Cataloging Futures

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?

Tools of our trade: AACR2/RDA and MARC

New slides from Ann Chapman, research officer at UKOLN.

Tools of our Trade (RDA, MARC21) 2010-03-15

View more presentations from Ann Chapman.

h/t Cultural Heritage

Rick J. Block's presentation on RDA and MARC

I loved Rick Block's recent presentation: RDA: Boondoggle or Boon? And What About MARC? [pdf]. You may recall that Rick Block won Library Journal's LJ Teaching Award for 2008.

Block, both a teacher and practitioner of cataloging, doesn't fall into either the traditionalist or modernist camp with regard to RDA and MARC.

I think this is the best recent overview of these two important future of cataloging issues. It lays out where we are right now with RDA and MARC and raises some interesting questions.

MARC--Controversial literature

I don't really agree with this post: Radiohead and the death of MARC cataloging, but I'm always on the lookout for librarians weighing in on the future (or non-future) of the MARC format.

A year and a half ago - without any librarians seeming to notice - the MARC cataloging standard officially became obsolete. For years now librarians have noted that MARC is great for describing books but not other media types. The problem lies largely in the fact that MARC and AACR2 are geared to describing single, owned, and published material (i.e. monographs). Moreover, most libraries still focus almost exclusively on purchasing books. But the internet, the abundance of multimedia formats, and their meteoric expansion have slowly eaten away at our old-steady reading partner....

I’m not saying that it will be easy to fix this problem. Providing access to a digital resource requires specific tools and specific technological skills. Fixing or replacing MARC is even more problematic! Nonetheless, librarians don’t have a much of a choice about what to do. Digital resources aren’t going anywhere soon and the good old days are gone for sure. An airbag may have saved Thom Yorke’s life once but he’s shown that unless libraries get their act together we all may be dead.

Goodbye 440 field!

Well, it's official the 440 field in the MARC 21 format is now obsolete:

The Program for Cooperative Cataloging has issued the following guidelines for implementing the recent decision to make field 440 obsolete. The PCC recommends that members implement this change beginning Oct 24, 2008.

Sincerely
Les Hawkins
CONSER Coordinator
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20740
v. 202 707-5185
lhaw at loc.gov

I haven't followed the development of this change closely, but did want to make note of it.

Want to chat with a cataloging expert?

Jennifer Bowen poses this question concerning repurposing MARC metadata over on the ITALica blog:

What opportunities and challenges can we anticipate as we start working with (e.g. manipulating, searching, augmenting, cleaning up, transforming) MARC metadata from an ILS (or from another MARC-based system) outside of that system?

How can we ensure that reusing MARC data is a worthwhile undertaking, and convince those outside the library world of this, if necessary?

RDA/MARC working group established

Lots of interesting cataloging news this week. I was able to glimpse it going by as I looked up from full-immersion in METS and Dublin Core (that "other planet" that the non-MARC metadata folk live on). First up, some MARC news.

Yesterday on the MARC and RDA discussion lists, Marjorie E. Bloss, RDA Project Manager, announced the establishment of the RDA/MARC Working Group:

Under the auspices of the British Library, the Library and Archives Canada, and the Library of Congress, an RDA/MARC Working Group has been established to collaborate on the development of proposals for changes to the MARC 21 formats to accommodate the encoding of RDA data. With the implementation of RDA anticipated for late 2009, the Working Group will be drafting proposals for review and discussion by the MARC community in June 2008.

Although the MARC 21 formats support the encoding of descriptions created according to a wide range of content standards, the close relationship between AACR and MARC 21 has contributed to the efficient exchange of information among libraries for decades. The RDA/MARC Working Group will identify what changes are required to MARC 21 to support compatibility with RDA and ensure effective data exchange into the future.

Members of the RDA/MARC Working Group are:

• Everett Allgood (New York University and CC:DA Liaison to MARBI)
• Corine Deliot (British Library)
• Rebecca Guenther (Library of Congress)
• Bill Leonard (Library and Archives Canada)
• Sally McCallum (Library of Congress)
• Marg Stewart (JSC Liaison to the RDA/MARC Working Group)
• Martha Yee (UCLA Film and Television Archive)

ALA 2007: Informing the Future of MARC

Here are the presentations and handout from the ALA Annual Conference program, Informing the Future of MARC: An  Empirical Approach (sponsored by ALCTS and MARBI, Washington, DC, June 23, 2007):

• Informing the Future of MARC: An Empirical Approach (Presentation by Moen and  Miksa)
• Informing the Future of MARC: An Empirical Approach (Handout)
• MARC Futures (Presentation by Sally H. McCallum, Library of Congress)

Via Never Stop Learning

 

 

Insights into the Future of MARC

I definitely feel behind the curve! I just discovered yesterday (while looking around for cataloging stuff to blog about) Roy Tennant's recent article where he mentions the MARC Content Designation Utilization project (MCDU project). This is the first I've heard of it. It's quite an impressive empirical study on the extent to which catalogers have used the MARC 21 content designation. Check out the MCDU website (important reading for all those interested in the future of the MARC format).

Also, ALCTS is sponsoring Informing the Future of MARC: An Empirical Approach at the ALA Annual Conference on Saturday, June 23, 2007.  This program will deal with the findings of the MCDU project. Here's the ALA program description:

"Informing the Future of MARC: An Empirical Approach
ALCTS
Track: Collection Management & Technical Services; Cataloging & Metadata
Did you know that catalogers use only 10-20% of available MARC fields/subfields? Given evolving search behaviors and the amazoogle effects, do our bibliographic records provide information users need? This program presents findings from a major IMLS-funded research study on catalogers' use of MARC (http:// www.mcdu.unt.edu) and an opportunity to discuss future directions for MARC and cataloging practices in the context of FRBR, RDA, and XML. The study's results provide a needed empirical basis to inform MARC's future.
Speakers: Dr. William E. Moen, Associate Professor, School of Library and Information Sciences, University of North Texas; Dr. Shawne D. Miksa, Assistant Professor, School of Library and Information Sciences, University of North Texas; Sally H. McCallum, Chief, Network Development and MARC Standards Office, Library of Congress"