What is Descriptive Cataloging?
Descriptive cataloging is that phase of the cataloging process which is concerned with the identification and discription of an item. The term referes to the physical make-up of the item and to the responsibility for intellectual contents, without reference to its classification by subject or to the assignment of subject headings, both of which are the province of subject cataloging. Questions such as “who is the real author of this item?”, “what is the title of this item” (for example, if the title on the title page differs from the title on the cover), “what edition is this”, etc.
