cataloging future
Post on 02-Dec-2014
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A Has-Been Cataloger Looks at What Cataloging
Will Be … (after her next retirement)
Diane I. Hillmann Director of Metadata Initiatives
Information Institute of Syracuse
Converging Trends
More catalogers work at a support staff level than as professional librarians
More cataloging records are selected by machines
More catalog records are being captured from publisher data or other sources
More updating of catalog records is done via batch processes
Libraries continue to de-emphasize processing of secondary research products (books & serials) in favor of unique, primary materials
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What Are Our Choices?
Door #1 Door #2 6/29/08 ALA 2008 Anaheim
Behind Door #1
The Extinction Model 6/29/08 ALA 2008 Anaheim
Behind Door #2
The Retooling Model
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How It’s Done
Extinction
Keep cranking about how nobody appreciates us
Assert over and over that we’re already doing everything right—why should we change?
Adopt a “Chicken Little” approach to envisioning the future
Retooling
Consider what catalogers already do—and what they will need to do—and map the training needed to get from one to the other
Look for support for retraining at many levels
Find a new job title
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How About THIS New Job Title?
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What Catalogers Do Operate within the boundaries of detailed standards
Descriptive levels pre-defined
Granularity level of description pre-determined
Vocabularies largely pre-determined
Items described one-at-a-time
Items intended to fit carefully within a specific application (“the catalog”)
Ignore the rest of the world of information
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What Metadata Librarians Do
Think about descriptive data without pre-conceptions around descriptive level, granularity or descriptive vocabularies
Consider the entirety of the discovery and access issues around a set or collection of materials
Consider users and uses beyond an individual service when making data design decisions
Leap tall buildings in a single bound
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The New Metadata Librarian
• Aware of changing user needs
• Understands the evolving information environment
• Works collaboratively with technical staff
• Familiar with all metadata formats and encoding standards
• Seeks out tall buildings
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The Cataloger Skill Set
AACR2, LC Rule interpretations, LCSH guidelines
MARC 21
Name authority creation guidelines
ILS vendor specific formats, guidelines, and work-arounds
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The Metadata Librarian Skill Set
Views data as collections, sets, streams:
Familiar with a variety of metadata formats (DC, VRA Core, MODS, etc.)
Understands basics of data encoding (XML, RDF, etc.), but is generally NOT a programmer
Understands the various ways that data can be created (by humans and/or machines) and manipulated (crosswalked, augmented)
Approaches the task as designing data to “play well with others”—no matter its origin or provenance
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Characteristics of Our New World
No more “Integrated Library Systems”
Bibliographic utilities are unlikely to be the “central node” for all data
Creation of metadata will become far more decentralized
Nobody knows how this will all shake out
But: Metadata Librarians will critical in forging solutions
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Disintegrated Library Systems
All metadata will not be managed in and delivered from one central store
Discovery is the first function that is being disaggregated from the ILS—there will be others
Metadata may be managed in a variety of databases, structures and systems (some will be content management systems, not optimized for metadata)
Discovery mechanisms may draw from a multitude of data stores
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Role of Bibliographic Utilities
Optimized to be the “middleman” of the traditional data sharing system
Currently limited to handling MARC data, not sure whether or when that will change (RDA will be the first challenge)
New services are contemplated, but most are not finalized
The push to open web data is a distinct challenge to the hegemony of the bibliographic utility
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New Models of Creation
All data will not be created by librarians
Some will originate from machine processes
Some will originate from users or user activities
Metadata Librarians will shift from creating data to managing, improving and distributing data
Multiple metadata services will emerge to assist in maintenance and improvement strategies
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New Models of Distribution
Traditionally we exchanged only with one another through bibliographic utilities
If the Web is now our platform, we need to exchange data based on a more open model
We’ll need to avoid commoditizing DATA, instead encourage our organizations to base their business model on building necessary SERVICES
Broader use of OAI-PMH is a good start towards opening data beyond applications and “bespoke” portals
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More On Open Data
Nobody knows how rich our data is unless we make it fully available
Without open data we cannot adequately compete as data providers
Disabling our data to control re-use outside established channels disables US in the eyes of the rest of the Web
Promoting a climate of innovation requires that data be easily available for newly developed improvement services
Promoting innovation is essential for us as we seek to participate in the information commons
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Let Us Chill Thanks for your attention!
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