Cataloger's Desktop

    Published on a single CD-ROM, Cataloger's Desktop is a product of the Library of Congress that provides basic cataloging documentation (including MARC formats), the Library of Congress Subject Headings list, Cutter Tables, Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2), Library of Congress Rule Interpretations (LCRI), and more. Click here to learn more about Cataloger's Desktop.

-------------------------------*****------------------------------- 

Cataloging Agency

    A library or other institution that provides authoritative cataloging data in the form of new bibliographic records and modifications of existing records, for the use of other libraries. In the United States, the leading source of cataloging data is the Library of Congress. In the MARC record, the identity of the cataloging agency is indicated by its OCLC symbol in the cataloging source field (example: DLC for Library of Congress).

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Cataloging and Classification Section (CCS)

    The section of the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) within the American Library Association (ALA) charged with promoting the improvement of cataloging and classification of library materials in all formats and in all types of institutions. Click here to connect to the CCS homepage.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS)

    An agency within the Library of Congress that develops and markets, on a cost-recovery basis, bibliographic products and services that provide access to its resources for libraries in the United States, the American public, and the international information community. To accomplish its goals, the CDS employs librarians, product developers, systems analysts, programmers, operators, marketers, shippers, customer service representatives, accountants, and production staff. Click here to connect to the CDS homepage.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Catch Letters

    A sequence of letters (usually three) printed at the top of a page in a dictionary, gazetteer, or similar work that duplicates the first few letters of the first or last word on the page. Those printed on the verso indicate the first letters of the first word on the page; those on the recto, the first letters of the last word on the page. In some works, the letters appear in two groups separated by a hyphen, representing the first and last words on the page. Compare with catchword. A cloth or leather binding decorated with architectural motifs of the Gothic period blocked in gold, ink, or blind, sometimes including a rose window, popular in France and England from about 1815 to 1840 when interest in Gothic art underwent a revival. To see examples of the style, try a search on the keyword "cathedral" in the British Library's Database of Bookbindings.

-------------------------------*****------------------------------- 

CD-ROM changer

    A computer hardware device designed to store a small number of CD-ROMs or disc modules, with carousels and robot arms to move one disc at a time to an optical or magnetic reader and back to its storage location. Colloquially known as a jukebox. Compare with CD-ROM drive and CD-ROM tower.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

CD-ROM drive

    A hardware component designed to read data recorded on a CD-ROM disc, originally an external device but built into most newer microcomputers. CD-ROM drives can also be used to play audio compact discs when attached to a sound card via cable. Compare with CD-ROM changer and CD-ROM tower. 

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

 Ceased Publication

    Said of a periodical or newspaper no longer published (see this example, courtesy of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek). Publication may eventually resume under the same title or an altered title. Also said of a work published in more than one volume, which was never completed. Library holdings are indicated in a closed entry. Compare with canceled and discontinued. See also: cessation.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Cel

    A thin sheet of transparent material of standard size (usually acetate) having the same proportions as a frame of motion picture film, on which is drawn or painted a single image in a sequence of animation. Original cels from early animated films may have independent value as works of art. To see examples, try a keywords search on "cel and disney" in Google Images. Also refers to a transparent sheet used as an overlay against an opaque background, as in textbooks on anatomy to show in layers the various systems of the human body.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Celestial Atlas

A book of charts of the heavens. The "golden age" of the celestial atlas occurred from about 1600 to 1800. The early star atlas was not intended to be a guide to amateur star-gazing, but rather for the use of working astronomers, as a backdrop on which to plot, as accurately as possible, the changing positions of the moon, planets, and comets. The best celestial atlases were produced by notable astronomers, based on their own observations. See Out of This World: The Golden Age of the Celestial Atlas, an online exhibition by the Linda Hall Library in Weston, Missouri, and also The Heavens: Views of the Universe, courtesy of the Library of Congress. To see contemporary examples, try a keywords search for books using the phrase "star* and atlas" in Amazon.com. Synonymous with sky atlas.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Celestial Chart

    A map of the heavens, showing the relative positions of known celestial bodies (planets, moons, stars, etc.) and systems of interest to astronomers and amateur stargazers, usually printed in light tones against a dark background to simulate the night sky. Click here and here to see contemporary examples (Spaceshots.com), then compare this 17th-century chart with an 18th-century example (George Glazer Gallery). Click here and here to browse interactive charts of the solar system (U.S. Geological Survey). Synonymous with astronomical map and star map. See also: celestial atlas and planisphere.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Celestial Globe

A map of the heavens on the surface of a sphere. Celestial globes were originally used to represent the stars and constellations of the night sky, record their relative positions, and solve astronomical problems. Mounted on a stand that included a broad horizontal band representing the horizon, the globe could be adjusted to make the elevation of the pole above the horizon correspond to the user's latitude. In such a position, the globe's rotation corresponded to the apparent diurnal rotation of the stars at the given latitude. Click here to see an 18th-century example from the collections of the Royal Library of Denmark and here to see a smaller 16th-century example in silver and brass with clockwork (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Click here to explore an interactive example (Harvard Map Collection) and here to learn more about celestial globes, courtesy of the Whipple Museum, University of Cambridge. Modern illuminated models are available for children. In libraries, celestial globes are cataloged as cartographic materials.