Code4Lib Keynote 2011

Code4Lib 2011, February 8
Critical Collaborations
Programmers and catalogers? Really?

Old Familiar Cataloger Tools

Obviously not
a real cataloger

WHYME?
I’ve been working with
computers in libraries
since 1973 …
But is that enough?
P.S.: I don’t write code …

I
Programmers

I
Programmers
Naomi Dushay

I
Programmers
Naomi Dushay
George Kozak

I
Programmers
Naomi Dushay
George Kozak
Pete Hoyt

I
Programmers
Naomi Dushay
George Kozak
Pete Hoyt
Jon Phipps

So … Why Am I Here?
Catalogers and programmers have a history of talking past one another
How can we change that?
I have ideas!
XML
OY
SPARQL
MARC
RDF

Separate Tables
What do we need to do to start sitting together?

Only some of the stereotypes you’ve
heard about catalogers are true
Like in most professional groups,
there are important variations

On the other hand, maybe all the
stereotypes about programmers
are true?
But I’m sure I’ve talked about the
weather with programmers!

Quiz: Which group is more likely to want to go to the
‘nitty gritty’ first (whether or not they’ve had a chance
to agree on the basics)?
▢
Catalogers
▢
Programmers
▢
All of the above

Are We Getting Anywhere?

Small Starts/Big Goals
Starting to talk about change within your institution
What are our priorities? Do we have common priorities?

Inside the Cataloger Brain
Real catalogers think (and talk) in MARC tags.
Their job is to fit the thing in their hands into the panoply of other cataloged items
The happiest catalogers are those who are at one with their rules and practices
Ergo, look for competent, but frustrated catalogers

Finding Frustrated Catalogers
Clue: May be a catalog maintenance or authorities librarian
Clue: May have had some experience with data that isn’t MARC
Clue: May have done some crosswalking and mapping

Are we waiting for some 800 lb. Gorilla to teach us what we need to learn?
Or can we learn from one another what we need to know?
One model: http://metadata-wg.mannlib.cornell.edu/

Setting Priorities
Changing the conversation
Building new tools
Doing it together

Better Data = Better Services for Users
Legacy
Data
Prospective
Data
POINTS OF TENSION
Current OPAC users (internal and external)

Libraries
Linking Open Data cloud diagram, by Richard Cyganiak and AnjaJentzsch. http://lod-cloud.net/
What about all this other stuff?

Where we are now?
What are we doing about it?

RDA Testing Theater
What we tested: whether the RDA rules could be crammed into MARC
What we should have tested: whether we can meet the needs of our users better with a different approach to data
Result: The cataloging world outside the US thinks we’re nuts

Waiting for the Gurus to speak
Libraries currently live in a top down world—how well is that working for us today?
If we want a bottom-up world, we need to build it ourselves
Consider the RDA Vocabularies--built by a small group, with the potential to change how we work

ReadMe

Where Are The Tools?

RDA/IFLA/other properties (minimal linkage)
format
Extent
has extent
Extent (/S)
has extent of the carrier
has extent (R/)
Extent of text
Extent (M/)
has extent of the carrier (M/)
Extent of text (M/)
SameAs
Subproperty
numPages (D/l)
numVolumes (C/l)
Note: Document sub-class-of Resource
Label (Domain/Range)
RDA
FRBR
ISBD
DCT
BIBO
Classes: Manifestation, Resource, Collection, Document, SizeOrDuration, literal
FRBR lite
ISBD lite
DC

New World Data
Reusing legacy data in a different environment will require significant investments in data improvement, and systems that will provide support for that transition
XC has started, but others need to work in this area
We need to look at the issues of prospective data creation and reuse of legacy data in parallel
Our new world is more distributed, more diverse, offering us data that hasn’t been vetted by catalogers
The only rational way to deal with that data is at the statement level, not the record level

Our Challenges
Managing statements, not records
Integrating data from a multitude of providers, including users
Developing new models of distribution and data sharing, less centralized
This includes identifying and sharing more granular WEMI info, with relationships!
Demonstrate that the costs of NO CHANGE are significantly more than the costs of CHANGE

Can We Get More Comfortable With One Another?

Can We Do More Than Get Along?
Thanks for your attention!
Email: metadata.maven@gmail.com
Blog: Metadata Matters http://managemetadata.com/blog/
Thanks to Gordon Dunsire for the ‘FR’ slide, and to Flickr members clover_1 and annagoben (among others) for the photos. Thanks to the Virtual Museum of Cataloging and Acquisitions Artifacts and the RDA Happy Fun Time Companion.

Code4Lib Keynote 2011

by Diane I. Hillmann on Feb 13, 2011

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Code4Lib Keynote 2011 — Presentation Transcript