up2date

UDC vs Wikipedia classification

Is the Wikipedia classification a folksonomy?

From INFODocket :

Title: “Need to Categorize: A Comparative Look at the Categories of the Universal Decimal Classification System and Wikipedia” (2 Pages; PDF)

Authors: Almila Akdag Salah, Cheng Gao, Krzysztof Suchecki, Andrea Scharnhorst

Abstract: This study analyzes the differences between the category structure of the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) system (which is one of the widely used library classification systems in Europe) and Wikipedia. In particular, we compare the emerging structure of category-links to the structure of classes in the UDC. With this comparison we would like to scrutinize the question of how do knowledge maps of the same domain differ when they are created socially (i.e. Wikipedia) as opposed to when they are created formally (UDC) using classificatio[n] theory. As a case study, we focus on the category of “Arts”.

Note: Paper for High Throughput Humanities – a satellite meeting at the European Conference on Complex Systems 2010; Sept. 15, 2010 Lisbon University Institute ISCTE, Lisbon, Portugal

(via arXiv)

Principles on Open Bibliographic Data

From the ResourceShelf (anyone more qualified than I want to comment?) :

"Launch of the Principles on Open Bibliographic Data"

         From a Blog Post by Adrien Pohl on the Open Knowledge Foundation Blog:

Yesterday, the Principles of Open Bibliographic Data were launched at the Peter Murray-Rust symposium “Visions of a (Semantic) Molecular Future”:

http://openbiblio.net/principles/

The principles' main recommendations read as follows:

1. When publishing bibliographic data make an explicit and robust license statement.

2. Use a recognized waiver or license that is appropriate for data.

3. If you want your data to be effectively used and added to by others it should be open as defined by the Open Definition – in particular non-commercial and other restrictive clauses should not be used.

4. Where possible, we recommend explicitly placing bibliographic data in the Public Domain via the Public Domain Dedication and License (PDDL) or CC0.

+ Read the Complete Blog Post (Including Principles of Open Bibiographic Data)

WorldCat Local for the HathiTrust

From the OCLC press release (interestingly, other than in the press release, I've only seen it mentioned on French sites, e.g., bibliofrance :

"OCLC and the HathiTrust have developed a unique WorldCat Local user interface for discovery of items accessible through the HathiTrust Digital Library. The WorldCat Local prototype (http://hathitrust.worldcat.org) ... was designed and implemented by both organizations ... to further develop a shared digital library infrastructure. The WorldCat Local interface for the HathiTrust Digital Library is based on the WorldCat database, and will run along with the current HathiTrust catalog during the prototype testing period.

..."

New issue of Collaborative Librarianship

From the ResourceShelf, I excerpt :

Scholarly Articles

Return on Investment for Collaborative Collection Development: A Cost-Benefit Evaluation of Consortia Purchasing	Abstract PDF
Denise Pan, Yem Fong	183-192

Enriching the Academic Experience: The Library and Experiential Learning	Abstract PDF
Amy York, Christy Groves, William Black	193-203

A New Way to Manage Uncataloged Materials: a Case Study from Moving the University of Nevada, Reno’s Federal Depository Collection	Abstract PDF
Amalia Katharine Beisler, Patrick Ragains	204-217

Enriching the Academic Experience: The Library and Experiential Learning	Abstract PDF
Amy York, Christy Groves, William Black	193-203

National Diet Library of Japan adds 4 mill. records to WorldCat

From the OCLC press release :

"The National Diet Library has successfully added 4 million records to WorldCat...

OCLC staff from Leiden, the Netherlands, and Dublin, Ohio, USA, worked with National Diet Library staff to create a conversion program to convert JAPAN/MARC to MARC 21 records. ...

The addition of Japan's National Diet Library records increases the number of records containing CJK (Chinese-Japanese-Korean) script data in WorldCat by nearly 33 percent.

The National Diet Library has been using WorldCat for current cataloging of Western language materials since 2007. Through the new agreement with OCLC, the National Diet Library will contribute the contents of the JAPAN/MARC database, the official national bibliography of Japan, to WorldCat on a regular basis. The National Diet Library will send updates of bibliographic records about four times a year and will provide JAPAN/MARC (A) authority records."

"Library Catalogues: From Dominance to Decline?"

From the ResourceShelf :

"Library Catalogues: From Dominance to Decline? The Future of Bibliographic Discovery, Access and Delivery

This paper will be delivered at the IFLA General Conference and Assembly on August 11, 2010.

by Martin Flynn
Head of Information Services
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom

Access the Full Text Paper (8 pages; PDF)"

e-Book Metadata; AACR2; and RDA presentations

From the ResourceShelf :

Selected Presentations from the British Columbia Library Association Conference

1. Presentation: Changes from AACR2 to RDA: A Comparison of Examples. (100 Slides, PDF). 2010.
In BC Library Conference, Penticton, B.C., 22 April.
by Adam Schiff

A PowerPoint presentation given at the British Columbia Library Association conference on April 22, 2010. The presentation compares examples of cataloging using AACR2 (Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd edition) with RDA (Resource Description & Access) and shows how records will be coded in MARC 21.

2. Presentation: Presentation: Working With e-Book Metadata,
(41 Slides; PDF), 2010.
In BC Library Conference, Penticton, B.C., 23 April.
by Naomi Eichenlaub and Paul Burry

This session examines the challenging task of increasing the discoverability and access to subscription e-book collections. It will consider tools, workflows, best practices and standards for cataloguing and maintaining library e-book collections. Specific topics will include library-specific workflows, including global update and MarcEdit, challenges and possible solutions for working with batch files of e-book records, and Provider-Neutral E-Monograph Record guidelines, as well as future directions such as ONIX publisher metadata.

Source: e-LIS

"New Models for Bibliographic Record Supply"

From the ALA TechSource :

"... Ex Libris CTO, Oren Beit-Arie and myself on the call we have two very relevant guests for this topic. Karen Coyle, who joined us last month to talk about the Semantic Web, also has close association with the Open Library so is ideally placed to talk about their influence. Leslie Straus, Sky River President, also joined us providing an overview of the services they are offering and the drivers behind them.

Another fascinating discussion that concluded that we are probably on the cusp of significant change in the way libraries obtain, manage and then expose bibliographic data. There was also recognition that the natural risk aversion from libraries has the effect of holding back the speed of change in such areas, which may mean that drivers from non-library bibliographic sources could gain influence.

..."

OCLC Report on MARC Tags

From the OCLC Metalogue blog :

"Implications of MARC Tag Usage on Library Metadata Practices,"

"Of specific interest is the point made in the Executive Summary that, differently from other analyses of catalog and record use, this group  focused on the use of MARC by machine applications. While the focus on "machine applications" may sound limiting, it is crucial in understanding how MARC is indexed and processed. This understanding can then lead to a more informed analysis of how to get more out of our search, discovery, and delivery systems.

..."

recordings available : ALA session on economics of bibliographic records

From the OCLC Metalogue blog :

"... we have made available recordings of the ALA session on the sustainability and economics of the collaborative national bibliographic framework. The recordings are linked from this page:http://www.oclc.org/us/en/multimedia/2010/alamw_techservices.htm."

Semantic Web and Linked Data (podcast)

From the ALA TechSource :

Our guest on the Gang this month, Karen Coyle, has recently published a Library Technology Report - Understanding the Semantic Web: Bibliographic Data and Metadata. She was therefore in an great position to provide an introductory overview of the Semantic Web and how it could apply to the data rich world of libraries. Describing herself as a semantic web opportunists, not a semantic web purist, she was ideally placed to get this month’s conversation going. Gang members Carl Grant and Marshall Breeding soon joined in the conversation, making it clear we were talking about the practical implementation of semantic web technologies, not the big ‘vision’.

Webinar: Directions in Metadata with Karen Coyle (1 April)

From the ALA TechSource :

Karen Coyle, digital library consultant and bibliographic data expert, will discuss the future of Metadata and its role in bibliographic data and the semantic web. With major transformations in the use and structure of data already occurring, Karen will discuss what these changes mean for libraries, and what librarians can do to prepare, adapt, and take advantage of new possibilities that emerge.

Topics will include:

• Defining metadata
• Bibliographic data and the semantic web
• Future directions of library data

Attendees will be given the opportunity to participate through Q and A and discussion.

Please join us on Thursday, April 1st at 3pm Central (4pm Eastern, 1pm Pacific) for this exciting event!

2 from Canada : newspapers & union catalogue metadata

Thanks to the ResourceShelf :

+ Rethinking the Stewardship of Newspapers in a Digital Age

+ Exposing Union Catalogue Metadata Via Third Parties

Progress rpt on Danish & French library records in WorldCat

From : Metalogue.

This fall, OCLC has been involved in loading records from major European collections from Denmark and France.
...
OCLC has many other current agreements with national libraries and other organizations. Notable among them are:

• the Slovenian COBISS.SI catalog of over 3 million records,  representing the collections of over 380 libraries. Completed in October, the load of 3,129,554 records resulted in 3,063,840 records (and  4,309,068 holdings) being added - an extraordinary ratio.
• five consortia of the Swiss Informationsverbund Deutschschweiz (IDS), loading 10 million bibliographic and 16 million holdings records from Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg library systems. This project is underway.
• the Israel consortium MALMAD, representing 30 academic institutions. This is also underway.

NYT's subject headings

From the ResourceShelf :

The New York Times and Its 30,000 Tags (You Can Call Them Subject Headings)

A few weeks ago we posted about a new prototype from the New York Times named “Custom Feeds.” It allows users, for free, to create “custom built” RSS feeds of NY Times content that make use of the actual tags (aka descriptors, subject headings) that humans use when meta-tagging (aka indexing). At the end of the post we even made special note that The Times took the time to point out they still uses human “meta-taggers.”

Today, the wonderful Tara Calashain has an excellent post about how The NY Times making all of the their controlled vocabulary (subject headings) available to the public. Eventually 30,000 of them will be available. As of today, approximately 5,000 personal name headings (aka tags) are online. Tara also points out that each of the 5,000 names have direct links to RDF and XML data at DBPedia* and Freebase. She also explains that you can download the complete file of names (something a developer is likely to do) or browse and view each recrord one at a time.

Given that we’re not developers we’re going to browse them (in HTML format) online. You can view the 5000 names here. Just like the LC Authorities file has reference value by sometimes providing birthdates, when a name was first used, or a snippet about a heading the NY Times files do much the same thing.
...

'Cataloguing Services Landscape'

From the Library 2.0 Gang | ALA TechSource :

...

About a year ago dust started to stir on the surface of this stable landscape, when OCLC caused a curfuffle with their move to redefine their record reuse policy. Then in January, open source library system vendor announced ‡Biblios.net, a free cataloguing service in which you can share with other libraries. In the last few weeks we have had SkyRiver arrive on the scene. Not much visible on their site yet, but according to press releases they hope to deliver quality at a lower costs - so things are a changing.

Unfortunately nobody was available from OCLC, ‡Biblios, or SkyRiver, to help talk through what these moves might mean. Nevertheless Gang members Marshall Breeding and Frances Haugen were on hand to explore the ramifications of these moves and what a more competitive landscape might mean for the players in this market.

"Mining Social Tagging Data..."

From the Journal of Academic Librarianship

Mining Social Tagging Data for Enhanced Subject Access for Readers and Researchers.

Karen G. Lawson

Abstract

Social tagging enables librarians to partner with users to provide enhanced subject access. This paper quantifies and compares LC subject headings from each of 31 different subject divisions with user tags from Amazon.com and LibraryThing assigned to the same titles. The intersection and integration of these schemas is described and evaluated.

results of Webinar on Catalog Use and Usability Studies (OCLC)

From Metalogue:

..."Online Catalogs: Designing with Users in Mind", recorded Aug. 13, 2009, was designed to elicit more engagement with attendees (there were 228 of them representing a wide range of types of libraries and librarians/staff). Our purpose was to create a two-way learning environment. We tried out the polling and chat features, opened the chat and full screen views to all attendees, paused at several points for Q&A, and solicited direct feedback at the end of the session. The technology cooperated, shall we say, some of the time...

For your reference, you can link to the recording of the event, in which Christie and I report on their online catalog research findings, discuss user and usability studies, and describe resulting changes made to WorldCat, WorldCat.org and WorldCat Local. We've also made the chat dialog available for reading (the chat also contains our answers to questions, added after the event), as well as the polling results.
...

WorldCat Local usability results & FRBR

Lorcan Dempsey points to the WorldCat Local usability results, and points out briefly their relation to FRBR. Given our discussions of FRBR in conjunction with Aquabrowser, I thought they were germane, if not revelatory:

We found that in general work-level granularity for search results based on FRBR rather than edition-level granularity fit the expectations of both academic and public library test participants.

Undergraduate test participants, primarily in the humanities and social sciences, reported that they seldom (seven participants of ten participants) or never (three participants) looked for a specific edition of a book.

We repeatedly heard editions sometimes matter to scholars--the last, the first, the last during the author's lifetime. Historians expressed a preference for the first edition of primary sources and the most recent edition of secondary sources.

"Creating catalogues: bibliographic records in a networked world"

Lorcan Dempsey points to this new report:

The Research Information Network in the UK has released a timely report: Creating catalogues: bibliographic records in a networked world [Splash page; pdf]. It is concise and has a useful Summary and Key Findings section.

... Critically, it discusses systemwide reconfiguration of library services, a far-reaching and critical issue for libraries in a network environment.

There are two overarching issues. One is that library processes are inefficient because resources are consumed in redundant activity that do not create distinctive local value. The second is that a fragmented presence on the web reduces impact and visibility. Of course each of these is related to the institutional-scale nature of much current work, which is poorly aligned with emerging network organization, where we have become accustomed to institutions externalizing activities. The network allows routine work to be consolidated (think payroll) and it favors concentrated user hubs (think Amazon and Google).

...