More Comments on TLA

The drive from Houston to Dallas was beautiful. The blue bonnets had past, except for a few scattered patches. However, the brown eyed susans, winecups, indian paintbrushes, and a white flower (cow's parsley?) were spectacular.

At the RDA preconference I had the pleasure of heading Carol Seiler, from AMIGOS, speak. Great presentor.

Watch New Records Enter WorldCat

Watch new records enter WorldCat.

DCMI Abstract Model

At the RDA preconference I noticed that RDA seems to have been based, at least in part, on the DCMI Abstract Model. I knew RDA had some basis in FRBR, but this was something new to me. Getting to know the DCMI Abstract Model before RDA hits has been added to my to-do list.

This document specifies an abstract model for Dublin Core metadata. The primary purpose of this document is to specify the components and constructs used in Dublin Core metadata. It defines the nature of the components used and describes how those components are combined to create information structures. It provides an information model which is independent of any particular encoding syntax. Such an information model allows us to gain a better understanding of the kinds of descriptions that we are encoding and facilitates the development of better mappings and cross-syntax translations.

What is a Work?

Good news from Martha Yee.

...all of my "What is a Work?" articles published in Cataloging & Classification Quarterly in 1994-1995 are now available at the UC eScholarship repository, as follows:

"What is a Work? Part 1, The User and the Objects of the Catalog." Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 1994; 19:1:9-28.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/postprints/2709

"What is a Work? Part 2, The Anglo-American Cataloging Codes." Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 1994; 19:2:5-22.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/postprints/2710

"What is a Work? Part 3, The Anglo-American Cataloging Codes, Continued." Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 1995; 20:1:25-45.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/postprints/2755

"What is a Work? Part 4, Cataloging Theorists and a Definition." Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 1995; 20:2:3-23.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/postprints/2711

Another relevant article that I wrote about FRBR-izing OCLC is available as well:

"Musical Works on OCLC, or, What if OCLC Were Actually to Become a Catalog?" Music Reference Services Quarterly 2002: 8:1:1-26.

http://repositories.cdlib.org/postprints/2713

In addition, my recent article analyzing the differences among cataloging, metadata, descriptive bibliography, and abstracting and indexing services is now available:

"Cataloging Compared to Descriptive Bibliography, Abstracting and Indexing Services, and Metadata." Invited for Ruth Carter festschrift, Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 2007; 44:3/4:307-328.

http://repositories.cdlib.org/postprints/2721

LCSH Suggestion Blog-a-Thon

The Radical Reference folks are having a Library of Congress Subject Heading Suggestion Blog-a-Thon.

Do subject headings still matter? We say they do.

Does the Library of Congress always identify accessible and appropriately named headings and implement them in a timely manner? We say not always. All you have to do is spend one day behind a reference desk to see examples of biased, non-inclusive, and counterintuitive classifications that slow down, misdirect, or even obscure information from library users. As librarians and library workers, providing access to information is important-and classifying it in ways that are inclusive and intuitive strengthens our egalitarian mission.

Between now and Sunday, April 27, Radical Reference invites you to suggest subject headings and/or cross-references which will then be compiled and sent to the Library of Congress. You can either choose one previously suggested by Sandy Berman (pdf or spreadsheet) or propose your own.

This is a chance to positively impact the catalog of the de facto national library of the United States, which also impacts cataloging all over the world!

Recommender System for the DSpace

A Recommender System for the DSpace Open Repository Platform by Desmond Elliott, James Rutherford, and John Erickson. HPL-2008-21.

We present Quambo, a recommender system add-on for the DSpace open source repository platform. We explain how Quambo generates content recommendations based upon a user selected set of examples, our approach to presenting content recommendations to the user, and our experiences applying the system to a repository of technical reports. We consider how Quambo could be combined with the peer-federated DSpace add-on to extend the item-space from which recommendations can be generated; a larger item-space could improve the diversity of the set from which to make recommendations. We also consider how Quambo could be extended to add collaboration opportunities to DSpace. Publication Info: Submitted to Open Repositories 2008, Southampton, UK, April 1-4, 2008

TLA Recap

TLA is over for the year. Always an excellent conference. Here are a few observations. The RDA preconference had 135 registered. Some had to be turned away, the most the room would hold was 135. There is definitely an interest in this.

Walt Crawford shows that common sense is not so common but in the right forum always interesting.

No graphic novel/comic vendors. No Marvel, DC, Antarctic Press, Strangers in Paradise. Missed them. Rod Espinosa did a presentation and autograph session. And the author of American Born Chinese did a presentation. Have to check out his stuff, very well-spoken.

The keynote panel was fun. Roy Tennet was a very good moderator.

OPALS looks like an open-source ILS worth investigating.

Post any failures at the Library Success wiki. Examples of things that did not work and even better info on why are important and useful to others.

The KIC copier looks interesting. Too expensive for us right now, $20,000 or so. But a flat scanner that produces a PDF or TIFF and then can email or move the file to a thumb drive looks like the future.

The Nasher Sculpture Center is a beautiful setting. The Willows, Irises and water at the end of the row Oaks was stunning.

The District Caucuses were the same time as the alumni dinners. I went for the dinner. Nice view from the 69th floor.

TLA 2009

It looks like the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) Education Dept. will be having a preconference at TLA 2009. Explore! Fun with Science. Never too early to get this penciled in your daytimer.

RDF Tool

RDFify your data wtih Triplify.

Triplify provides a building block for the "semantification" of Web applications. Triplify is a small plugin for Web applications, which reveals the semantic structures encoded in relational databases by making database content available as RDF, JSON or Linked Data.

Triplify is very light weight: It consists just of few files with less than 500 lines of code. For a typical Web application a configuration for Triplify can be created in less than one hour and if this Web application is deployed multiple times (as most open-source Web applications are) the configuration can be reused without modifications.

Triplify makes Web applications easier mashable and lays the foundation for next generation, semantics based Web searches.

23 Things

23 Things is all the rage among the Library 2.0 folks. I had an idea, how about 23 Things for the Semantic Web? COinS, Microformats, RDF, Topic Maps, SKOS, etc. There would be plenty to investigate. Not sure the concept could be grasped quite as fast though.

VALE OLS Materials

Video streaming, audio podcasts and PowerPoint presentations from the VALE's Next Generation Academic Library System Symposium OLS (Open Library System) are now available on the VALE website.

Genre/Form Headings for Radio Programs

In August 2007, the Cataloging Policy and Support Office (CPSO) announced a project to begin issuing genre/form authority records (MARC 21 tag 155) for motion pictures, television programs, and videos. As the next step in the development of genre/form headings at the Library of Congress, CPSO has begun a project to create genre/form headings for radio programs. These headings are being created by catalogers in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS) Division and will join those already being established for moving images. They are based chiefly on the concepts represented in the Radio Form/Genre Terms Guide (RADFG). Existing LCSH headings in the area of radio programming (MARC 21 tag 150) will also be considered for inclusion.

To support the creation and application of these headings, CPSO and MBRS have drafted a Subject Cataloging Manual (SCM) instruction sheet, H 1969.5, which is available in PDF format on CPSO’s website. Interested parties are invited to send comments on this instruction sheet to Janis Young at jayo@loc.gov.

CPSO reminds SACO participants that change requests and proposals for genre/form headings are not being accepted at this time.

TLA Conference

Postings next week will be sporadic, at best, possibly non-existent. I'll be at TLA and though I will have the laptop I may not feel like posting at the end of long, very full days. I'll start the week off at the preconference on RDA. Last count I heard for that was 135 registered, blows my mind. Later on Tuesday I'll be at dinner with some catalogers, good folks all. Then if time permits catch the end of the welcome party. Looking forward to seeing some folks I've not seen in too long and meeting some new people.

TLA Conference News

Cali Lewis has been moved out of the NetFair location into a regular room. I think the time has stayed the same. Have to check when I get my conferernce schedule. I'm no longer the room host, but I plan on being there.

So far my conference Twitter experiment is a flop. I've got no one following, nor anyone to follow. I guess TLA is a bit different than CiL. I will keep it up for a bit just to make sure it is not the right tool at this time.

OPAC Enhancement

Here is an interesting enhancement to an OPAC, Answer Tips. The American University of Rome Library did this. Now double clicking on any unlinked word brings up a short pop-up explanation. Quick and easy to do. How much value does it add? Interesting.

TechNet 2008

Looks like fun. "TechNet 2008 is the first annual North Texas conference focusing on technology in libraries" June 12, 2008.

TX Library Association Annual Conference

I've started my Twitter for the Texas Library Assoc. Conference. If you'll be there and want to keep in touch.

New Version of Omeka

News from Omeka.

Omeka 0.9.1 is our first release since the initial public launch on February 20, 2008. It fixes 20+ bugs, and we highly recommend that all users upgrade their existing Omeka installations. The API hasn’t changed since the 0.9.0 release, so existing themes and plugins should continue to work after the upgrade.

BTW

Omeka is a web platform for publishing collections and exhibitions online. Designed for cultural institutions, enthusiasts, and educators, Omeka is easy to install and modify and facilitates community-building around collections and exhibits. Omeka is free and open source

PREMIS Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata

The PREMIS Editorial Committee is pleased to announce the release of the PREMIS Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata, version 2.0. This document is a revision of Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata: Final report of the PREMIS Working Group, issued in May 2005. The PREMIS Data Dictionary and its supporting documentation is a comprehensive, practical resource for implementing preservation metadata in digital archiving systems. Preservation metadata is defined as information that preservation repositories need to know to support digital materials over the long term.

This document is a specification that emphasizes metadata that may be implemented in a wide range of repositories, supported by guidelines for creation, management and use, and oriented toward automated workflows. It is technically neutral in that no assumptions are made about preservation technologies, strategies, syntaxes, or metadata storage and management. Members of the PREMIS Editorial Committee revised the original data dictionary based on comments and experience from implementers and potential implementers since its release. The Editorial Committee kept the preservation community informed about issues being discussed, solicited comments on proposed revisions, and consulted outside experts where appropriate.

The international Editorial Committee is a part of the PREMIS Maintenance Activity sponsored by the Library of Congress. The Maintenance Activity also includes PREMIS tutorials and promotional activities, and an active PREMIS Implementers Group.

Major changes in this revision include:

• Expanded rights metadata
• More extensive significant properties and preservation level information
• Mechanism for extensibility for a number of metadata units

The PREMIS Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata, version 2.0 is available. An XML schema to support implementation is currently in draft and is available. This is an extensive revision of the earlier PREMIS version 1.1 schemas.

After a one month review, the schema will be finalized. Please send comments about the XML schema by April 24 to Ray Denenberg, rden@loc.gov.

NISO Website

The NISO website has a new look.