Cataloging

About: Cataloging is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4770 publications have been published within this topic receiving 32489 citations.

Quality assurance for digital learning object repositories: issues for the metadata creation process

Abstract: Metadata enables users to find the resources they require, therefore it is an important component of any digital learning object repository. Much work has already been done within the learning technology community to assure metadata quality, focused on the development of metadata standards, specifications and vocabularies and their implementation within repositories. The metadata creation process has thus far been largely overlooked. There has been an assumption that metadata creation will be straightforward and that where machines cannot generate metadata effectively, authors of learning materials will be the most appropriate metadata creators. However, repositories are reporting difficulties in obtaining good quality metadata from their contributors, and it is becoming apparent that the issue of metadata creation warrants attention. This paper surveys the growing body of evidence, including three UK-based case studies, scopes the issues surrounding human-generated metadata creation and identifies questions for further investigation. Collaborative creation of metadata by resource authors and metadata specialists, and the design of tools and processes, are emerging as key areas for deeper research. Research is also needed into how end users will search learning object repositories. DOI: 10.1080/0968776042000211494

Rethinking Subject Cataloging in the Online Environment.

Abstract: Rethinking Subject Cataloging in the Online Environment New search capabilities in online catalogs have numerous implications for (1) the use of subject cataloging in existing records, (2) the design of thesauri, and (3) the design of the online catalog user-system interface. Online search capabilities are themselves seen as a form of indexing, and it is argued that access is determined by the total mix of preexisting and added "search capability" indexing. The design of a "superthesaurus" as part of a friendly front-end user interface is described. Said thesaurus is geared to the needs of users rather than indexers and incorporates the findings of recent research on the patterns of subject description by searchers. Its design also reflects the different demands of online searching as opposed to manual searching. The introduction of online catalogs into libraries opens up impressive new possibilities of retrieval power and ease of use for ourselves and our clients.[1,2] Our task now is to design the intellectual content and arrangement of catalogs so as to take maximum advantage of these new technical capabilities. In order to do that, we need to understand the interaction between the database--the bibliographic records--and the search capabilities of the online system. There are many ramifications, some obvious and others quite subtle, of this interaction. This article develops these ramifications in three areas relating to subject cataloging: * role of present subject cataloging in existing records * subject headings/thesaurus design * system-user interface design Throughout the discussion, emphasis will be on improving user access and retrieval effectiveness. PRESENT ROLE OF SUBJECT CATALOGING A note on terminology: Throughout this article, the terms indexing and subject cataloging are used interchangeably. Similarly, thesaurus is used to refer both to Library of Congress Subject Headings (more precisely called a subject heading list), as well as to other term lists more conventionally referred to as thesauri. The distinctions between subject cataloging and indexing as processes and between subject heading lists and thesauri are important more for historical reasons than for present practice. Though differences may still be discerned, so many changes in thinking about them are necessitated by the new circumstances associated with the online environment that traditional distinctions are largely meaningless. Based on our experience with card catalogs, we have been conditioned to think of the subject indexing in a catalog as consisting of subject headings and classification numbers. When a card catalog is put online it is natural, then, to continue this assumption--to think of the indexing in an online catalog as consisting of the subject elements already present in the database before it was automated. We think of an online catalog as simply the same catalog we had before, but now online-accessible. But, in fact, online search capabilities themselves constitute a form of indexing. Subject access to online catalogs is thus a combination of original indexing and what we might call "search capabilities indexing" (more on this presently). The interactions between these two kinds of indexing can be subtle. A range of search capabilities is superimposed on textual materials of various kinds in the bibliographic record, including natural and controlled languages. The resulting interaction has a variety of effects on the quality of searches done by users of online catalogs. The effects are not only additive. Sometimes they cancel each other out or are so synergistic as to be multiplicative. Typical online search capabilities are keyword searching, Boolean searching, truncation, and multi-index searching (that is, combining query terms from more than one index, e. …

Library digitization projects, issues and guidelines: A survey of the literature

Abstract: Purpose – To provide a selective bibliography of literature which explores issues and provides guidelines on library digitization projects.Design/methodology/approach – Literature published from 2000‐2005 on library digitization projects was examined. Issues involving digitization projects are presented, as well as case studies and resources for digitization projects. The paper has the following sections: project management, funding digital projects, selection of materials, legal issues, metadata creation, interoperability, and preservation issues.Findings – Libraries are undertaking digitization projects to provide wider access to and to preserve materials. The literature survey presents an overview of digitization activities and discussions of issues concerning library digital projects. The authors of the case studies detail how libraries dealt with various components of the projects, such as planning, cataloging, and handling copyright issues. Many aspects of digitization projects will be changing over...

Focus group interviewing in the library literature: A selective annotated bibliography 1996‐2005

Abstract: Purpose – Focus group interviewing, an important social science research methodology dating to the 1920s, is currently experiencing renewed popularity worldwide. This paper aims to review the implementation of this qualitative assessment tool as it relates to the library environment. The article is designed to stimulate the use of focus groups in librarianship and to demonstrate the range of positive applications across various activities within this field, such as administration, cataloging, reference, internet, and other areas. The goal is to bolster recognition that this data‐gathering technique can be utilized to achieve a variety of goals.Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive search of online databases was conducted in library science and in numerous other social sciences, given the interdisciplinary nature of the topic. The salient monographic and journal literature was selected and annotated. A number of standard handbooks, textbooks, references sources, and scholarly articles were consulte...