"The library catalog is not ours. While we may be the creators and caretakers of the library catalog, we are not the intended users of the library catalog. Every decision about catalog design must ask “Is this what is right for the users?” As librarians, we have many other ways to access our collections, so hands off the one way our users have to search. MARC records are not books. At its heart, cataloging is about creating proxies that represent actualities. Our users are not here for proxies…they want the real thing. Show them as much of the real thing as is possible in the catalog. A book’s size and whether or not it has “col. ill.” are not real. Catalogs must speak the user’s language That is user; singular. If the catalog requires authentication, then we know who is using it and what language they speak. Librarians can view the catalog in AACR2, but users need to be addressed in a more friendly language. Users can read author names in the catalog as FirstName LastName instead of in the format with which we are more comfortable. The library catalog is ours. But ours must mean us as fellow readers, not us as librarians. Users can connect with fellow readers, listeners, viewers and the catalog can make those connections more powerful and apparent. Learn from user tags, read user reviews, and join with the users in a social library experience facilitated through the catalog. “ http://biblioteca20.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=556425%3ABlogPost%3A3441
"The library catalog is not ours. While we may be the creators and caretakers of the library catalog, we are not the intended users of the library catalog. Every decision about catalog design must ask “Is this what is right for the users?” As librarians, we have many other ways to access our collections, so hands off the one way our users have to search. MARC records are not books. At its heart, cataloging is about creating proxies that represent actualities. Our users are not here for proxies…they want the real thing. Show them as much of the real thing as is possible in the catalog. A book’s size and whether or not it has “col. ill.” are not real. Catalogs must speak the user’s language That is user; singular. If the catalog requires authentication, then we know who is using it and what language they speak. Librarians can view the catalog in AACR2, but users need to be addressed in a more friendly language. Users can read author names in the catalog as FirstName LastName instead of in the format with which we are more comfortable. The library catalog is ours. But ours must mean us as fellow readers, not us as librarians. Users can connect with fellow readers, listeners, viewers and the catalog can make those connections more powerful and apparent. Learn from user tags, read user reviews, and join with the users in a social library experience facilitated through the catalog. “ http://biblioteca20.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=556425%3ABlogPost%3A3441