One of the goals of the Library Technologies and Metadata department is to describe our work in more detail. This week, I'll look at technology in use with our conversion project, including perl scripting, APIs, and Microsoft's tools: Access and Excel. Taking a cue from our Metadata Librarian, Kim Sanderson's recent thought, "I’ll have to try that when I come across something particularly onerous…", one of the joys of working in library systems is automating parts of a project that are … [Read more...]
What’s in a name?
February 9, 2016 By
The Library's department Discovery Systems is changing names to Library Technologies and Metadata. It seems the idea of a library is well ingrained in our social fabric. With that as part of the name, people know we are talking about information, research, description, access, and sharing. Without library in our name, people wonder what Discovery and Systems might be about. Well, certainly discovery of desired information is one of the goals of the library’s services. So is discovery of the … [Read more...]
Browsing as Problem
September 23, 2015 By
I have long been fond of a 2010 article in American Libraries by Donald Barclay entitled “The Myth of Browsing.” Writing in reaction to faculty opposition to offsite storage of books and journals, Barclay pointed out that open stacks date back only to about 1940. He reminded readers that browsers are perusing whatever small segment of the information universe is owned by their library, that books can be shelved in only one place even if they cover many topics or perspectives, and that the most … [Read more...]
Status Report on Reclassification to LC
February 26, 2014 By
We got a request for a status report on the conversion of the library’s books to Library of Congress classification. Happy to oblige! It’s hard to believe we’re coming up on the fifth anniversary of the project. Since July 1, 2009, every new book the library has purchased has been classified in LC. In addition, we’ve had staff working on converting books we already owned. We have reclassified two discrete collections: the oversize/folio books, which continue to be shelved in their own … [Read more...]
