In the offices of the OCLC TechPro service, the distance between France and Japan is a matter of inches. A collection of Thai language books stands neatly on a book cart by one cataloger's desk. Steps away a stack of Chinese language videotapes awaits processing by another cataloger. Around the corner, books and periodicals in Arabic are neatly arranged for cataloging. In fact, the OCLC TechPro service currently provides cataloging in 30 languages.
Music is in evidence, too.
The desks of two catalogers are covered by musical scores. Everything from Bach to the Beatles is sent by libraries around the world to be cataloged by TechPro specialists. Some people might think there is only one way to catalog, when in reality cataloging is often customized for each particular library. National standards, such as AACR2 and MARC, exist, but each library may choose to apply those standards in a unique way. Some libraries use Library of Congress Classification, while others use the Dewey Decimal Classification system, National Library of Medicine classification or a local system.