ongoing access to this record.

By their nature, national bibliographic services are unique in their territory. Practitioners need to exchange with colleagues worldwide. The Bibliography Section is the international group interested in the techniques for the identification of content, arrangement, production, dissemination, and preservation of bibliographic information in national bibliographies, in particular through national bibliographic services in all contexts.

National bibliographic services are often interrelated with legal deposit, ISBN/ISSN assignment, cataloguing-in-publication, national authority files, and similar services. The Bibliography Section collaborates with related sections, in particular, National Libraries, Cataloguing, and Subject Analysis and Access.

National bibliography is an important link in the chain of dissemination and is at the centre of a system that involves libraries of all types (not just national libraries), along with publishers, distributors, researchers, and ultimately end-users.

Resources

Contribute to the resources coordinated by the Bibliography Section.

Common Practices for National Bibliographies: There is no single right way to produce a national bibliography, but there are many good ways. This resources covers the essential aspects of organisation, purpose and value, scoping and selection, resource description standards, and service delivery for a national bibliographic service. Revised and continually updated, you will find much to think about in assessing your own service.

National Bibliographic Register: With profiles contributed by national bibliographic agencies from around the world, the Register is ideal for understanding how other Bibliographies are organised, their services, and standards used. Our peers are a great source for ideas!