The FRBR Model As Applied to Continuing Resources
Ed Jones
The promulgation of the entity-analysis model set forth in Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) has led to its experimental application to a variety of collections of existing bibliographic records. Records for continuing resources (CR) have been deliberately excluded from these applications due to perceived difficulties in applying the model. These difficulties derive from a variety of sources: the imprecision of the more abstract FRBR Group 1 entities (work and expression), divergent definitions of two concepts central to bibliographic records—the work and authorship—when applied to continuing resources, and the relative merits of various mechanisms (e.g., main entries, MARC 21 linking entry fields) available for collocating records for CR. Additionally, because a particular library may own a single CR work as a sequence (overlapping or otherwise) of partially complete manifestations, the Group 1 hierarchy of the FRBR model tends to be inefficient for presenting these holdings to the user in a concise manner.
Scripts, Languages, and Authority Control
Joan M. Aliprand
Library vendors’ use of Unicode is leading to library systems with multiscript capability, which offers the prospect of multiscript authority records. Although librarians tend to focus on Unicode in relation to non-Roman scripts, language is a more important feature of authority records than script. The concept of a catalog “locale” (of which language is one aspect) is introduced. Restrictions on the structure and content of a MARC 21 authority record are outlined, and the alternative structures for authority records containing languages written in non-Roman scripts are described.
Supply and Demand for Catalogers: Present and Future
Joan M. Leysen and Jeanne M. K. Boydston
This paper presents results from a fall 2003 survey of heads of cataloging at Association of Research Libraries United States academic libraries. The survey focused on the current number of professional catalogers and their responsibilities as well as future projections for demand for catalogers and thoughts about their roles. The study found that the numbers of professional catalogers are remaining constant or decreasing, and approximately one-third are projected to retire in the next decade. In addition, the role of the professional cataloger is perceived as continuing to evolve toward more cataloging-related activities and management and less direct cataloging. Most respondents predicted the professional cataloger has a role in the future and felt prepared for that future. Some respondents suggested that metadata cataloging would be a growing role in that future. This paper concludes with additional questions about the future of professional catalogers and cataloging.
Beyond Subject Headings:
A Structured Information Retrieval Tool for Interdisciplinary Fields
Kayo Denda
Higher education at the start of the twenty-first century is characterized by an increasing number of interdisciplinary fields. Accordingly, the library world is grappling with several important information access issues, including the need to identify relationships within interdisciplinary topics where information is proliferating and locating appropriate resources is increasingly difficult. The relevance and usefulness of controlled vocabularies such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings in emerging interdisciplinary fields and the suitability of conventional library tools for organizing and accessing digital information are in question. This paper discusses the role an ontology representing a subject domain can play in addressing these issues and uses women’s studies as an example of an interdisciplinary field. This paper also proposes a methodology to identify ontology terms and their relationships in the field of women’s studies that has potential application to other interdisciplinary fields.
Online Book Selling at the Smathers Library Bookstore
Steven B. Carrico
In fall 2003, the Smathers Library Bookstore instituted a one-year pilot project selling surplus gift books online. This paper describes how the bookstore staff researched, prepared, and embarked on online book selling. It illustrates how the bookstore staff selected the online book selling agent, Alibris, as the Web site utilized for their online selling, and provides details in the methodology of listing books for sale in the used book market. The paper presents the responses to questions asked of staff at two other libraries selling books online, and concludes with a summary of the online sales project.