On Apr 27, 2007, at 3:51 PM, Drew, Bill wrote:
> To me it sounds like what we are really talking about is a federated
> search interface, not a catalog at all!
I agree, mostly.
IMHO, the thing we are discussing should evolve beyond a catalog
because in this day and age of networked information the issue is
less about what a library owns.
On the other hand, I do not think federated search is the best
moniker either. It is more than search. It is discover, re-discover,
use, compare & contrast, evaluate, review, edit, supplement, share,
print, save, delete, update, find more like this one, suggest, tag,
blog, organize, remember, remind, annotate, outline, collaborate.
I see this "next generation" thing more akin to a tool -- one of many
-- for making it easier for the users of libraries to do their work.
In an academic library this "next generation" thing will be one of
the systems helping students to learn, instructors to teach, and
scholars to do research. It is a thing that embodies the whole of
librarianship in a networked environment.
I think the word "catalog" does not consider the networked
environment, and the phrase "federated search" is too narrow when
considering the possibilities.
--
Eric Lease Morgan
University Libraries of Notre Dame
Received on Fri Apr 27 2007 - 15:28:58 EDT