Cataloging Futures

Ebooks: this cataloging futurist's tipping point

I guess it's the nature of tipping points: you don't necessarily recognize them until they're staring you in the face. And that's me with ebooks.

I wanted to write an end of the year post on cataloging and metadata issues for 2010. But I kept thinking the really big issue for libraries in 2010 didn't relate to cataloging directly. Rather it was the year that marked the acceptance of ebooks by the general population.

And this week it all came home: my husband, and avid, non-techie reader (almost anti-technology) bought a Kindle! This was a person who a year ago would not even try the library's Kindle DX I brought home to test drive. Wouldn't even touch it. Now he's fallen in love with the Kindle and read for hours last night without eye strain, etc.

Of course, the implications for library, in general, and cataloging, specifically, are too numerous to tackle in one little blog post. But if you want to start thinking deeply about what ebooks mean for libraries and cataloging, I recommend Eric Hellman's blog: Go To Hellman. You might want to start with his excellent post: 2010 Summary: Libraries are Still Screwed.

RDA test news from ALA Midwinter 2011

The ALA Midwinter 2011 conference wrapped up this week and there's been some informative blogging coming out of it on cataloging and metadata issues.

Here's a post you might have missed: Onward, by fits and bounds? by Galen Charlton. It's a good summary of the panel forum of RDA test participants.

Another overview of the same forum is Diane Hillmann's Irresistible apology of the day.

New book: Conversations with Catalogers in the 21st Century

2010 had been heralded as the year of cataloging research. But I think it was actually the year of cataloging conversation. Whether on discussion lists such as OCLC-CAT and, the mother-of-all-lists, AUTOCAT or the social media vehicles, Twitter and blogs, in 2010 there was a lot of catalogers talking about the pressing issues in our profession. With RDA, the new cataloging code, being the topic du jour for most of the year.

This new book, Conversations with Catalogers in the 21st Century, published by Libraries Unlimited and edited by Elaine Sanchez picks up on this trend. Elaine was kind enough to approach me to write an essay for this book. So, I am grateful to her for the opportunity to get off the Web and actually write something a little more substantial and in print.

If you get a chance to read my brief essay: Changing Mind-Set, Changing Skill Set: Transitioning from Cataloger to Metadata Librarian, please let me know what you think.

I am excited to dig in and read the other essays in this book, not so much a book of cataloging experts, but rather a group of catalogers who write and think with passion and verve on these discussion lists and blogs, the cataloging conversationalists among us.