Hello from California. Thanks for the great new list and discussion.
I like what Scott has pointed out here, and believe that we still struggle with the definition of
"catalog."
The catalog is different things to different people, and there can be several types of primary
user. As a cataloger, I search our database of owned physical books in order to (1) provide
consistent subject terms for new print monographs on like topics, (2) assign classification numbers
so that volumes are arranged in a logical place on the shelf, (3) ascertain whether my copy is a
duplicate, etc. etc.
However, my needs differ greatly from the undergraduate who simply needs a book and an article to
cite for a paper. This person often accepts whatever search results appear first in a list, à la
Google.
Scott's notion of "proof of ownership" (and access) are what distinguish a catalog for me.
However, some of what we "own" is within our control to describe; other is not (article databases).
Therein lies a significant difference in how discovery is managed.
--Louise Ratliff
Social Sciences Cataloger
UCLA Library Cataloging & Metadata Center
--On Wednesday, June 07, 2006 10:33 AM -0400 Scott Warren <Scott_Warren_at_NCSU.EDU> wrote:
> The last few posts here have been great for thinking about what the catalog is. I want to add to
> what Thomas said below. Two of the many hats I wear are those of collection manager and teacher
> so I when I teach students I describe the catalog as that tool that lets people discover things
> that our library owns, has bought, pays for, etc or what is locally available (proof of
> ownership). If it is in the catalog, you have access to it, period. This distinguishes the
> catalog from article databases and other tools (Google Scholar being one) which are discovery
> tools only (proof of publication) and do not guarantee access to the documents described therein.
> I think this local ownership, which can be of either electronic or paper documents, is an
> important element that needs to be considered. The catalog has an economic description as well as
> technical ones.
>
> Scott Warren
>
>
Received on Wed Jun 07 2006 - 11:01:06 EDT