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Connecting RDA to the Catalog

Connecting RDA to the Catalog. Interesting times Molly Tamarkin Duke University. Overview of Talk. Me AACR2, MARC & the catalog RDA & the catalog Outside the library: search & description The future Implications for administrators.

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Connecting RDA to the Catalog

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  1. Connecting RDA to the Catalog Interesting times Molly Tamarkin Duke University

  2. Overview of Talk Me AACR2, MARC & the catalog RDA & the catalog Outside the library: search & description The future Implications for administrators

  3. 1982: 1st library job as work study: Univ. of Chicago Library • Tech services & development • 1990: got MLS: St. Louis Public • Cataloging & collection development • 1992: Brooklyn Public reference • 1996: Marlboro College librarian • 1999: Marlboro IT director • 2001: Duke Asst./Assoc Dean for IT • 2007: CTO, Univ. of Puget Sound • 2009: Assoc. Univ. Librarian, IT, Duke About me

  4. AACR2 and MARC AACR2 MARC • Began in 1960s, revised in 1970s • Provides standard for description of physical objects • More like a conceptual data model (but MARC isn’t really a logical data model) • Early 1960s to create catalog cards • Predates relational databases • More like a transport protocol and markup than a data model • Like HTTP / HTML

  5. AACR2 & MARC • Both were created in an era where information was obtained through a physical medium (books, journals, documents) • Both are used to represent a physical item in a condensed form: information about information (metadata) • Both are used when representing a physical item digitally

  6. MARC & The Catalog MARC The Catalog • Allows us to transfer information about our inventory • Allows us to represent a physical item electronically • Is the structure of necessity in today’s ILS • Provides inventory • Provides location • Provides status • Aggregates items around pre-defined vocabularies • Traditionally composed of MARC records

  7. Reflections on MARC and the Catalog • Our catalogs are limited by our ILS systems • If your only tool is a hammer, every problem can be a MARC record • Our catalog is of limited utility—who does it really serve: us or our users?

  8. RDA & MARC • RDA can be interpreted in MARC records in the same way AACR2 serves as a descriptive standard for MARC • RDA & MARC are not incompatible, though MARC 21 has been revised to incorporate RDA elements • But is the relationship between RDA and MARC relevant to our future?

  9. RDA & the Catalog • If your catalog is a bunch of MARC records, then RDA can have minor effect on your catalog. But is this good? • If RDA can genuinely contribute to the semantic web, then why have a local catalog of MARC records?

  10. Recall the directories of yore (Yahoo, Alta Vista, even AOL) WWW and the development of search What happened? To structured topics? To controlled vocabulary Has search gotten better or worse?

  11. What’s happened to search as a result? • How have users changed? • Their expectations • Their search strategies • Good enough is better than perfect • Good, fast, or cheap: pick two • Big business commercially (Google, Bing!) and academically

  12. What’s happening with description? • RDF = W3C standard • Optimized for search engines • Best data format for linked data (naturally builds a “web”) • RDA vocabularies can be viewed as an RDF subset

  13. What is the difference between web resources and information resources? What is unique to libraries? What content requires a library-specific approach? Print materials? Physical objects?

  14. Future of Content • Print as the sole format is decreasing • Digital content is becoming unbundled, or bundled arbitrarily • Printed acquisitions are likely to be “special” • Digital content is getting less owned and more leased

  15. More and more silos • More and more “discovery” tools • Less and less control • More and more “good enough” • Less and less value in the catalog? Effects of content change on the catalog

  16. Future Role of Catalog Thinking ahead… • Access provided by identity services • Local catalog for special collections • Local catalog of value internally • Content discoverable via web standards • Continue to need a way to represent physical items • MARC record retired, converted • Descriptive standards apply to minority of objects available

  17. Current Trends in [Library] Systems • Kuali OLE (Open Library Environment) • Community-sourced ILS for higher education • Building more of a system to model data and less of a data model • Cloud services expand • Library as pioneer in this area • Effect on local systems • Effect on local silos • Collaborative development continue • Again, library is a pioneer here

  18. What we know for sure Content growing more fragmented Current systems do not support P to E changes Current planned changes may sustain us Current planned changes may not be the radical departure we could have

  19. Library Administration • Are you • Bleeding edge? • Leading edge? • 3rd to none? • Laggard? • What is your culture? • Where should you be?

  20. This is a law about optimizing resources • Are you building a system for 20% of your resources or 80%? • Are you building a system to handle exceptions or to manage the rule? ParetoPrinciple For many events, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes

  21. What is best for your community? Current and future

  22. What is best for industry? Follow the money Question reality

  23. Summing It Up RDA Catalog • Useful relation to RDF • Won’t solve the silo on its own • May be an important change for 20% of your resources? • Of internal use as local inventory • No longer authoritative for resources provided • Content must be exposed to 3rd party services

  24. Consider the following • Univ. of Phoenix • For profit education growing at about 10% year • DIYU • Edupunk movement • Google • Constant innovation • Blockbuster vs Netflix…. • Deal making vs customer-focused innovation? • Does anyone use: • AOL • Dogpile • Altavista

  25. Interesting Times Interesting questions?

  26. Image Credits • Slide 3: photo of Regenstein Library from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Regenstein_Library_entrance.jpg (creative commons license) • Slide 7: photo of silos from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allegany_Township_silos.jpg (creative commons license) • Slide 9: photo of pig from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lipstick_on_a_pig.jpg (creative commons license) • Slide 10: Altavista screenshot taken from http://www.solecontrolsolutions.com/blog/ . Reproduced here for purposes of commentary under fair use. • Slide 11: photo of March 2009 Computer cover from http://www.qmags.com/Magazines/PubHomePage.asp?publication=116&issue=3960&sessionID=9803ED4ABED8D09C248779E94; reproduced here for purposes of commentary under fair use • Slide 12: RDF illustration from http://www.semanticfocus.com/blog/entry/title/introduction-to-the-semantic-web-vision-and-technologies-part-3-the-resource-description-framework/ . Reproduced here with permission. • Slide 14: table from http://dwarfplanetpress.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/book-publishing-industry-statistics-part-4/ Reproduced here with permission. • Slide 15: catalog card photo from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LA2-katalogkort.jpg (creative commons license) • Slide 19: wave photo from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ocean_surface_wave.jpg. Photo in the public domain.

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