Cataloguers in the libraries of English-speaking North America are in turmoil these days: first, ISBD(M) and now the whole new code, for author/title headings as well as for description; second, the challenge of PRECIS to replace Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH); third, the arisal of so many competitors to OCLC; fourth, the widespread opposition to the sophistications and relocations in recent editions of the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC); fifth, the continuing debate over the most effective form of the catalogue and over the trade-off between effectiveness and cost; and sixth, the incursion of extended computerized circulation systems into the domain of the catalogue, especially of the union catalogue.