From the old to the new… Towards better resource discoverability IGBIS Seminar - 8 September 2017

What Catalogers do? Core activity in libraries and other information organisations Acquiring or creating bibliographic records for a library catalogue or other discovery tool Created according to a number of standards Stored in a database, shared, and used by many different libraries

History – late 19th century Card catalogue, replaced the book catalogue Central features of cataloguing systems: “relative arrangement” New materials can be inserted into any existing sequence Catalogue cards were created according to a standard that prescribed how elements were transcribed and arranged

History – 20th century 1980s, online catalogues became more common, developed well into the 1990’s; Late 1960s, created MARC format "Machine- readable Cataloguing" - encoding and transmitting bibliographic records 1970s, the Ohio College Library Centre (OCLC) became the basis for the present OCLC database WorldCat database - heart of the services reflects the collections of the member libraries

The “old” OCLC Library of Congress American Library Association (ALA) MARC DDC AACR2 LCSH

The Purpose Create a description for a resource – bibliographic record Use a standard that is shared by the library community Contribute to a shared database such as OCLC Used in a library catalogue so that users can find a resource.

Less Important Printed Material Printed Journals Ownership

More Important Shared Collections Digital Resources e-Books E-Journals Databases Digital Projects Print Repositories Articles

The “new” OCLC Library of Congress American Library Association (ALA) RDA (Resource Description and Access) RDF (Resource Description Framework) FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) FRAD (Functional Requirements for Authority Data) XML (Extensible Markup Language)

The Purpose Create a description for a resource – metadata Use a standard that is shared by the library community Contribute to a shared database such as OCLC Used in a library catalogue so that users can find a resource.

How to combine?

Do cataloguers still have a role to play? Always be collections and material that need cataloguing It takes skill, competence, and commitment to do it Always be a need for people with the skill and the interest to create metadata Think through decisions to help users, implement policies and practices that aid discovery Cataloguing is alive and well There will always be collections and material that need cataloguing and it takes skill, competence, and commitment to do it. There will always be a need for people with the skill and the interest to create metadata, think through decisions to help users, implement policies and practices that aid discovery..

Do cataloguers still have a role to play? (cont.) Learn about other metadata schemes Will seem very familiar - object of metadata is the same as the object of traditional cataloguing To identify and describe resources and make them findable and available Learn to use various metadata schemes and systems Give access to many formats of information Not done by one person or one library - part of a global network of libraries Interact with each other, within their organisations, with other libraries, with organisations like OCLC, with their colleagues at conferences and meetings When you learn about other metadata schemes, they will seem very familiar to you, because the object of all kinds of metadata is the same as the object of traditional cataloguing: to identify and describe resources and make them findable and available. Cataloguing is not something that is done by one person or one library. It is part of a global network of libraries. It is done according to shared standards so that bibliographic data can be shared and used. It is done to aid discovery for all library users in all libraries all over the world. Catalogers interact with each other, with other people in their organizations, with other libraries, with organizations like OCLC, with their colleagues at conferences and meetings, and so on. It is a world of shared information and shared problem-solving and it has been that way for many years.

Do cataloguers still have a role to play? (cont.) Principles articulated in early years – same principles that we follow today: Allow users to find what they are looking for and to search material on a particular topics Information environment is always changing rapidly New formats of information New demands for new services Thinking about our mission – how to do a better job at organising and finding information for people The principles of cataloguing that were articulated in that era are the same principles that we follow today: that cataloguing should allow a user to find something they are looking for by author or title, and that users should be able to search for a retrieve material on a particular topic. The information environment is always changing rapidly. There are always new formats of information being invented. There are always new demands for new services. We are always searching our souls and thinking about what our mission is and how we can do a better job at organizing and finding information for people.

Do cataloguers still have a role to play? (cont.) Current environment - still acquiring, cataloguing, and giving access to information - making recommendations about resources Basic functions won’t change May be organised differently May be called something else In our current environment, we are still acquiring, cataloguing, and giving access to information. We are still circulating material, doing reference and instruction, making recommendations about resources, and so on. Those basic functions won’t change. They may be organized differently, they may be called something else, but we will still be doing them