Book People Archive

Re: on metadata

On Mon, 22 May 2006, Jesse Ephraim wrote:

>>> "certainly digital librarians know that MARC is overwrought and
>>> inappropriate for contemporary discovery tools...
>
>> Actually, one might be surprised at how many of the inquiries on this
>> subject mention Dublin Core MARC records for serious consideration.
>
> Just to be clear, I didn't write that original statement (or the one
> below it) - I quoted them from another post.

Just answering the question, not attacking the person who brought it up.


>> The librarians I speak to privately voice definite fears of eLibraries
>> as a form of competition, and most of them are unwilling to work eBook
>> collections into their own collections, even though that would mean it
>> might multiply their total holdings.
>
> Exactly.  Every so many years a wave of fear sweeps through the library
> world, generally along the lines of "<x> technology is going to make us
> obsolete!"  Google Scholar is the one that has them worked up right now,
> but there is an ongoing fear technology in general, including ebooks.
> My hope is that the younger ones coming into the profession will have
> different attitudes.

The difference is that the older librarians are generally trying to keep
eBooks out of their libraries, which is what WOULD "make us obsolete!"

If the libraries included eBooks, and why not, they included audio,
video, movies, music, etc., in a number of formats. . .then why are
eBooks the one thing they can't stand to have in their libraries.

Obviouly those other media didn't come with MARC records or the like,
so it is equally obvious that this is just an excuse, one that has gone
on for years and years now, without one single library we have created
MARC records for at their own request actually using them.

However, the younger librarians, who know they can read eBooks on their
iPods, cell phones, PDAs PPCs, laptops, notebooks, etc., will not have
the same point of view when the run the libraries.


>> On the other hand, I also have heard from multiple librarians that the
>> fear THEY have is not so much of competition, but of the loss of their
>> personal contact with their patrons.  Many librarians choose libraries
>> to work in because they enjoy sharing the happiness they give to their
>> patrons when they help them find what they are looking for.
>
> I certainly don't fear that, though I know that many do, as you
> mentioned.  As a Reference librarian, I don't get many traditional
> reference questions that lead to book sources.  I DO get a lot of
> technical questions, though, particularly when it comes to doing
> research in proprietary databases and such.  I also spend a lot of time
> teaching people how to load MP3 and WMA audiobooks on their MP3 players.
> I hear the same thing from many other reference librarians.  The job is
> changing, but that doesn't mean it is going away, or that people will
> stop coming to libraries and talking to the librarians.

My own local library is telling me this is actually happening already.

<<<
> There is no reason it should take any level of "technological sophistication 
> on the part of {} librarians and library directors.  By now the people in an 
> early wave of Apple and IBM PC's in grade schools in the 1980's have reached 
> the prime of their lives, those who were 9 in 1980 are turning 35 this year, 
> and the generation that followed picked up computers at younger ages.
<<<

> I think you would be amazed and appalled at the general lack of
> technical sophistication among many librarians, despite the fact that
> home computers have been around for a quarter of a century.
> Librarianship is often a second profession - when I was in library grad
> school, the vast majority of students were age 50+, and a very large
> number of them had very little experience with computers of any sort.

The U of Illinois has one of the top LIS grad schools, and I address them
from time to time, and haven't seen anyone who looked more than HALF of
the 50+ age you mentioned.  Perhaps they just skip my presentations.
However, when _I_ was taking LIS courses some 15 years ago, my lab
partner was the Asst. Dean. of the Library School, and was older.
<<<
>
> Given the "point and click" operation required to use nearly any Web site 
> there is no need whatsoever for "technological sophistication" unless you 
> require the "librarians and library directors" to actually write the Web 
> sites. ... No, the truth is that there are any number of Web page designers 
> out there a library director could hire, just as they hire cataloguers.
<<<


> When it comes to public libraries, most website development is done by 
> librarians, due to budgetary constraints.  Very few mid-sized to small 
> libraries can afford to hire a professional web designer.

It's hardly the cost of hiring a cataloguer, is it?

Or even of hiring a gopher, when it comes down to total cost per year,
so there's something else being considered there.

> "As for knowing how widesprad blogs are, anyone who recalls the death out 
> there in primetime of Dan Rather, knows how powerful blogs are."
>
> An awful lot of librarians and library directors know that blogs are
> popular, but fewer understand the power of them, particularly in the
> context of a library log.  It is an uphill battle for those of us who
> enjoy new technology to educate those who aren't, particularly since we
> often have to battle through their various fears first.

I think you have failed to "understand the power of them" [blogs],
even in the face of the demise of Dan Rather and the now "shredding"
of all emails, etc.


>> "Library automation companies" don't WANT to make their product too
>> easy to use, or else it's a one time sale, without those continuing
>> processes that allow you to keep siphoning off more money.
>
> Exactly.

So, let's continue to make eBooks that don't have ANY cost whatsoever.

Did you hear that last week 400G drives were going for $129?

That means that the next time around it will be 500G,
and then you can add a terabyte to any computer you buy
and only add 50% to the price of the computer.

_I_ am still surprised that not one single company has
chosen to advertizeff computers with a terabyte yet. . .
at the consumer level, of course.

But the truth is that you COULD sell such a computer @[redacted]
well under $1,000. . .!

Then you would never have to delete ANY eBooks!



Thanks!!!

Give the world eBooks in 2006!!!

Michael S. Hart
Founder
Project Gutenberg

Blog at http://hart.pglaf.org