Eric,
I'm replying privately because, being no more than an occasional lurker, I
don't really feel qualified to jump into the discussion, especially the
discussion that prompted your message. But I did want to put in a word on
the value of this list. Much as I weary of these exchanges that devolve
into endless rhetorical sparring matches between two participants, I do
think Jim makes a good point about the need for a place "where systems
staff really get to discuss matters with cataloging staff, so that each can
find out what is important to the other, how different groups think and so
on," as does John when he says "it is absolutely essential for
philosophical discussions about current topics as well as about information
and communication themselves." I am one of those catalogers, perhaps too
caught up in the day-to-day exigencies, who do care about access and try to
keep that foremost in mind, and I see great value in a dialog that extends
outside the cataloging community and our more technical concerns.
On Wed, Oct 9, 2013 at 1:53 PM, Eric Lease Morgan <emorgan_at_nd.edu> wrote:
> This morning I was on the verge of shutting down this mailing list.
>
> A number of years ago we -- the library profession -- were debating the
> advantages of more traditional OPACs versus indexes (read "discovery
> systems"). Now-a-days we, in general, are using both. Maybe this list has
> outlived its usefulness.
>
> --
> Eric "The Moderator" Morgan
>
--
Richard A. Stewart
Cataloging Supervisor
Indian Trails Library District
355 Schoenbeck Road
Wheeling, Illinois 60090-4499
USA
Tel: 847-279-2214
Fax: 847-459-4760
RStewart_at_indiantrailslibrary.org
http://www.indiantrailslibrary.org/
Received on Thu Oct 10 2013 - 00:44:03 EDT