Catalog 2.0

Karen Coyle http://www.kcoyle.net

1990 Exchange of data between libraries

2000 Use of the web to interact with users

2010Exchange of library data with Web services

2020 Library catalogs are no longer a destination but an integral part of the information space …

Timeline

The isolation• Libraries only connect to other libraries

• No one outside of libraries uses our bibliographic data

• There is no direct connection between the data in library catalogs and bibliographic data found elsewhere

• It is difficult for libraries to interact with Web services

The user begins with a search on Google Books…

… and is informed that the local public library has the book.

The library catalog can also link out to other resources….

… such as reviews.

Cataloging

• AACR1/2 – a manual standard, from 1967• MARC21 – one possible way to codify AACR in a

machine-readable form; a separate standard• FRBR – Functional Requirements for Bibliographic

Records – a functional standard – 1998• AACR3 RDA “Resource Description and Access” – in

development as a manual standard - 2004 • RDA in RDF – an agreement to create a rigorous,

machine-readable bibliographic standard

Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR)

FRBR provides a basic structure for bibliographic description.

Creators/producers

Topics

RDA is a textual standard

The resulting cataloging is similar to that created for card catalogs

RDA includes some lists of terms that should not be part of the cataloging rules themselves. They need to

be able to be used outside of RDA and they need to be able to grow.

These same terms could be expressed in a machine-readable web format.

Information can be given about each term, with broader and narrower concepts.

While a human will see an eye-readable display, a machine accessing that same term will be given the data in a format that it can use programmatically.

The context within the vocabulary is included

New terms can be added at any time, without requiring a change to the standard itself.

An entry for a term can include definitions, synonyms, or any other information included in the design of the vocabulary software.

All of this information about the term becomes available to programs, and might be used to aid input or to inform catalog users.

Dublin Core + FRBR + RDF

The Dublin Core community is already experimenting with FRBR, showing how a shared view of the deep structure of bibliographic data can lead to compatibility between standards.

Article

1. Smith, John. “Use of Dublin core with FRBR” New York,

London, 2007

Library Catalog

<bb:description> <bb:statement <bb:propertyURI=“bibPerson” bb:propertyURI=“&RDA;author” bb:valueURI=“&33987687” bb:valueDisplay=“Smith, John” … etc. …. />

One day, the bibliographic citation in a document may be able to make use of the same structure that underlies the library catalog. This will make linking more accurate between different uses of the same bibliographic entry.

Integration

• Library data will be available to all bibliographic applications on the Web

• There will be an integrated bibliographic universe

• There will be more of a connection between documents, bibliographies and the library catalog

• There will be more re-use of the cataloging done by libraries

What will be the effect on libraries and librarians?

• RDF will be in the background behind cataloging and the catalog

• There will be little obvious difference to users

• There will be much more of a possibility to develop software and services based on library metadata

• You won’t need to learn RDF to do your job!

This becomes the norm

http://www.kcoyle.net/cnba.html

Some useful links

Thank you

Karen Coyle

kcoyle@kcoyle.net