Will the next generation catalogue be called a catalogue? What do you
call your conception of what should replace your OPAC?
I've mentioned before on this list how I've been inspired by Wendy Newman,
who first told me about the One Big Library, and Dan Chudnov, himself a
believer in the One Big Library, who decided his mission in life was to
help people build their own libraries.
I phrase it like this: I want to help people build, manage, and share
their personal branch of the One Big Library.
My short form for this is "catalogue." But where I work, when I talk
about a catalogue, people take it as the OPAC. (And we don't have a very
good one.) The OPAC is separate from the online journals and electronic
resources, so there's some confusion. In my head, it's all the same big
crazy goddamn thing, but the word means something different to other
folks.
I've been thinking that "resource discovery tool" might work, but that's
kind of dull. "NGC" sounds like something non-governmental. Do you have
a word for it? Maybe "platform" could be worked in somewhere?
Bill
--
William Denton, Toronto : www.miskatonic.org www.frbr.org www.openfrbr.org
"There are few things librarians enjoy more than frequent,
extensive and inconclusive discussions." -- Maurice B. Line
Received on Tue Aug 14 2007 - 21:02:37 EDT