> I wouldn't think. The problem is that the data isn't available in a
> crawlable way -- it's stuck in databases that only speak Z39.50.
...
> I was thinking that one of the barriers is that what we have is this
> highly formalized metadata. The first problem with that is that we
have
> it in MARC, which no one other than libraries understands.
I was a programmer in a former life. When I became a librarian five
years ago, I was utterly appalled (and still am) at the state of library
technology, metadata usage, etc. In the first week of being a
librarian, I had already begun to wonder:
Why do we use MARC records? That way of storing data was obsolete by
the 80s. It should have been replaced decades ago.
Why do we use Z39.50, when nobody else does? Why do we come up with ANY
standards that don't work well (if at all) with non-library entities?
Why do we pay exorbitant prices for MARC record data, when it should
come free from the publisher or distributor? If we are going to pay,
why isn't it something like 5 cents (or less) a record? The best
choice, of course, is to simply get rid of MARC, but why have we
tolerated this treatment from vendors for so long?
Why do we tolerate out-of-date, buggy ILS/OPAC systems, when they are
only
(ultimately) inventory and customer management systems? Worse still,
why do we pay more than a couple of hundred dollars for ILS/OPAC
systems? They aren't that complex, from a programmatic/database
management standpoint.
Ultimately, I think the answer to these questions is that many
librarians are technophobic, don't want to have to learn REAL technology
and information management skills, and tend to be fearful of change. An
awful lot of them seem to feel that they shouldn't have to continue
learning and studying on their own time and initiative once they get an
MLS.
Library graduate school is far too easy (in the U.S., at least). Most
MLS programs only require what I would consider to be undergraduate
level work from the students. Many librarians out there moan about how
we aren't given the respect we deserve, academically and otherwise. Too
often, people fret about our public image - the bun-wearing, shushing,
dowdy, librarian from countless movies and books. That isn't the
problem - not at all.
We need to change our MLS programs to require students to develop
professional level skills in information management and theory, database
design and management, SQL, basic coding, serious web development (not
FrontPage and clip art), metadata development and management, etc. Our
field is (or should be) a merger of the humanities and
computer/information sciences. If we want to be seen as serious
information professionals, we need to actually BE serious information
professionals.
All over the U.S. we see libraries closing, budgets being slashed, $0
budgets for new materials, open hours being significantly reduced, staff
layoffs, etc. This is an era where we have to actually prove our worth
and value to our communities, provide services that our patrons actually
need, and live up to our own hype. If we can't do that, then we are
little more than free bookstores with a few extra services tacked on.
Jesse Ephraim
Youth Services Librarian
Southlake Public Library
1400 Main St., Ste. 130
Southlake, TX 76092
Email: jephraim_at_ci.southlake.tx.us
Phone: (817) 748-8248
FAX: (817) 748-8250
www.southlakelibrary.org
uncommonly friendly service
Received on Sat Aug 23 2008 - 12:54:43 EDT