Karen Coyle wrote:
> I guess that's where we differ. I am suggesting that our goal should be to NOT have to
> re-work data that we get through the supply chain.
Yeech. You are correct; we differ greatly on that aspect.
>Instead, we could be working toward a (at least partially) shared concept of bibliographic data that is in wider use.
> This would not only allow libraries to absorb data from other parts of the supply chain, but would mean that
> libraries could pass that same data along to other users of bibliographic data,
So far, I can't get on board with this idea at all. Everything I've read and experienced indicated better data (more complete, more analytic, more contextual) is what helps in the long run. (It's a waste of the intellectual contribution of the creators of knowledge as well.) To not re-work incomplete data ignores something I posted in the earlier part of my other message (and one frequently ignored) "We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; ... equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests."
What about that? I don't see any reason, in a value added environment, to abandon that goal. I certainly don't think we should do so, as a profession, without first explicitly abandoning our professional ethics in a widely promulgated manner. To do so without first agreeing we no longer adhere to it is, at least, an integrity issue (as in, we lack integrity as a profession - we don't do what we said we will). One of our large (perhaps only) intellectual property contributions is the mass of information that the bibliographic data we've created constitutes. Let's expand and explore that. It doesn't degrade with use and it endures for decades. To abandon it to minimalist "good enough" (an undefined and likely hard to defend concept) viewpoint isn't much to stir the spirit. In fact, for me, it's a wet blanket.
As I wrote: yeech.
Daniel
-------------
Daniel CannCasciato
Head of Cataloging
Central Washington University Library
400 E. University Way
Ellensburg, WA 98926-7548
dcc_at_cwu.edu
Received on Wed Dec 29 2010 - 23:18:39 EST