Report for the Library of Congress: Preliminaries

Karen CalhounEndUser Meeting, Chicago

April 22, 2006

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The Catalog = The First Self-Service Information Tool

The Way We WorkedBooksJournalsNewspapersGov docsMapsScoresAVDissertations

Special collectionsManuscriptsPapersUniv records

Journal articlesConference proceedingsEtc.

Library catalogs

Archives

Abstracting &Indexing services

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From Dempsey, Lorcan et al. 2005. “Metadata switch.” In E-Scholarship: A LITA Guide (Chicago: LITA).

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LC Action Item 6.4: “Support research and development on the changing nature of the catalog to include consideration of a framework for its integration with other discovery tools.”

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Objectives

• Examine the issues broadly (in major research libraries)

• Describe current situation• Assess obstacles and feasibility• Create a vision and (actionable)

blueprint for change• Produce a report to elicit dialogue,

collaboration, and movement

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Methodology

• Interdisciplinary literature review

• Structured interviews– 23 noted library and information

science professionals

• A business perspective– Product life cycle– Competitive strategy

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The Decline of the Catalog

• Users bypassing the catalog– 89% of college students say they begin with

search engines vs 2% with library Web pages

• One piece of a fragmented library information landscape (and hard to use!)– Principle of Least Effort– Metasearch in trouble

• Cataloging practice does not scale– “Just how much do we need to continue to

spend on carefully constructed catalogs?”—Deanna Marcum, LC Associate Librarian

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The Continuing Importance of the Catalog

• Books and serials are not dead, and they are not yet digital

• ARL libraries spent the lion’s share of $665 million on books and serials in 2004

The legacy of the world’s library collections is tied to the future of catalogs

Existing New

New

USERS

USES

Existing users,Existing uses

Existing users,New uses

New users,Existing uses

New users,New uses

Examples:-Programs for freshmen-“Push” to courseWeb pages

Examples:-Mass digitization-Large scale integration withother systems-Universal access

Examples:-Minor enhancement toexisting catalogs

Examples:-E-journal discovery-Subject pathfinders-Export to bibliographicmanagement software

EXTEND

EXPAND

LEAD

Improve the user’s experienceGreatly enhance delivery (fast!)

Standards development/complianceRecycle and reuse catalog data

Innovate and reduce costs

Invest in shared catalogsLink pools of scholarly data

Seek partners

Masscollections& catalogs

DigitizeOpen access

Participate in the substitute industry

“Thirty-two Options &Three Strategies”—A Radical Abridgement

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NC State University’s Endeca-Powered Catalog

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CalCat

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To Learn More…

• “The Changing Nature of the Catalog and Its Integration with Other Discovery Systems”– http://www.loc.gov/catdir/calhoun-report-final.pdf

• “Rethinking How We Provide Bibliographic Services for the University of California”– http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/sopag/BSTF/

Final.pdf

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Implications for the ILS?

• Extend strategy– “Discovery” layer with ILS back end?

• Expand strategy (shared catalogs)– Modularity: “Think in terms of linking rather than

building”– Web services (importance of standards)

• Leadership strategy– “Outward integration”-Library collections and

other scholarly information objects more visible in the user’s environment

– ILS = a service layer for supporting rights management, linking, inventory control, delivery