Microsoft Word - edlibwin067.doc _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Education Libraries Volume 29, No.2 Winter 2006 21 Resources on the Net: Organization of Information in Academic Libraries Compiled by Chris Bober, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec FRBR and Library Catalogs Bennett, R., Lavoie, B.F., O'Neill, E.T. (2003). The concept of a work in WorldCat: An application of FRBR. Retrieved January 23, 2007, from http://fjt.cnitn.cn:89/gate/gb/www.oclc.org/research/publications/archive/2003/lavoie_frbr.pdf The authors investigate the concept of a work in WorldCat, the OCLC Online Union Catalog, using the hierarchy of bibliographic entities defined in IFLA’s 1998 FRBR report. A methodology is described for constructing works by applying the FRBR model to a random sample of 1,000 bibliographic records. It was concluded that “the FRBR model, with its definition of concepts and relationships associated with bibliographic entities, promises to improve the functionality of search and retrieval tools for catalog users, as well as introduce greater efficiencies in cataloging practice.” Calhoun, K. (2006, March 17). The changing nature of the catalog and its integration with other discovery tools. Retrieved January 23, 2007, from http://www.loc.gov/catdir/calhoun-report-final.pdf Calhoun was commissioned by the Library of Congress to prepare a report on revitalizing the library catalog whose “market position has eroded to the point where there is real concern for its ability to weather the competition for information seekers' attention". Some of the more controversial suggestions in the report are to abandon the system of Library of Congress Subject Headings and to downgrade LC’s cataloging and classification operations. For example, resources could be diverted from cataloging books towards cataloging unique primary sources like archives, special collections, teaching objects, and research by-products. FRBR Review Group. IFLA. Division IV. Cataloguing Section. (2007). FRBR bibliography. Retrieved January 22, 2007, from http://infoserv.inist.fr/wwsympa.fcgi/d_read/frbr/FRBR_bibliography.rtf Constantly updated, version 10.11 of this comprehensive IFLA resource includes the following major sections: Impact on Current Standards; Application Studies; Implementation and Research Projects. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Education Libraries Volume 29, No.2 Winter 2006 22 IFLA Study Group on the Functional Requirements of Bibliographic Records. (1998). Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records: Final report. Retrieved January 22, 2007, from http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/frbr/frbr.pdf The Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) report recommends of the restructuring of library catalogs to reflect the conceptual structure of information resources. IFLA continues to monitor the application of FRBR and promotes its use. Mann, T. (2006). The changing nature of the catalog and its integration with other discovery tools. Final report. March 17, 2006. Prepared for the Library of Congress by Karen Calhoun. A critical review. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www.guild2910.org/AFSCMECalhounReviewREV.pdf This is a critical review of a draft of Calhoun’s final report that is featured above. It was written for AFSCME 2910, the Library of Congress Professional Guild. Mann criticized the premises behind Calhoun’s report, and warned that if certain of her proposals were implemented, there would be "serious negative consequences for the capacity of research libraries to promote scholarly research." Mimno, D., Crane, G., Jones, A. (2005, October). Hierarchical catalog records: Implementing a FRBR catalog. D-Lib Magazine. 11(10). Retrieved January 23, 2007, from http://www.dlib.org/dlib/october05/crane/10crane.html The authors used the Perseus Digital Library catalog to explore some of the implications of the FRBR hierarchy of works, expressions, manifestations, and items for searching and for browsing. Their research demonstrated that “small, theoretically well-founded changes in the structure of catalog records, combined with readily available database software can produce catalog interfaces that address previously identified problems with existing library catalogs.” OCLC. (2007). OCLC research activities and IFLA’s Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records. OCLC, Dublin, Ohio. Retrieved January 24, 2007, from http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/frbr/default.htm One of the researchers’ main goals is to examine the issues associated with the conversion of a set of bibliographic records to conform to FRBR requirements. Through a number of case studies, including one with ‘FictionFinder’, a prototype catalog, “researchers hope to better understand the relationship between the bibliographic records and the bibliographic objects they represent, and to determine if the information available in the bibliographic records is sufficient to reliably identify FRBR entities.” Working Group on Functional Requirements and Numbering of Authority Records. (2005, June 16). Functional requirements for authority records: A conceptual model. Retrieved January 23, 2007, from http://www.ifla.org/VII/d4/FRANAR-Conceptual-M-Draft-e.pdf The Working Group on Functional Requirements and Numbering of Authority Records (FRANAR) was established in 1999, a year after the publication of the FRBR final report. It arose mainly out of the need to define functional requirements of authority records. FRANAR continues to serve as the official IFLA liaison to other interested groups concerning authority records. Tillett, B. (2004). What is FRBR? A conceptual model for the bibliographic universe. Retrieved January 23, 2007, from http://www.loc.gov/cds/downloads/FRBR.PDF This brochure, published on behalf of LC’s Cataloging Distribution Service, provides an excellent brief introduction to FRBR. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Education Libraries Volume 29, No.2 Winter 2006 23 Cataloging Rules Coyle, K., & Hillmann, D. (2007, January/February). Resource description and access (RDA) cataloging rules for the 20th Century. D-Lib Magazine, 13 (1/2). Retrieved January 23, 2007, from http://www.dlib.org/dlib/january07/coyle/01coyle.html This is a critical examination of the proposed RDA standard currently under development by the Joint Steering Committee for Revision of AACR. The Committee’s mandate is too conservative and radical changes are necessary, for if “new cataloging rules are developed without the parallel development of new models for library catalogs, then it will be necessary for some in the library world to set off in their own direction, rejecting what they see as insufficient change with a large price tag for implementation.” Joint Steering Committee for Revision of Anglo American Cataloging Rules. (2007, January 29). RDA: Resource Description and Access. Retrieved January 31, 2007, from http://www.collectionscanada.ca/jsc/rda.html Resource Description and Access (RDA), scheduled for release in early 2009, is a new standard that will be the successor to AACR2. When implemented, RDA will “provide a comprehensive set of guidelines and instructions on resource description and access covering all types of content and media.” Library Catalogs and Portals Bates, M. J. (2003, June 1). Task force recommendation 2.3 research and design review: Improving user access to library catalog and portal information. Final report (version 3). Retrieved January 26, 2007, from the Library of Congress Bicentennial Conference on Bibliographical Control for the new Millennium Web site: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/bibcontrol/2.3BatesReport6-03.doc.pdf The Conference on Bibliographical Control for the new Millennium considered how bibliographic control can be improved in the context of the current wave of information technology capabilities. The purpose of this report was to “prepare a review of the literature on catalog users and use, and, taking into account the state of information system design, make recommendations on how the library and cataloging communities might respond.” Metadata Dublin Core Metadata Initiative. (2007, January 15). Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://dublincore.org/ The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) is “an organization dedicated to promoting the widespread adoption of interoperable metadata standards and developing specialized metadata vocabularies for describing resources that enable more intelligent information discovery systems.” This site includes links to a bibliography documenting the continuing evolution of DCMI and its endeavors. Moen, W. E., Miksa, S. D. (n.d.). MARC content designation utilization. Retrieved January 24, 2007, from University of North Texas, Texas Center for Digital Knowledge Web site:http://www.mcdu.unt.edu/?p=30 The official title of this research project is ‘Examining Present Practices to Inform Future Metadata Use: An Empirical Analysis of MARC Content Designation Utilization’. It is thought that an empirical investigation “regarding the utilization of MARC content designation in our current library information retrieval systems can contribute to discussions regarding the future of MARC and its place in the rapidly evolving networked information environment.” This site has links to presentations and published papers. Compilers’ note: Text that is enclosed within quotations marks has been taken directly from the source document. Chris Bober is the Education Librarian at Concordia University Libraries. Email: boberc@alcor.concordia.ca