Cataloging Futures

Appreciating catalogers

A recent question posted to Autocat asked: How do you explain cataloging to non-catalogers? This post by David Badertscher does a nice job: In Appreciation of Library Catalogers and Cataloging Standards.

I paticularly like this insight:

Although search services are often useful, even vital, they are no substitute online catalogs when searching for bibliographic materials housed in libraries, groups of libraries or similar organizations. Cataloging standards can also form the basis for other forms of web searching. A prominent information consultant told me some years ago that he liked to hire catalogers for applications development in database and web searching because he found their training and expertise to be so helpful and effective. [emphasis added]

New Martha Yee articles!

I'm a big fan of Martha Yee. I hope that in your hectic cataloging work-life you have time to read her articles. These are available at the UC eScholarship Repository:

Martha M. Yee, "Can Bibliographic Data Be Put Directly Onto the Semantic Web?" (2009). Information Technology and Libraries. 28 (2), pp. 55-80. Postprint available free at: http://repositories.cdlib.org/postprints/3369

Martha M. Yee, ""Wholly Visionary": the American Library Association, the Library of Congress, and the Card Distribution Program" (2009). Library Resources & Technical Services. 53 (2), pp. 68-78. Postprint available free at: http://repositories.cdlib.org/postprints/3384

The future of Classification Web?

What would our traditonal LC classification text look like if linked to visual web resources like maps and aggregated information? Check out Jolande Goldberg's poster session for a look: LC Classification KIA: Indigenous Peoples in the Americas: Gateway to Web Resources? [pdf]

This is the future of cataloging that I dream about!

Via TS/OBS Prepare to Innovate!

LITA/ALCTS Authority Control Interest Group wiki

Discovered this recently. The American Library Association divisions, LITA and ALCTS, have a wiki for their Authority Control Interest Group (ACIG). Very nice. Lots of good resources and info.

Metadata for Catalogers presentation

Robin Fay, Head, Database Maintenance at the University of Georgia, has shared her presentation on the basics of metadata for catalogers. Great examples.

Metadata For Catalogers (introductions)

View more presentations from robinfay.

Robin also has a version of this presentation for a more general audience.

Join RDA community on ALA Connect

Hey catalogers and metadata librarians, this new RDA forum looks like a great way to keep up on the up-and-coming cataloging code, RDA.

ALA Connect is a new platform ALA is using for committee work as well as less formal information sharing and networking. We have created a community for RDA, open to nonmembers of ALA, which is available at: http://connect.ala.org/RDAforum

Please join the community. Below are functions of the ALA Connect platform.

• Posts (which are like blog posts)
• Online docs (which are like collaborative, wiki-like pages or Google Docs)
• Group calendar (for listing meetings, deadlines, etc.) -Surveys (for asking multiple questions at once)
• Polls (for asking a single question)
• Chat room (text-based, including the ability to save a transcript of the discussion)
• Discussion forums (also known as “bulletin boards”)

Patrick Hogan

Director, Online Resources

American Library Association Publishing

Via RDA-L discussion list

New NISO/OCLC report: Streamlining book metadata workflow

I just started this one, but can already tell it's a must-read.

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and OCLC Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) have just issues this white paper: Streamlining Book Metadata Workflow[pdf].

The white paper was commissioned by NISO and OCLC as a follow-up to the Symposium for Publishers and Librarians held by OCLC on March 18-19, 2009 to discuss book metadata. This paper analyzes the current state of metadata creation, exchange, and use throughout the book supply chain. With the number of book formats multiplying and the amount of digital content growing rapidly, the metadata required to support the discovery, sale, and use of content by a global audience is increasing exponentially. At the same time economic pressures on all stakeholders in the supply chain from publishers, wholesalers, booksellers, metadata vendors, and librarians present greater challenges to providing quality and comprehensive metadata at every point in the cycle. Through interviews with over 30 industry representatives, Luther has created a book metadata exchange map illustrating the process and has identified opportunities for eliminating redundancies and making the entire process more efficient.

New RDA entity relationship diagrams!

Over on the RDA Online website: awesome new RDA entity relationship diagrams! Go see.

Via ALA_TechSource on Twitter

Cataloging Wikipedia articles

Interesting post from the State Library of Kansas. They've cataloged 1,000 Wikipedia articles primarily focused in their niche.

We have cataloged about 1,000 Wikipedia articles analytically at the State Library providing links via the Kansas Library Catalog, WorldCat/OCLC and the State Library’s consortium OPAC, ATLAS. Most all of the Wikipedia articles we’ve cataloged are concerned with Kansas, Kansans or current topics with few resources initially available via standard library resources. We had one of the first records in WorldCat/OCLC linking to information on then-Supreme-Court-nominee, John G. Roberts, as well as an early record on Hurricane Katrina. We followed these entries with other cataloging records accessing more substantive resources, but yes, the initial records were for Wikipedia articles.