Antw: Re: The CERN Library publishes its book catalog as Open Data

Dan Brickley has made some interesting use of CERN library's data. He posted a visualization on flickr that gives an overview over the collection's composition based on UDC classes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/danbri/4326955233/
 
Patrick Danowski - Emerging Technologies Librarian at the CERN - says in a blogpost (http://www.bibliothek2null.de/2010/02/03/open-data-works/) that this is a nice example of a non-intended use of open data. And unintended (re)use of data is the main reason for opening up data in the first place...
 
Adrian

>>> Weinheimer Jim <j.weinheimer_at_AUR.EDU> 01.02.2010 16:54 >>>
Karen,

I agree with you 100% and why I went into the detail in the first place. I think one of our basic tasks will be to *work together* for the benefit of all. That does not mean that everything must be "dumbed down" but standards must be maintained somehow.

Having the open metadata from CERN is absolutely great, and Adrian explained the importance of truly open data very well, but somehow we all must find some kind of ways to cooperate, because otherwise, we will be doomed to recatalog the same things over and over and over again because the other standards don't measure up. In my own opinion, one of the first chores is for the metadata creators to understand the standards used by other communities, and this is why I initiated the Cooperative Cataloging Rules http://sites.google.com/site/opencatalogingrules/ (shameless self-promotion!).

This will be a painful process in many ways but I think if we don't do it ourselves, Google-like entities will do it for us by mashing everything together.


James Weinheimer  j.weinheimer_at_aur.edu
Director of Library and Information Services
The American University of Rome
via Pietro Roselli, 4
00153 Rome, Italy
voice- 011 39 06 58330919 ext. 258
fax-011 39 06 58330992


-----Original Message-----
From: Next generation catalogs for libraries [mailto:NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Karen Coyle
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 4:18 PM
To: NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Subject: Re: [NGC4LIB] The CERN Library publishes its book catalog as Open Data

Whoa! Wait a minute! Do we reject all data that doesn't look like  
ours? Are we unable to make use of data from other communities? That's  
a pretty insular point of view. Why not look for how we can benefit  
from this data rather than rejecting it out of hand? Yes, they use  
different cataloging rules. But they have scientific reports that we  
will probably not find elsewhere.

No size? that only would matter to a library that was putting it on a  
shelf, and then only if it is an especially odd size. I've been  
thinking that we should drop size altogether except for ones that need  
special shelving. (For modern books, not rare books.)

Only the first place of publication is given? Show me an example where  
I need both in order to get a book to a user. (Actually, show me an  
example, in a modern book, where I need place of publication at all to  
get a book to a user.)

How different is "277 p." from "xx, 277 p."? Well I can tell you that  
no one outside of libraries has any clue as to what that "xx" means,  
but "277 p." in both of those statements is clear.

Different subject headings? I see that as *more* not *less*. We also  
get different subject headings from publishers, and often they are  
closer to what the user is seeking than LCSH.

Really, folks, try the glass half full approach, or die of thirst  
while others create flexible, open bibliographic resources.

kc

p.s. we will be ingesting these records into the Open Library, and  
quite honestly I don't think it'll be difficult.

-- 
Karen Coyle
kcoyle@kcoyle.net http://kcoyle.net
ph: 1-510-540-7596
m: 1-510-435-8234
skype: kcoylenet