I just attended a short web session on WorldCat Local Quick Start, because I wanted to find out more about it - I kind of doubt we'll ever be implementing it, and I don't really think we'd want to. It has some features that I think are pretty nifty (although there are other products that could do the same thing), like the ability for users to add their own reviews, create lists of items, save their searches for later, etc. One feature that I don't believe I've seen in other products is the inclusion of information about authors or others involved with the works - in the case of WorldCat Local, this draws on information from WorldCat Identities. I remember thinking that WorldCat Identities was pretty cool when I first found out about it, but I hadn't really thought of it being incorporated into a catalog like that - my brain just can't seem to make those kind of leaps.
As a cataloger, one thing I don't like at all is that all local record edits are meaningless in the WorldCat Local catalog. All WorldCat Local searches is WorldCat master records. True, these can be very good, but some of them aren't so good. I'm sure more of these records have been edited since the beginning of the Expert Community Experiment, but there are still many, many out there that are, well, shoddy, despite, in some cases, having quite a few library holdings attached. Just because a library has its holdings attached to a record doesn't mean that the cataloger(s) there edited the master record. Plus, even with the Expert Community Experiment, there are still records that need to be edited that can't be easily edited by the cataloging community. It drives me crazy when I come across a PCC (Program for Cooperative Cataloging) record that needs to be edited and I can't edit it - and I don't have the time or inclination to write up the needed edits for OCLC or whoever and, if necessary, fax the proof.
Showing posts with label library catalogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label library catalogs. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
ALA in Chicago
I wish I could go to these. My main source of comfort is knowing that there will likely be similar presentations done at events I will be able to go to, perhaps even online. Near the end of last month I "attended" an pre-conference event on RDA in Canada, so you never really know.
Another source of comfort: presentations with wonderful-sounding descriptions don't always turn out to be as useful as they seemed like they would be.
You Got Me, Do You Like Me? Evaluating Next Generation Catalogs
RUSA RSS
Co-sponsored by the RUSA MARS Local Systems &Services Committee; LITA Next Generation Catalog User Group.
McCormick Place West W-190a
Sunday, July 12, 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Congratulations, you have acquired (or may soon acquire) a Next Generation, Web 2.0 catalog—now what? Hear from a panel of academic and public information professionals who have been evaluating their open source and off-the-shelf next-gen catalogs. Topics will include usability testing, ongoing assessment, vendor collaboration, and user expectations in the transition to next-gen products.
Speakers: Cody Hanson, Technology Librarian, University of Minnesota; Ross Shanley-Roberts, Special Projects Technologist, Miami University Libraries; and Eli Neiburger, Associate Director of IT and Product Development, Ann Arbor District Library.
Resuscitating the Catalog: Next-Generation Strategies for Keeping the Catalog Relevant
ALCTS CMDS
Co-sponsored by RUSA RSS Catalog Use Committee; LITA Next Generation Catalog Interest Group; PLA Cataloging Needs of Public Libraries Committee
McCormick Place West W-179
Monday, July 13, 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
In today's complex information environment, users have come to expect evaluative information and interactive capabilities when searching for information resources. A panel of experts will address various aspects of providing links to external information in library catalogs, implementing user-contributed functionality, and using computational data to support bibliographic control.
Speakers: David Flaxbart, Head Librarian, Chemistry Library, Univ. of Texas at Austin; Renee Register, Global Product Manager, OCLC; Beth Jefferson, President, BiblioCommons; Ellen Safley, Senior Associate Director for Public Services and Collections, University of Texas, Dallas.
Another source of comfort: presentations with wonderful-sounding descriptions don't always turn out to be as useful as they seemed like they would be.
You Got Me, Do You Like Me? Evaluating Next Generation Catalogs
RUSA RSS
Co-sponsored by the RUSA MARS Local Systems &Services Committee; LITA Next Generation Catalog User Group.
McCormick Place West W-190a
Sunday, July 12, 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Congratulations, you have acquired (or may soon acquire) a Next Generation, Web 2.0 catalog—now what? Hear from a panel of academic and public information professionals who have been evaluating their open source and off-the-shelf next-gen catalogs. Topics will include usability testing, ongoing assessment, vendor collaboration, and user expectations in the transition to next-gen products.
Speakers: Cody Hanson, Technology Librarian, University of Minnesota; Ross Shanley-Roberts, Special Projects Technologist, Miami University Libraries; and Eli Neiburger, Associate Director of IT and Product Development, Ann Arbor District Library.
Resuscitating the Catalog: Next-Generation Strategies for Keeping the Catalog Relevant
ALCTS CMDS
Co-sponsored by RUSA RSS Catalog Use Committee; LITA Next Generation Catalog Interest Group; PLA Cataloging Needs of Public Libraries Committee
McCormick Place West W-179
Monday, July 13, 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
In today's complex information environment, users have come to expect evaluative information and interactive capabilities when searching for information resources. A panel of experts will address various aspects of providing links to external information in library catalogs, implementing user-contributed functionality, and using computational data to support bibliographic control.
Speakers: David Flaxbart, Head Librarian, Chemistry Library, Univ. of Texas at Austin; Renee Register, Global Product Manager, OCLC; Beth Jefferson, President, BiblioCommons; Ellen Safley, Senior Associate Director for Public Services and Collections, University of Texas, Dallas.
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