Showing papers on "Cataloging published in 1998"

Video cataloger system with synchronized encoders

Abstract: One aspect of the invention is directed to a system and method for video cataloging. The video is cataloged according to predefined or user definable metadata. The metadata is used to index and then retrieve encoded video.

D-Lib Magazine: Publishing as the Honest Broker

Abstract: Summary This paper describes the organization of material in D-Lib Magazine http://www.dlib.org, an online reference collection of pointers to sites containing resources in networked information and digital libraries, and a monthly, which addresses developments in advanced research and implementation projects in digital libraries and related topics. The importance of persistent, location-independent identifiers (or names) is discussed primarily from the perspectives of information organization and the associated issues in cataloging resources in the MARC environment.

Video cataloger system with hyperlinked output

Abstract: One aspect of the invention is directed to a system and method for video cataloging. The video is cataloged according to predefined or user definable metadata. The metadata is used to index and then retrieve encoded video. In another aspect of the invention, video metadata track processors convert metadata tracks of the video information to produce displayable frames containing hyperlinking between displayable data. Another aspect of the invention is directed to a method of browsing stored video information, including displaying hyperlinked frames of metadata track representations, and selecting and displaying links between displayable frames.

Cataloging & classification quarterly : A Web site for a professional journal in librarianship

Abstract: The World Wide Web site tor Cataloging & Classification Quarterly(CCQ) was created to address a serious need-timeli-ness-in communicating the results of research among librarians, while at the same time providing a number of new benefits to enhance the journal's relationship to its readers. Brought online in early 1995, it was the first such Web site for a professional journal in librarianship, and its characteristic method of making abstracts available well in advance of the print version anticipated a practice later employed by journals in a variety of other fields. Historical background to electronic texts is discussed in context with the beginnings of the CCQ Web page, along with providing an orientation to the relevant aspects of the still-evolving World Wide Web. By using the CCQ Web page as an example, an attempt to characterize the current state of electronic journal publishing will be outlined. With the decision early this year by CCQ's publisher, The Haworth Press, Inc., to begin a pilo...

Catalogers in Academic Libraries: Their Evolving and Expanding Roles.

Abstract: Catalogers in academic libraries who belong to ALA’s Technical Services Division were surveyed to determine if and how their job functions have changed over the past ten years. The 271 respondents indicated a change from print to electronic formats, involvement of nonprofessionals in higher levels of cataloging, a trend toward outsourcing (particularly, copy cataloging and foreign-language materials), and more cataloging of specialized items, audiovisual materials, and digital documents by professional librarians. The latter now use their expertise to edit problematic records, engage in managerial tasks, catalog and attempt authority control of Internet resources, do Internet training or Web page design, and use HTML. More and more catalogers are involved in activities formerly in the domain of systems librarians (selecting and implementing catalog products, database maintenance, etc.).

Beyond the Score

Abstract: Ever since libraries first began collecting materials other than books (so-called "other formats" or "nonbook materials"), librarians have grappled with the descriptive issues these materials have raised.(1) Librarians have traditionally attempted to describe these items using existing standards while claiming that they actually must be treated differently. This discrepancy is manifested in the current cataloging rules,(2) which can blur the distinction between the description of an item and the description of the work it contains,(3) resulting in confusion that jeopardizes access to both the item and the work. To make the problem worse, there are those who seem to confuse the concept of a musical work with its primary paper representation - the score. This confusion affects access to musical works by complicating the gathering of like entries in the catalog. When the sound recording was introduced into music libraries, there was controversy over whether the cataloging for scores and recordings could be interfiled, and if so, how the recording could be caused to file adjacent to "its score" - as though the score were somehow the work and the recording of a performance of the work were nothing more than a poor relation. Although that particular controversy has for the most part been settled felicitously, at present we are challenged once again by the introduction of a new technology - in this case, videorecordings of musical performances - and the old arguments return. This time there are those who would create a special category of "main entry"(4) so as to cause the videorecording of a performance to file adjacent to its score. This argument is misinformed. The critical problems today are first how to identify the properties of musical bibliographic entities and then how to control each property in the bibliographic universe and in each of our own subsets of that universe - i.e., local library online catalogs. In the following essay, we examine the concept of "musical work" as it has been described by bibliographers, catalogers, and scholars of bibliographic control - granted that the terms "work" and "version" are sometimes defined differently by bibliographers, catalogers, and semioticians. There is ample evidence that equality exists among the representations of a musical work regardless of their physical format. The collected representations of any given musical work cannot be conceived of (and therefore cannot be controlled) as hierarchical entities. An understanding of the concept of the musical work should obviate the need to reconsider forms of access under current cataloging practice and lead the way to the next generation of bibliographic control for musical works. THE MUSICAL WORK(5) The relationship of a musical work to its physical instantiations is thorny and subject to continuing debate. At the heart of the debate is an inherent conflict between the bibliographic realm, where physical items exist on a static basis, and the musical realm, where works exist momentarily in a time continuum. The primary purpose of any physical instantiation of a work is to convey an intellectual conception from the creator to others. This is true regardless of the type of work. For printed books, the means of conveyance is usually from individual to individual - i.e., directly from the author to the reader. In this exchange, ideas are captured and recorded at the author's pace and absorbed at the reader's pace. Because musical works are fundamentally meant to be heard, however, the printed version is not of primary importance in the exchange between creator and consumer. Rather, the printed version is a medium through which the musical ideas captured at one end of the continuum may be reproduced so that they may be absorbed at the other. While some would hold that this is technically true of books as well, the ephemeral nature of music - and the obvious limitations of printed music in relation to the musical work itself - make the distinction between books and scores glaring. …

Research Libraries Group

Abstract: 1200 Villa Street Mountain View, CA 94041-1100 Telephone: 800-537-7546 Fax: 650-964-0943 E-mail: bl.ric@rlg.org URL: www.rlg.org BACKGROUND The Research Libraries Group (RLG) operates the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN), a bibliographic utility and online information retrieval system that supports cataloging and other library operations. RLIN was established in 1978 as an outgrowth of BALLOTS, a library automation program developed by Stanford University. BALLOTS--an acronym for Bibliographic Automation of Large Library Operations using a Timesharing System--was ambitiously conceived as an integrated information processing system in which shared bibliographic and other data files would support both technical processing operations and information retrieval activities. The latter component of the BALLOTS program was an outgrowth of the Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System (SPIRES), an interactive online retrieval system developed in 1967. A prototype BALLOTS implementation, introduced in 1969, was followed by a production system for the Stanford University libraries in 1972. In 1976, BALLOTS became available as a shared cataloging service to other California libraries. At that time, it was widely regarded as a potential West Coast alternative to OCLC. BALLOTS' development and operating characteristics are documented in many publications, including Cady et al. (1970), Davison (1973), Epstein (1973), Epstein and Veaner (1972), Epstein et al. (1971, 1972), Ferguson (1970), Hartzell (1973), Kazlauskas (1976), Kershner (1979), Lo (1978), Logan (1973), Mayhew (1976), Montague (1973), Ojala (1978), Bierce and Taylor (1978), Roth (1973), Schriefer and Christiani (1979), Stovel (1973), and Veaner (1969, 1977, 1977a). BALLOTS' destiny was significantly altered in 1978 when it was selected by the Research Libraries Group as the system with the greatest potential for meeting its requirements for automated bibliographic control. RLG was founded in 1974 by Harvard University, Columbia University, Yale University, and the New York Public Library as a resource-sharing consortium. One of the group's original goals was the establishment of a computer-based bibliographic processing system. It initially experimented with an online link to the Library of Congress but ultimately adopted BALLOTS as its bibliographic utility. When that decision was made, Harvard withdrew from RLG. It was replaced by Stanford, which became the utility's host institution. BALLOTS provided the technical base for the RLIN system. Its hours of service were extended, and its governance structure was modified in a manner described below. The RLIN system is described, in varying levels of detail, by Bales and Tucker (1988), Clever (1983), Kershner (1979a), Lerman and Aliprand (1995), McCoy and Davison (1985), Richards and Lerche (1989), Thomson and Hartzell (1979), and Tonne-Schaefer (1986). Lazinger (1991) compares RLIN to ALEPH, Israel's research library network. Michalko and Haeger (1994) discuss RLG's history and mission. Although they were developed for--and are specifically designed to serve--large or specialized research libraries, RLIN's services are comparable to those offered by the other general-purpose bibliographic utilities discussed in this issue. Available to libraries of all types and sizes, RLIN has two broad categories of participants: RLG members and others. As might be expected, RLG members are the most visible and important group of RLIN users. As noted above, RLG was founded in 1974 and had four members through 1978. Its scope expanded dramatically between 1979 and mid-1980s, when membership exceeded 35 institutions. Through the 1980s, RLG differentiated among several categories of members, including owner-members, associate members, and special members. To qualify for owner-membership or associate membership, an institution had to belong to either the International Research Libraries Association (IRLA) or to both the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). …

Creating ontological metadata for digital library content and services

Abstract: We use formal ontologies to represent knowledge about digital library content and services. Formal ontologies define concepts with logic in a frameinheritance structure. The expressiveness and precision of these structures supports computational reasoning that can be used in important ways. This paper focuses on the creation of ontological metadata. We create ontological content metadata by generating it from MARC (MAchine Readable Cataloging) data. MARC contains much information that is hard to exploit computationally. In particular, relationships between works are implicit in shared values and natural language notes. The conversion process involves specifying an ontological model, mapping MARC to the ontology, and reasoning about the data to create explicit links between works. Service metadata will be supplied by providers who wish to participate fully in a digital library that is implemented as a decentralized multi-agent system. Agents advertise by describing their services in terms of ontologically defined concepts. We reason about these descriptions to organize them into subsumption taxonomies. Agents can then find the best available services to meet their needs by describing their needs, without requiring a priori knowledge of other agents. This infrastructure has demonstrated its usefulness in a multi-agent system organized as a computational economy.

Electronic Journals in the Online Catalog: Selection and Bibliographic Control

Abstract: As the publishing of electronic journals increases, so does user demand for access to these items Librarians are faced with the tasks of selecting, acquiring, and providing access to electronic journals. Principles of selection used for materials in other formats should be the foundation for selecting electronic journals as well, but selectors must also be aware of unique aspects of these items, such as licensing agreements and hardware or software required to use them. Acquiring and cataloging electronic journals poses challenges in processes that were created to process items housed in physical carriers. Cataloging of these journals requires decision making at several different levels: these decision include choosing the number of records to be used and the content of those records. Procedures for ordering and cataloging electronic journals at the University Park Campus of the Pennsylvania State University Libraries are described. Successfully integrating electronic journals into the collection and the catalog requires close cooperation between selectors, reference librarians, and catalogers.

The role of the paraprofessional in technical services in libraries

Abstract: THE EXISTENCE OF NONPROFESSIONALS WITHIN libraries has a long, though largely undocumented, history (Evans, 1979). Usually considered to be individuals who may hold a degree or diploma other than a graduate degree in library and information science or information studies, paraprofessionals have held positions with varying types of tasks and responsibilities in technical services operational units in libraries. With the introduction and increasing availability of library automation, and the more recent administrative trend toward outsourcing any or all parts of selection/collection development, acquisitions, cataloging, physical processing, and binding and repairs-components traditionally ascribed to technical services (Tauber, 1954)-the continued viability of paraprofessional positions has been called into question. The possible future role of the paraprofessional is explored from the premise that survival will be dependent on defining an occupational niche that is unique from that of clerical support staff or professional librarians in technical services.

An Empirical Examination of Subject Headings for Women’s Studies Core Materials

Abstract: The ACRL Women’s Studies Section Technical Services Committee investigated the assignment of subject headings to core works in women’s studies. Annotations for the works were compared with subject headings on OCLC cataloging copy, mainly created by the Library of Congress. Inadequacies were identified and traced to three sources: inadequacy of terminology, the complexities of assigning headings in interdisciplinary and/or emerging fields, and standard cataloging practices. Recommendations for amelioration of these problems are made.

Managing Licensed Networked Electronic Resources in a University Library.

Abstract: The issues faced in delivering licensed networked electronic information resources to users have received much attention in university libraries and in the library literature in recent years. Management of those resources has been addressed on many individual topics as well. In key areas such as licensing, access, consortia, and cataloging, for example, issues have been and continue to be explored in some depth. This article presents a holistic view of the management of licensed networked information resources in a university library and suggests areas for further consideration. Managing information resources so that they may be discovered and used by university students, faculty, researchers, and staff is at the core of the mission of a university library. Traditionally, this management has included the processes of selection, acquisition, cataloging and classification, labeling and other physical processing, storage, circulation, and preservation of books, journals, videos, and many other kinds of physical materials that constituted the packages containing the information. Because the outcomes of these processes were not always sufficient to allow users to find the information they needed, libraries also have provided reference and information assistance and more and more user education. Libraries have acquired complex bibliographic searching tools such as indexes and bibliographies, and librarians invented interlibrary loan to acquire materials that users needed but which their libraries did not own. From the beginning, libraries were leaders in the utilization of information technologies. Today's printed book is a splendidly successful and long-lived information technology, and libraries have long used binding to gather, preserve, and make more accessible the less sturdy, soft-covered magazine and journal. In fact, libraries have been in the forefront of society's adoption of new information technologies. Microfilm, film, video, other audiovisual formats, and public photocopying were all embraced by libraries. Before Kinko's and Hollywood Video, there was the library. Digital computing technology is no exception. The obvious benefit of library automation to society was clear to many--non-librarians as well as librarians--very early in the development of computing, and the rest, as they say, is history. Library automation was so successful that until very recently, libraries were probably unique in having standards for both their computer records (MARC) and for the data in those records (the cataloging rules and classification schedules). In short, libraries not only have a long and honored tradition of managing information, they "have significant experience with managing technology" and not being managed by it.[1] The extremely rapid development of the global networked environment, however, has forced librarians to scramble---in almost the military sense of that word--to prevent the loss of their ability to manage networked information resources for the good of their current and future users. Is it irony or only coincidence that the first article in the June 1998 issue of ARL: A Bimonthly Newsletter of Research Library Issues and Actions summarizes one of the most recent attacks on that ability, and the second, some of the most recent counterattacks?[2] The first article concerns a proposed update to the Uniform Commercial Code that "is poised to shape the legal landscape for transactions in information products, including copyrighted works, databases, and computer software. It is therefore likely to impact the operations of all libraries and academic institutions." Perhaps the most direct outcome would be to legitimize the shrink-wrap license and open its application to any form of intellectual property including books. Break the seal, and a library would be wrapped in the license, strongly suggesting the need for a new profession to serve us all in our despair: the Library Shrink. …

A Meditation on Metadata

Abstract: Summary Metadata, or “data about data,” have been created and used for centuries in the print environment, though the term has its origins in the world of electronic information management. The close relationship between traditional library cataloging and the documentation of electronic data files (known as “metadata”) is presented, showing that cataloging is changing under the influence of information technology, but also that metadata provision is essentially an extension of traditional cataloging processes. Metadata

A Square Peg in a Round Hole

Abstract: Summary With the. widespread use and acceptance of electronic journals, catalogers have been confronted with the problem of applying a paper-based cataloging code to the developing environment of the electronic serial. This article will review the problems inherent in applying AACR2to electronic journals and discuss the current policies and strategies the serials cataloging community has developed to address those problems. Electronic journals

Catalogers Must Change! Surviving Between the Rock and the Hard Place

Abstract: For at least one hundred years, catalogers have been committed to creating perfect bibliographic records of their local resources for their local users. With the advent of automation, shared cataloging and electronic remote resources, their task has been made much more complex as their product has become universally available and visible; and, contrary to earlier naive expectations, much more expensive. As a profession, they survived automation and adapted, but now outsourcing has become a new threat to their very existence, or at least to their numbers working at local libraries. Based on a great number of calls for change in the library literature, this article appeals to catalogers to wake up and make a concerted effort to do things differently-as their product is still essential for good library service- and to become more involved in helping shape their future, while at the same time ensuring that there is a future for them.

Describing Remote Electronic Documents in the Online Catalog: Current Issues

Abstract: The relationship between the library catalog and electronic resources is different than that between the catalog and physical materials. Cataloging rules were originally designed to help patrons use a manual card catalog to find physical works on a shelf. However, these rules apply awkwardly to electronic resources because functionally different electronic works raise special cataloging issues. This article discusses the problems of describing remote electronic resources in the online catalog. It concludes that descriptive information helps the user identify the work s/he needs, but that it is practical to provide only minimal descriptive information for remote electronic resources in the catalog record. To a limited extent, the access lost from less description can be replaced with new cataloging techniques designed to stabilize the catalog record.

Cataloging E-journals at the University of Texas at Austin : A brief overview

Abstract: The CONSER Program has been a leader in developing standards for cataloging electronic resources. Members from several CONSER institutions will discuss their experiences with the Program's interim guidelines for cataloging remote access versions of print serials which allow the option of creating separate records for online and print versions or, alternately, of identifying the online version on the print record. Here is the way The university of Texas chose

The Impact of Subject Heading Assignment on Circulation of Dissertations at Virginia Tech

Abstract: Subject headings for bibliographic records for dissertations are no longer assigned at some academic libraries, but the impact this might have on dissertation use has not been evaluated. In this study, bibliographic and circulation records for a sample of 248 academic dissertations were examined to determine the effect of controlled subject headings in the records on circulation of the items. Titles with LC subject headings were compared to those without. Chi-square analysis showed significant differences in circulation for the total sample (p = .04), but not for individual areas of study. Discussion of sources of bias and suggestions for future research are included.

Digital image libraries and the teaching of art and architectural history

Abstract: Can museums and libraries profit from sharing their information, visual or textual? Is direct access to digital archives a more logical or economic way to develop access to images for teaching and research than assembling local collections? Recent digital image library projects in the United States, and their impact on the teaching practices of art and architectural historians, show the advantages of focusing on issues such as licensing and intellectual property, metadata and evolving cataloging practice, image quality, and the different costs of creation and delivery. But there are other potential benefits such as document delivery and the dissemination of archival information, as well as the preservation of fragile illustrated texts through digital imaging.

Metadata Conversion and the Library OPAC

Abstract: Summary This paper examines the metadata movement on the Internet and anticipates the need to establish a metadata repository for library collections. The library OPAC not only functions as a gateway for local and external metadata repositories, but also is equipped to extract, map, convert, and display all metadata. One of the benefits is that the newly integrated metadata can be accessed using the full functionality of the OPAC. Metadata

The future of cataloguing and cataloguers

Abstract: Are our cataloguing standards and codes appropriate for electronic documents? The author has looked at a large number of records for electronic documents that have been created in recent years. In general, it is evident that the current practices and standards are being used to accommodate such records with only minor additions or modifications

Preservation and Archives in Vietnam.

Abstract: DOCUMENT RESUME