Self-published Works

The Library of Congress established the CIP program in 1971 to meet the cataloging needs of the nation's libraries. From the outset the program was limited in scope as the amount of resources required to catalog all materials in advance of publication is prohibitive. To ensure that the scope of the CIP program is meeting the needs of the majority of libraries, the Library of Congress surveys the library community from time to time. When asked to appraise the positive impact of expanding the CIP program, the library community ranked video discs, audio discs, multimedia packages, slide sets and other types of publications ahead of self-published works.