OCLC Online Computer Library Center

The Library Catalog

Does it have a future?Gary R. Houk

OCLC

                                                                                                             

NYC June 10, 2003SLA Conference

OverviewOverview

Where did we come from?

Where are we going?

Metadata and Standards

Propelling discovery

Enabling retrieval

HELPING PATRONS FIND IT GET IT

Where did we come from?Where did we come from?

Started with an inventory of physical items:– Metadata on sealed clay tablet tax records– Pinakes, a catalog in 120 books (Alexandria)– The card catalog– COM (Computer Output Microfiche)– MARC format arrives– Shared online catalogs and ILL (OCLC, RLIN)– OPACs (Online Public Access Catalogs)

We added electronic resource descriptions

We add links to those electronic resources

We put the catalogs on the Web … but the indices are not visible outside the library portal

Where are we going?Changing library

collections

Where are we going?Changing library

collectionshighlow

low

highu

niq

uen

ess

uni

que

ne

ssBooksJournalsNewspapersGovt. docsCD, DVDMapsScores

Special collectionsRare booksLocal/Historical newspapersLocal history materialsArchives & Manuscripts, Theses & dissertations

Research & learning materials •ePrints/tech reports•Learning objects•Courseware•E-portfolios•Research data files

Freely-accessible web resourcesOpen source softwareNewsgroup archivesBlogsRSS

collected

Managing metadata (present)Managing metadata (present)

For the last century, a significant emphasis on describing and organizing physical collections at the item level

Leveraging cooperative metadata resources– Strengthened cooperative programs

• PCC (BIBCO, CONSER, NACO, SACO)– Better interoperability within the library space

• Various interfaces of ILS vendors & bib. Utilities• Use of Z39.50

Always the push for better, faster, cheaper– Shelf-ready services– Cataloging of widely held non-unique items are

more and more automated

Numerous standards evolving– METS, MODS, XML, Dublin Core, EAD, etc.

http://mapageweb.umontreal.ca/turner/meta/english/metamap.html

MetaMapMetaMap

There is life beyond MARC21!There is life beyond MARC21!

Metadata landscape evolving– Plethora of standards, but converging on common

base layers (XML, Unicode)– Interoperability gaining favor (e.g., Dublin Core) – Capturing “upstream” metadata from authors,

publishers and distributors (non print & non-English)– Evaluative metadata no longer optional as users

expect to see cover art, annotations, reviews, etc.

New modes for metadata publishing & transfer– OAI (Open Archives Initiative)

A new conceptual model – Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records– FRBR implementations nascent, but promising– Grouping of related records could lead to economies

for creating new records

Propelling discovery (present)Propelling discovery (present)

Library catalogs facilitate both known item and more general subject, etc. searches

Scope of discovery shifting– Traditionally emphasized physical holdings– Increasingly including records for remotely held

resources, and/or,– Serving as portals to facilitate searching remote

databases– Consortia/group catalogs increasingly favored –

search/show all holdings popular with a set of users

Library catalogs just one option against many:– Users use search engines, Amazon, other sources for

initial discovery, then searching library catalog for known items

Why Library Catalogs Fail as Information

Finding Tools

Why Library Catalogs Fail as Information

Finding ToolsThey are unable to search the entire universe of information

Local catalogs often lack books that can be requested

They have too little information about items

Most are unable to accept multiple metadata formats

Many have “hostile” user interfaces

Union catalogs often have multiple records for the same item (which to request?)

There are too many to consult and no way for users to figure out which one to search

Propelling discovery (forward)Propelling discovery (forward)

The library catalog is rich in content but we need better finding aids (Google, Amazon)– Only librarians like to search, everyone else likes to

find (Roy Tennant)

Custom “local” views of collections within the larger union catalog (OCLC Group Services)

• By state, region, library type, format type, topic, ..

Digital Collections– ILS vendors adding digital object modules to support

management, searching of digitized materials, electronic finding aids

– OCLC also active in this space• Harvesting of ContentDM records into WorldCat

Increase the visibility of library collections • OCLC Library Access Cooperative Pilot test

Propelling greater visibilityPropelling greater visibility

OCLC will be testing a cooperative service that integrates libraries into the Web services used by information seekers.

Public view of WorldCat

Access from heavily used web services

Links to libraries and their services

EXAMPLE

EXAMPLE

What Better Case for FRBR?What Better Case for FRBR?

Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records / IFLA Study Group on the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records

Defines a bibliographic model independent of cataloging rules

Clusters bibliographic items into a four-level structure:– Work (distinct intellectual or artistic creation)

• Expression (intellectual or artistic realization of a work)

– Manifestation (the physical embodiment of an expression of a work)

» Item (a single exemplar of a manifestation)

OCLC & FRBROCLC & FRBR

OCLC Office of Research has developed an algorithm to “FRBRize” WorldCat

Sample use: Research’s Fiction Finder prototype– Research team mined record content from a subset (all

records for fiction materials) of WorldCat and applied FRBR algorithm and additional processing to yield:

• A best-of-related-records’-content enriched record view for every work of fiction represented in WorldCat

• Better searching, browsing (esp. genre), and search results displays for WorldCat fiction records

• An optimized work-set record display that combines the enriched record view with a user-friendly, presentation of links to groups of related WorldCat records (e.g., a list of links with one link per language to all editions of the work published in language x, language y, etc.)

Fiction Finder result set display

Fiction Finder result set display

Fiction Finder record display Fiction Finder record display

Record display exampleRecord display example

WorldCat record

Enriched display

Enabling retrieval (present)Enabling retrieval (present)

Beyond discovery - find and retrieve landscape– Traditional call number–based retrieval– Many innovations in ILL/document delivery

• Circulation-based ILL (esp. consortial ILS)• Patron-initiated ILL (e.g., OCLC FirstSearch)• ILL management software (e.g., ILLIAD)• Multiple choices among doc supplier vendors

– Strong trend towards e-resource delivery• E-journals (often linked to A&I dbs)• E-books (e.g., netLibrary)• E-reserves (often supported by ILS, but also done

through reserve pak vendors)• Standards bodies, associations, technical publishers,

govt. agencies routinely issuing materials in e-format

Enabling retrieval (forward)Enabling retrieval (forward)

On the horizon:– FRBR could aid ILL and Acquisitions

• Experimental OCLC xISBN service, similar

– Standard patron data format (NCIP)• Will facilitate easier patron authentication

across systems & suppliers• Should make system migration easier

– Persistent identifiers• Still a problematic area• New tools like Open URLs will help

– Improved rights and resolution• Difficult to solve, but work progressing• Useful systems now (e.g., SFX), better soon• OCLC working on Rights & Resolution service

OCLC Online Computer Library Center

So does the Library Catalog have a

future?Definitely

But will your Mother recognize it!

OCLC Online Computer Library Center

Questions?