Trying something new: cataloging or metadata quotes of the day. First one up:
"Few minimalists, however, have any strategy other than doing less and calling it more, faster, cheaper and even better. Instead of accepting the challenge to study the impacts of leaner records and arguing for the value of information creation, most advocates of less-than-full cataloging accept the financial situation and seek to cut services, all the while claiming that nothing is lost ... What is diminished in every case is access, and it is the user who suffers the increased cost in time and effort."
David Bade, Responsible Librarianship: Library Policies for Unreliable Systems, pp. 48-49
That is a quote that only a cataloger (and maybe a caring reference librarian) would love, but an administrator... ? I don't know. My former POW opted not to replace me and instead has outsourced all cataloging and is relying on para-pros who have had minimal training and encouragement. I believe the users *will* suffer, but by the time the univ admin wakes up, the damage will be done and it will be much more difficult to correct. When I am Queen of the Library, people will not take shortcuts and access to information will be the priority.
Posted by: Amy Ranger | Monday, January 05, 2009 at 11:22 AM
Hi Amy, Thanks for the comment, sorry it has taken me awhile to weigh in--just scattered lately.
I hope you are the Queen of the Library someday!
In the meantime, I'm hoping a few library administrators take heed of David Bade's sage advice. Surely, in the future library there will be some type of cataloging/metadata creation going on--let's make it good metadata!
Posted by: Christine Schwartz | Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 02:59 PM