If you haven't already, you'll want to read In Search of a New Model, an article by Bob Wolven, the PCC representative to the LC Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control. Wolven's informed, predictive opinion of the direction we're moving in is very compelling. A must read.
None of those [metasearch] tools has yet replaced the library catalog, and it can certainly be argued that their effectiveness suffers from the lack of such cataloging principles as content standards, structured data, and vocabulary control. Yet each is undeniably effective by many measures without applying those standards. At the very least, this must make us question how much of our current complexity is necessary in this evolving, extended environment, with search capabilities becoming ever more sophisticated. In fact, this questioning is exactly what's happening. [emphasis mine]
... within our libraries we need to develop a culture that really is based on principles and judgment rather than comprehensive rules and that is more accepting of difference in the results than now. We already accept many records into our catalogs that we wouldn't accept from our own catalogers. We need to start tolerating some of these differences on the production end. We need to preserve important principles—authority control, controlled subject access, Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR)—but we can't treat them as sacrosanct and monolithic. We have to understand why, and when, those principles matter and be prepared to apply them judiciously—and, even harder, we must trust each other to do so. [emphasis mine]
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