Eric Lease Morgan wrote:
>
>
> While I assert there is no "right" answer to this question, at first
> blush I would suggest MODS. It is an XML data structure and the
> element names are word, not numbers.
>
And how easy is it to talk MODS and be instantly understood, like if
someone says 260$c now or 700$t.
How do you pronounce caps inside words, BTW?
The subject isn't new at all. 30 years ago, I attended a conference.
The big heads in library automation of that time were present, like Fred
Kilgour. I asked the question if MARC mightn't be simplified to make it
easier to understand and use. Someone said, well, they had thought of it
and tried very hard to work out something better. But they ended up
re-inventing MARC. MODS is another re-invented MARC, only much more
loquacious.
But MARC is not the battlefront. Some improvements, like for names,
are conceivable. But it is interfacing that matters, all the time.
B.Eversberg
Received on Wed Jan 17 2007 - 11:29:04 EST