Cataloging Futures

More on LC's Bibliographic Framework Initiative: Kevin Ford's presentation

Last week, Kevin Ford (who works in LC's Network Development and MARC Standards Office (NDMSO)) presented on LC's Bibliographic Framework Initiative at the Semantic Web in Libraries conference in Cologne, Germany.

Here's the abstract:

This presentation will provide a general update about the Library of Congress's Bibliographic Framework Initiative, including a short synopsis of its historical import, information about the attractiveness of Linked Data, and details about the work – models, tools, and findings - completed to date about transitioning from a MARC-based environment to a new bibliographic ecology. The general update about the Bibliographic Framework Initiative will include work and progress since the Library's update at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Anaheim in June. The first phase of the Initiative is complete. Among many objectives set for the initial phase, the most relevant outcome is the presentation of a draft model for community appraisal and on which to further build. Because an open process is desirable and expected, the community will already have seen the draft model, but this forum will provide an opportunity to go into greater detail, present the outcomes as a cohesive whole, and explore the ramifications and future directions stemming from the initial stage. Linked Data methods and strategies are proving to provide a very consistent yet flexible means to communicate data, which has always been one of the main aims of the MARC communication formats.

The presentation is available in two formats: video and slides [pdf].

I'd recommend the video if you really want to get a good understanding of the work of this important initiative for the future of cataloging and library metadata.

(Update: The video works fine with Chrome or Firefox, but not Internet Explorer.)

LC Bibliographic Framework Transition: Eric Miller's update forum

The Library of Congress recently posted a webcast: Library of Congress New Bibliographic Framework Initiative: Update Forum with Eric Miller. This is LC's initiative to develop a replacement for the MARC format.

The new bibliographic framework transition initiative will be focused on the Web environment, Linked Data principles and mechanisms, and the Resource Description Framework (RDF) as a basic data model. Zepheira, led by Eric Miller, has been active in the development of Semantic Web and library standards as well as open source tools to support linked data technologies and library applications. Zepheira will provide both a model (or models) to serve as a starting point for discussion and an analysis of related initiatives. Miller spoke to Library of Congress staff with an overview of the project and a report of progress to date.

In this webcast, Eric Miller describes the transition away from MARC as an evolution, not a revolution. It's a very interesting talk on how Zepheira is developing a linked data model that "deconstructs" and repurposes the valuable entities, subjects, etc. that are already contained in MARC records.

My persistent question, which I haven't seen an answer to yet is: Why at such an early stage of data modeling are we narrowing in on Linked Data? Shouldn't we be looking at a variety of models for a MARC replacement?

MARBI and the future of the MARC format?

Yesterday on the MARC listserv, Elizabeth Plantz (National Library of Medicine) and Tina Shrader (National Agricultural Library) raised concerns as to why the Machine-Readable Bibliographic Information Committee (MARBI) has nothing on their agenda on the future of MARC for the upcoming ALA Annual Conference meetings.

Their questions for MARBI are worth reading as the Library of Congress begins its work investigating a possible transition away from the MARC format, a 40+ year old library metadata structure.

RDA Test Coordinating Committee: full report now available

Last week I commented briefly on the executive summary. Now the full public report is available at the Library of Congress RDA test website: Report and Recommendations of the U.S. RDA Test Coordinating Committee [pdf]. It's 192 pages.

RDA implementation decison

First leaked on Twitter, Today's announcement marks a watershed moment for catalogers. The long-awaited decision finally came down as to whether or not the Library of Congress, National Library of Medicine, and National Agricultural Library would choose to implement the new cataloging code, RDA: Resource Description and Access.

It seems they do intent to implement RDA in 2013 with changes. Significant changes. The statement referenced the Report and Recommendations of the U.S. RDA Test Coordinating Committee, a report which does not hold back on criticism of RDA and the RDA Toolkit and is spot-on in targeting where RDA does not lived up to its own stated goals.

For those of us who watched and participated in the development of RDA there's a certain feeling of vindication. Some of these issues were brought up during the development of the code. It's nice to see them backed up by evidence-based testing.

The report suggests (requires?) that a lot of work needs to be done to bring RDA up to snuff prior to implementation. It provides ambitious timelines for rewriting, reworking, etc.

Transitioning from the MARC format (it might really happen!)

It's not too often that opening your email becomes a transformational moment, a "Wow" moment. Well, that was yesterday for me when the announcement came down from LC: Transforming our Bibliographic Framework: A Statement from the Libraray of Congress. I sort of though a movement away from MARC was never going to happen (at least not in my work-lifetime). This statement is the direction a lot of us have been waiting for.

As the REM song goes, this really could be "the end of the world as we know it."

A website has been set up for all the activity surrounding this initiative: Bibliographic Framework Transition Initiative. I will keep an eye on it with cataloger-like, detail-oriented intensity. So, we'll see what this brings, but it sure does seem like a postive step forward.

Update: See also John Mark Ockerbloom's interesting take from an open data perspective.

RDA test: training materials and LC policy decisions

Wow, this is really great. The Library of Congress is providing access to all the RDA Test training materials and policy decisions that will be used during the U.S. test period. A cornucopia of RDA goodness!

Library of Congress Metadata for Digital Content Group

Interesting metadata work going on at LC. Here's a good overview of the The Metadata for Digital Content group.

Consistent and rich metadata are needed in order to improve search of the Library’s collections and provide web services that users have come to expect.

The MDC group members include catalogers, programmers and digital project managers, and represent different service units of the Library concerned with digital content. All are united by the common need for more effective descriptive metadata, which is of increasing importance for the burgeoning amounts of new digital material added to the Library’s website every day. In studying the question of "what are users looking for, and can they find it?," the group determined that the overall quality of the online bibliographic records plays a big part in success or failure. So, how can the records be structured to help users discover relevant resources when they search? [emphasis added]

Jane Mandelbaum, manager in the Library’s Information Technology directorate and a founder of the group, said the group is focusing on "how we build standardized metadata that works across the spectrum of digital objects."

The group has made considerable progress through the creation of a master list of standardized metadata elements used to map existing digital collection records to a single XML metadata scheme. The XML metadata uses the Metadata Object Description Schema.

h/t ResourceShelf

Thomas Mann's new report on the Library of Congress

Wow, it's been almost two years since we've seen a report from the LC reference librarian, Thomas Mann.

Here it is: What is Distinctive about the Library of Congress In Both its Collections and its Means of Access to Them, And The Reasons LC Needs to Maintain Classified Shelving of Books Onsite, And A Way to Deal Effectively with the Problem of “Books on the Floor”[pdf]

The Library cannot solve its space problems by adoption of a “digital strategy” without seriously damaging our larger mission to promote scholarship of unusual scope and depth. If the Library’s own access to its own general book collection were to be dumbed down to only the levels of subject access provided by Google, Amazon, or Internet search mechanisms, we would effectively be endorsing, and institutionalizing, the level of ignorance exemplified by the Six Blind Men of India. We would no longer be able to satisfy the information needs of Congress or other federal agencies, or those of advanced scholars, in a timely or efficient manner. It is not enough simply to have comprehensive collections; we must equally have efficient access to them.

New LC future of cataloging reports

It's been almost two years since the Library of Congress report, On the Record, was presented to the cataloging community. You may recall that LC established the Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control to study the future of cataloging and LC's role in it. (By the way, search the Cataloging Futures categories "WoGroFuBiCo" and "WGFBC" for a whirlwind tour of this issue!)

Yesterday, LC released a new, related report and study:

On the Record Report Recommendations the Library of Congress Should Pursue Over the Next Four Years: Report to the Associate Librarian for Library Services, OTR Report Implementation Working Group, Regina Reynolds and Bruce Knarr, co-chairs (09/15/09)

Read final report [PDF, 142 KB]

Library of Congress Study of the North American MARC Records Marketplace, R2 Consulting LLC (www.r2consulting.org), Ruth Fischer, Rick Lugg (October 2009)

Read study [PDF, 723 KB]

h/t ResourceShelf