Janet Hill wrote:
> If you define "catalog" as the discovery tool maintained by a library
> (or
> group of libraries) through which information seekers may obtain access
> through various mechanisms to information resources -- whether owned (or
> leased) by the particular institution or not -- then its use will certainly
> be greater than if you define "catalog" as the tool that provides
> access in
> a single listing utilizing a single methodology, and only to materials owned
> (or leased/subscribed to) by the local institution.
Also, there needs to be an understanding, especially on librarian/professional lists, that there is a difference between the catalog *records* and the catalog *interface.* The interface of the catalog is obsolete and based on the card catalog. There have been a few attempts--only recently--to change this, but basically, the ways the catalog works hasn't changed much in the last 100 or so years. The only real change has been in the introduction of the keyword search, but that was achieved with the introduction of the OPAC. The latest "novelty" of the OPAC now is that it works more like a card catalog(!), in that the user can see the lists of headings. Big wow!
But it must be confessed that the traditional library catalog allows types of searching that Google, Yahoo and the like *cannot do* in any way: the traditional catalog allows for the searching of concepts instead of just text. Once I demonstrate this to my students, they begin to want conceptual access over other resources on the web. Everybody needs to understand this, and only then can we make a decision whether the traditional catalog needs to continue.
Certainly, the catalog interface is obsolete and needs to be trashed, but the records that allow for conceptual searching need to be retained and used to much greater effect than they are today. The "local collection" is a fiction that no longer exists with so many high-quality materials available on the web. One of the problems and tragedies is that so few people, including information professionals, seem to understand this today.
James Weinheimer j.weinheimer_at_aur.edu
Director of Library and Information Services
The American University of Rome
Rome, Italy
Received on Thu Sep 20 2007 - 13:39:02 EDT