Regina romano ReynoldsNorth Carolina Serials ConferenceMarch 30, 2007

To Boldly Go:Transforming Catalogs

and Catalogingto Meet User Needs

Encountered the biblio-userons, commonly known as “library users.” This species evolved from one that fled earth in the mid-21st century out of frustration over their unmet information needs.

Captain’s Log: Stardate March 30, 2307

Overview

•Pt. 1: Users in their own words

•Pt. 2: Where we need to boldly go

•Pt. 3: Case study in change: The CONSER standard record

What Do Users Want?

Sense-Making the Information Confluence (2005-2006)

Brenda Dervin, OSU, principal investigator

Lynn Silipigni Connaway, OCLC, co-investigator

Chandra Praba, OCLC, co-investigator

Quick Search Comments“You know, if I use the library catalog, it will

give me a list of a thousand things, but there is really no ranking that I can understand.” (undergrad)

“Google is my first place to find something quickly.” (faculty)

“[Google] is user friendly… library catalog is not.” (faculty)“…you need to know which database with abstracting, indexing… Google, I don’t have to know, I go to one spot.” (grad student)

Did Not Use Library Comments“…library is a good source if you have several months.” (undergrad)

“…hard to find things in library catalog.” (undergrad)

“Yeah, I don’t step in the library anymore… better to read a 25-page article from JSTOR than [a] 250-page book.” (undergrad)

“I just go ask my dad, and he’ll tell me how to put in a fence, you know? So why sort through all this material when he’ll just tell me.” (grad)

“first…I go to Google…I don’t go into the [library] system unless I have to…there’s like 15 logins” (grad)

Dad (students) Other human resources: Parents (students) Roomate (students) Friend (students) Professors (students) Peers (grad students) Experts, colleagues (faculty) Advisors (students) Librarians (!!) Bookstores Personal Library

Sources Internet Google Online encyclopedias Amazon.com Academic databases JSTOR Blogs Discussion Groups E-journals E-books Library homepage Web sites (.org) TV programs

Thorough Search Comments

“I use OhioLink, but I don’t really need to come into a library, as long as I have a computer at home.” (undergraduate)

“I’m not trust[ing] everything that’s on the Internet but…I get ideas…I will also go to the university library and search some article I need.” (graduate student)

“I’m suspicious of people who are publishing on-line because usually the peer review is much less vigorous.” (faculty)

Magic Wand Comments“Make library catalogs more like search

engines or OhioLink.” (undergrad)

“More staff, roaming personnel.” (grad student)

“Lessen the intimidation factor.” (faculty)

“Make the library like a coffee house.” (grad student)

“Better signage and other pathfinders.” (faculty)

“Bookstore environment.” (faculty)

Emerging Needs Comments“I find Google really really useful as a

fast familiarizing tool.” (faculty)

“more like Amazon, than, say, the current library catalog.” (undergrad)

“Well, I have our library [web page] here open and… there’s a lot of information but there’s nowhere to search. This is the opening to the catalog but there’s no box to search.” (undergrad)

TR

speed

Emerging User

Needs

familiar-izationtools

simplicity convenience

accessfromanywhere currency custom-

izationrecommend-ations

“I stay away from the library and the library’s online catalog.”

Nog, undergraduate student

“The useris not

broken” Karen G.

Schneider

Our systems arebroken until

proven otherwise. paraphrase of Schneider

The user is not “remote.” You, the librarian, are remote, and it is your job to close that gap.

Schneider

Where We Need to BOLDLY go…

Improve Search“For the past ten years, online

searching has become simpler and more effective everywhere except in

library catalogs.”BSTF report

Add spell check, stemming, relevance ranking, alternatives, extended searches…

Your search returned no results

Single Search Box?

FixDISPALY

Add better labels, utilize serial links, FRBR, format icons, “word clouds,” etc.

FixDISPLAY

Enrich Records-TOC

Enrich Records-Reviews

Provide Recommendations-1

University ofHuddersfield

Provide Recommendations-2

University ofHuddersfield

More Possible Fixes

• One stop shopping (e.g., metasearch)

• Subject access: LCSH vs. keywords from enriched records, or both?

• User tagging, folksonomies, etc.• Metadata from wherever (e.g.,

ONIX), partnerships with metadata sources

207 YEAR-OLD LIBRARY (LOOKS 100), mature, experienced, with millions of assets, seeks young, digitally-savvy partners with ample metadata to share. We can make beautiful catalogs together! Willingness to convert to MARC a plus. (DC) 20540

PartnershipsPartnerships

Re-Purposing Metadata Created for Other

Purposes

Copyright

registrationISSNrequest

CIPrequest

ONIXdata

“…the ability to organize and locate materials, according to a predictable scheme, is what sets libraries apart frombookstores,

and

”

Leslie Burger, ALA President

Google Search: “Bay of Pigs” = 775,000 hitsWikipedia = first hit

10th hit = “Latin rock band from New York”Only English sources

Let’s Save Cataloging!

Fix the catalog

Cut costs

One of manyaccess tools

Use savings fornew tasks

$44 Million justforcataloging

The future ofcataloging

is incontrolled

accesspoints.

LibraryDatabases

DescriptionsVendor

Cataloging

expertiseis

valuable.

Leverageexpertise

Hierarchy of Metadata Creation

Highest value =“traditional” cataloging

Significant value =automated description+ cataloger headings

$* = fully automated

$$ = automated +cataloger assistance

$$$

$$$$

*monetaryor researchvalue

“Can we re-think cataloging…

in the world of Google?

I hope so.”D. Marcum

The CONSER standard record: one small step…

“The average library decisionabout implementing new technologies takes longer than the average life cycle for new technologies.”

Schneider

Project Goals

Onestandard

record

Lesscostly

Applicableto

all formats

Compatiblewith

standards

Focus on user needs

Cataloger Input

Main entry? Let systems domore work!

Simplify rules,documentation

Punctuation,spacing

Separate public and non-publicinformation

Eliminateredundancies

Time Eaters

Decision makingChecking documentationComposing notes

The recordwith

the most fieldswins

Just in Case Just in Time

Booksavailable

forusers

Catalogrecord

as haikusometimes

lessis

more

Core Data Set for Access Level MARC/AACR2 Records

1. FIND a specific resourceUser Task Attribute Relationship Value Data element Value MARC element

FindIdentifySelectObtain

FRBRUSERtasks

:

MandatoryElement

Set

MandatoryElement

Set

CatalogingGuidelinesCatalogingGuidelines

Pilot Projects:

38 catalogers12 institutions

327 records

Bibliographic Descriptions• 148 access records: 25.4 min.• 136 control records: 31.8 min.Saved: 6.3 minutes/record = 20%

Complete Records• 67 access records: 37.3 min.• 65 control records: 45.7 min.Saved: 8.4 minutes/record = 18%

Time Saved

$40,000

per year

The amount American Airlines supposedly saved in the1980’s from removing one olive from 1st class salads

Time Decreased with Practice

New CONSER records are projected to save 20-25% of the time needed to create current serial records.

New CONSER records are projected to save 20-25% of the time needed to create current serial records.

Review/Revision

88 reviewers13 institutions

(reference acquisitions, systems)

Element list and guidelinesrevised—e.g., place added back

“I like the idea of simplifying records; it helps the average patron to have a cleaner, uncluttered looking record; and it helps those who work on and with the records to pare down non-essentials.”

“…most users don’t look at all the extra stuff we put in [records] anyway.”

Survey responses from reference staff

Survey response from a reference librarian

I am a fanatic for detail; I need to have, or feel that I have, every possible detail in order to do the best work. Probably in 99 out of 100 reference desk transactions, an access level record would be sufficient; but I still prefer to have as much detail as possible.”

Access points are preserved.Catalogers feel “liberated.”Records are more user-friendly

Most access points are unchanged

all subjects, all headings, most titles, most links are the same

More elements are optional:

some codes,some uniform titles,

some notes, some places, one link (787)

Cataloger may add any element to assist

the user toaccess or select

a particular resourceor to meet

an institutional need.

Uniform titlesdo

as much harmto the useras they do

good.

The Bugle (Dallas) now published

in Orlando

Michigan todayno (online);

but only publishedonline

Uniform Titlesare only required:Bulletin (American Library Association)

Neuroscience today series (London)

Collocating uniform titles (Law, etc.)

All elementsthe cataloger uses

to create “distinguishing” uniform

titles are already in the bibliographic record

and could be used by systems to create better

user displays.

All 362s are now

unformatted.362 1_ Began with Volume 1, no. 1 in January 2006.

362 = Most SuccessfulChange:

Users won’t confuse with holdings.More predictability for users.

Training is easier.Decision-making is avoided

MARC 21 changes to be proposed.

Control Record

CONSER standard record

Decision-Making Guidance:Establishing corporate headings

Major vs minor changes

“The most wonderful parts of the guidelines…”

Kevin Randall

Is there a change in meaning orsubject matter in the title that wouldrequire new subject headings?

Is there a change in the first five wordsthat is not a minor change (as defined inAACR21.2A2)?

Is there a different corporate body inthe title?

MAJORCHANGE

MAJORCHANGE

MAJORCHANGE

MINOR CHANGE

MINOR CHANGE

MINOR CHANGE

YES

YES

YES

NO

NO

NO

Title Change Analysis

CEG v. 1

CCMV. 2

CCMV. 1

CEGV. 2

Documentation

CONSERStandardRecord

TR

Lessons Learned

Speedbut nothaste

Traditiondieshard

AnticipateObjections

Includeall stake-holders

Beextrabold

Eventhose

opposed It won’tbe

easy

There willbe some failures

The User Is the Sun

Schneider

It Won’t Be Easy

“Don’t fear loss of control…that has already happened.

Ride the wave into the future…”

Reynolds, after Schneider