Further to the issue of authority data and presentation...
There has always been one key example in AACR2 that has bothered me
greatly about the way the automation of catalogue records has
progressed, and that is rule 26.2D "Explanatory references".
Raw SEE and SEE ALSO references provide great functionality, but what's
missing is the ability to display clarifying data such as:
Brutus, Marcus Junius
For the Greek letters erroneously attributed to this person, see
Pseudo-Brutus
Catalogue cards had some free-form potential, and I think web pages, as
the presentation mechanism for authority information, can recover what
has been lost. The bonus in thinking of authorities displayed as web
pages is that we can add additional structure to authority records to
draw in more data to help users identify what they are after. Where the
user encounters that data is important as well. Presenting users with a
browseable list of headings or a set of bibliographic records with only
headings visible limits what data can be presented. Presenting users
with a web page with more options to integrate explanatory data strikes
me as a very good starting point in discussing ways of improving
catalogues.
As with explanatory references easily accomplished with catalogue cards,
I do believe the form of presentation influences the choices of what
data is included and what underlying structures are used.
Thomas Brenndorfer, B.A, M.L.I.S.
Guelph Public Library
100 Norfolk St.
Guelph, ON
N1H 4J6
(519) 824-6220 ext. 276
tbrenndorfer_at_library.guelph.on.ca
Received on Tue May 15 2007 - 08:39:55 EDT