On Jan 16, 2007, at 1:11 PM, Charley Pennell wrote:
> For what I am sure are perfectly legitimate reasons, there still is a
> need to produce a full-featured content standard like RDA.
I concur. A full-featured content standard is highly desirable, but
if that standard -- set of guidelines, really -- does not reflect the
current information environment and people's (patron's) expectations,
then it might not be a very useful standard.
Another way to put it is, "Who is the primary audience, what is the
problem we are trying to solve, and does the solution satisfy the
needs of said audience?"
Personally, I don't think the "'next generation' library catalog"
should primarily be a catalog (read, inventory list). Instead, I
think it should primarily be an index/tool combination designed to
help the patron answer questions and build knowledge pertinent to a
library's hosting institution. No, this thing is not a key to the
world's knowledge but rather a key or starting point for information
relevant to a library's community.
If RDA is primarily designed to solve inventory issues, then I do not
think it is on the right track.
--
Eric Lease Morgan
Received on Tue Jan 16 2007 - 13:38:05 EST