025.431: The Dewey blog

025.431: The Dewey blog is a weblog covering topics related to the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) and knowledge organization (KO). You' ll find news of, and views on, current issues; links to interesting, amusing, and/or unusual DDC/KO-related resources; and continuous opportunity to comment, give feedback, and take part in discussions that will help to shape the future of the DDC.

Who might be interested in 025.431: The Dewey blog?

• subject catalogers and classifiers responsible for assigning DDC numbers
  
• designers and analysts of library cataloging systems and metadata standards
• users of libraries and collections that are organized by DDC
• anyone interested in the development and usage of the world's most widely-used classification scheme

025.431: The Dewey blog is edited by Jonathan Furner, assistant editor of the DDC, with contributions from other members of the Dewey editorial team. The content of the blog is not vetted by the owners of the DDC (OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.) or by the Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee.

Dewey
Weblogs

CDWA Lite

Now available, the XML Schema Content for Contributing Records via the OAI Harvesting Protocol (Version 0.09)

CDWA Lite is an XML schema to describe core records for works of art and material culture based on the Categories for the Description of Works of Art (CDWA) and Cataloging Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images (CCO).

The purpose of this schema is to describe a format for core records for works of art and material culture, based on the data elements and guidelines contained in the CDWA and CCO. (CCO is based on a subset of the CDWA categories and VRA Core.) CDWA Lite records are intended for contribution to union catalogues and other repositories using the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) harvesting protocol. Elements 1 through 19 in this schema are for descriptive metadata, based on CDWA and CCO. Elements 20 through 22 deal with administrative metadata.

XML
CDWA
OAI
VRA

The Living Taxonomy Project (LTP)

An interesting project brought to my attention by Steven Cohen.

The Living Taxonomy Project is a collaborative effort aimed at creating a global set of open source, standards-based taxonomies for education. The purpose of these taxonomies will be to provide a free cataloging structure for the collection and sharing of education materials around the world. Currently, we have nine (9) taxonomies posted for review and editing. We will be appending new taxonomies on a regular basis and invite our users to add edit these taxonomies as well as suggest or create new ones. A list of upcoming taxonomy releases can be found on our What's Next page, and suggestions for new taxonomies can be made on our Suggestions page.

The LTP supports RSS feed for all of the Recent Changes.

Taxonomies

Source of Title Note

The Source of Title Note for Internet Resources has been revised by the CAPC Subcommittee.

Smoking the Podcasting Dope, a Little Bit

This week I got an FM transmitter for my car. Now I can listen to my MP3 player as I drive and have started listening to podcasts. Greg Schwartz of Open Stacks has been making my commute time less tedious. He has a good speaking voice and interesting and intelligent take on professional topics. After I finish his talks I plan to listen to the presentations from NEASIST. After that I'm open to suggestions.

I find the commute is the only time I can devote to podcasts. At work listening to someone talking would be too distracting. At home, I listen to music while doing chores, but that is a background process. I couldn't give a discussion the attention it requires. So, I'm limited to listening during my commute time, about 40-60 minutes a day.

It seems to me podcasting will be a nitch source of information. Not everybody has Greg's audio presence. There are many more variables in making a good audio presentation than a written one. Tone of voice, vocal dynamics, speed, and diction to name a few. The constraints on time are also much greater than reading. I can skim a paper, not so a podcast. So I'll be selective in my listening. I can skim 50 or so RSS feeds daily but I'll be much more selective in my audio choices.

Being a nitch isn't at all bad. I'm glad Greg is with me on my commute. And I hope other folks as talented and thoughtful as he give us their thoughts on news in the profession. There may be ways to use podcasts to connect to our users, as well as among ourselves. Could the visiting author be taped and made available as an MP3. Maybe a book discussion group would like their meeting made available to a wider audience. These ways of connecting with our users will never impact the majority of the population, however, it might be an important way to connect with certain groups and individuals.

The title is a reference to a very negative article on podcasting, Why I'm not Smoking the Podcasting Dope by Darren Barefoot. If you are looking to get started, the folks at Apple have some tips.

Podcasting

Metadata Object Description Schema

A draft schema version 3.1 of MODS is now available.

MODS

Medtadata Resource Web Page

Metadata and Cataloging Online Resources: Selected Reference Documents, Web Sites, and Articles as compiled by Steven J. Miller provides a useful gateway to the topic. He does say, right up-front, it is not a comprehensive bibliography. However, how could he miss Catalogablog?

Metadata

FRBR 24/7

A weblog dedicated to the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) has started.

FRBR
Weblogs

CiteULike

CiteULike now has the ability to manage references from the NASA Astrophysics Data System. Yea!

CiteULike
ADS

OCLC

The folks responsible for It's All Good are providing some very lively coverage of ALA. Wish I could be there. Looks like fun. However, I'm an SLA kind of guy, so I doubt I'll ever make it unless it is in Houston or perhaps San Antonio or Austin.

I've a suggestion for OCLC, if anyone happens to be reading. Make the authority files available as a separate subscription. Now with the Validator product gone and greater need for authority control, you have a resource that has market demand. Just get rid of the big bundle mentality.

OCLC

More on 741.5 Cartoons, caricatures, comics, graphic novels, fotonovelas

The Dewey folks are still considering classifications for comics. Still time to make your voice heard. Notice at the end of the announcement is that there will soon be a Dewey weblog.

Although we continue pondering what development would be best, the time has come to make a decision and adopt a new schedule. We plan to prepare a draft schedule for consideration by the Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (EPC) at its October 2005 meeting, to be mailed to EPC September 6, 2005.

The primary topic of this report is the responses to our most recent proposal, to divide cartoons, caricatures, comics, graphic novels, fotonovelas into two categories: (A) graphic works with narratives longer than jokes or anecdotes and (B) graphic works with no narrative or extremely short narratives. Of the 19 respondents who addressed this proposal, 7 favored it, 10 opposed it, and 2 gave mixed responses. Some respondents felt that dividing comic strips into two categories based on length of narrative would be too difficult for catalogers to do consistently. Some felt that it would not be difficult. Some felt that it would be difficult, but could be managed, and the results would benefit users. Some felt that dividing comic strips into two categories would be confusing to users and not benefit them at all. Some argued that it would be most beneficial for the user to arrange all comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels, regardless of length of narrative, by some combination of series, hero, or author. (That last suggestion could be implemented only by alphabetic arrangement. Alphabetic arrangement is always available as a local option: libraries may truncate Dewey numbers at an appropriate place and arrange alphabetically according to their needs.) We are giving a link to an extended selection of the responses (ResponsesCategories).

We are leaning against dividing 741.5 material into two categories, and leaning toward our original proposal, to treat everything from single-frame caricatures to three-frame newspaper comic strips to comic books to graphic novels all in the same way. We are still open, however, to comments and suggestions.

....

We invite you to read the sample responses and to send comments and suggestions by August 19, 2005. We recommend that you join in a discussion via the Dewey Blog, which will be launched July 1, 2005.

Comics
Classification