Shawne: You're right, when I hear "cataloging" I think "traditional cataloging"--one reason why I always use the later term when I mean traditional cataloging, and something else, say, "metadata creation" when I mean something else. I'm glad you're not just teaching traditional cataloging, but maybe you should consider calling it something other than "cataloging" if you want people to understand the difference?
Miksa, Shawne wrote:
I like fussing. This idea of "hoarding" and "hiding" is difficult to understand as it makes it sound as if librarians, and especially those who catalog, are cave dwellers who can't speak. I would also ask you to not generalize all cataloging courses as traditional. We've been incorporating "non-traditional" ideas into our courses for quite some time now--although I don't use those two terms in my syllabi. Fundamentally, no matter the environment, we create a "representation" or "surrogate" of an information object for use within a system (define that as you like).
Well, here I see a couple of issues coming out. In an open metadata world, you're not necessarily creating metadata for a particular system or kind of system. You're maybe not even creating it one at a time. You may be creating a surrogate that you intend other services to use as a base, or you may use someone else's data as a base, and enhance it. The linearity of what we did with traditional cataloging is no longer the only way to look at the process or the product.
You write: "Bibliographic data available freely on the web can be combined and presented in different ways, available to those who might want to try new aggregations and methods of discovery and presentation." In your view, where does that bibliographic data originate? Who puts it into a shape or form so that it is available for "the web"? Or does it shape itself? I was recently contacted by a library looking for a fresh new student to help catalog some original materials that have no previous records/bib data in any system. Once those description are made--formed into some sort of representation--then that data can be shaped into anything we want and made available through any system, web-based or not. When I try to understand your argument I don't see that part of it--I just see something "miraculous" happening and then all of sudden things are on the web. Are you suggesting that we set are representations afloat--like paper boats in a stream?
It can originate in all kinds of places, and be shaped, formed and/or enhanced by any number of services, including, but not only, those based on human review and activity. It's not a miracle, it's hard work, but this view does not assume that humans are the only (and not even always the best) metadata creators. I think the report that Karen distributed as part of a different thread is relevant here: http://ie-repository.jisc.ac.uk/256/. Granted they're talking about repositories, but they're asking the questions we should be thinking about as well.
My epiphany wore off --I've lost site of your point of view.
Sorry about that! I hope you can get it back! Diane
