Karen Coyle wrote on 03/12/2009 10:41:32 AM:
>
> There's no reason why we couldn't keep the detailed pagination in the
> record for identification purposes, but show the user a simple estimate
> of number of pages unless the details are asked for. If we understand
> what is confusing to users, we should be able to provide a catalog that
> doesn't confuse them.
>
We all know and use software applications that have some kind of
help-in-context function. I think that there are lots of places where our
catalogs (and back-end tools, for that matter) could benefit from being
able to mouse-over a particular datum and get an explanation of it. In
Karen's example, it could result in a succinct explanation of the
conventions of the 300 field, or perhaps better, 300 $a. In a list of
names (as much in the authority file as anywhere else), it would be nice
to be able to mouse-over all the Albert Smiths (or for that matter, there
is more than one David Guion) and get a thumbnail view of what that person
has written about.
Basically, librarians have to do all the same things we have been doing
for 150 years, but we have to do it differently. Panizzi's observations on
the complexity of bibliographic data, Cutter's objectives, and
Ranganathan's principles have not lost any validity in the computer age.
Computer technology both allows and compels us to organize and search
cataloging data differently (and better) than it was done in the past.
Users' expectations have also changed. But I'm sure that they still want
to find a known item, or everything they can by a particular author, or
everything they can on a particular topic. I don't think a single
Google-like text box serves every purpose of searching our catalogs and
databases, but it ought to be an option for whomever wants or needs it.
There should be an easy-to-find guided search option. Technology is
available to help users make sense of the searching--or browsing--process
and the results that come back. We ought to figure out how to make it
available and easy to use.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
David Guion
Music Cataloger
University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Jackson Library
320 College Ave.
Greensboro, NC 27412
(336) 334-5781
dmguion_at_uncg.edu
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
Received on Thu Mar 12 2009 - 12:26:48 EDT