Jay writes “Managing Information recently pointed out that the Library of Congress has published a report titled ‘The Changing Nature of the Catalog and Its Integration with Other Discovery Tools’ that ‘challenges assumptions about the traditional library catalog and proposes new directions for the research library catalog in the digital era.’. Excerpt: ‘Commissioned by the Library and prepared by Associate University Librarian Karen Calhoun of Cornell University, the report assesses the impact of Internet on the traditional online public access catalog and concludes that library patrons want easy-to-use catalogs that are accessible on the Web.’
Read the full report at
The Changing Nature of the Catalog and Its Integration with Other Discovery Tools.”
Mandatory reading
While I’m still digesting it all, and don’t necessarily agree with everything the report says, it seems an excellent starting point for any discussion about how to improve our service to users. More than merely a discussion, Karen provides a genuine blueprint for moving forward.
More at my blog
Great report!
What a great report! It would be great if the Library of Congress showed some leadership and implemented the required changes necessary to modernise the library. It is a mammoth challenge and it takes courage to move forward with these changes
Library of Congress: Future of Library Catalogs
See also “A Critical Review,” prepared by Thomas Mann for AFSCME 2910, the Library of Congress Professional Guild,
http://www.guild2910.org/AFSCMECalhounReview.pdf
I haven’t done much more than flip through either, but I like the idea of looking critically at what we do and of looking critically at the critical look.