Dublin Core and RDF

The DCRDFTaskforce has posted the Report from public comment period on Dublin Core RDF expression

The following is a report of the feedback received during the public comment period on the new Working Draft "Expressing Dublin Core using the Resource Description Framework". A summary of the discussions and proposals for moving forward are presented in the sections below.

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The draft did not meet with substantial opposition. There are a few minor issues within the draft that we should address, and then a few larger issues that have to do with the interaction between DC-RDF, the DCAM and the definitions of the DCMI terms.

DC
RDF

Second OCLC Research Software Contest

Win some cash and a trip to Dublin Ohio.

OCLC Research is once again celebrating libraries and their heritage of technological innovation by sponsoring a software contest to encourage innovation in the use of web-based services for libraries.

Prizes

• $2,500
• Visit OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc., in Dublin, Ohio

The challenge

The contest challenge is to use an OCLC resource to create a Web service that does something interesting, innovative, and useful to libraries.

Some potential resources are listed below. At a minimum, contest entries must make use of one of the OCLC resources. After that, all others are optional.

Part of your job is to convince us why your service is interesting and why it will help libraries and/or library users; other than that, you're free to implement whatever strikes your fancy.

You must bring up a working prototype.

OCLC

Archie Visits the Library

Reserve your copy of this Archie Comic now. They are sure to be hard to find.

This October, Archie Comics is pleased to present a very special story in the pages of Archie #570. In the past, the cause of public libraries has been championed in several stories, particularly those that spotlighted the Los Angeles Library's special "Teen 'Scape" section. Archie and his friends have also spent plenty of time in real life comic shops and real comic conventions in various special issues.

Now, those two special worlds come together as Archie and his friends travel to Salt Lake City, Utah and visit the famous "City Library." Within the library's walls is Night Flight Comics, the only comic shop actually housed within a U.S. public library!

Comics

Cora for President

Cora Bigwood, my spouse, has just announced her candidacy for the position of president-elect of the Texas Music Educators' Association (TMEA)


TMEA

The Fred Boer Library Systems

The Fred Boer Library Systems is a non-MARC system that might be useful to some. It has a catalog, patron file, and circulation module.

If you need a small library management system, you might be interested in one that I have created using Microsoft Access. It includes library management and circulation functions as well as an online public catalogue. Best of all, it is free!

To use this application you will need Microsoft Access 2000 (or higher).

ILS

iPod

I sent this idea off to the Next Generation Catalog list but decided to post it here are well. Why not take a look at MP3 players for ideas on access to content? I've got about 3000 songs and podcasts on my player. I can get to the specific item by various methods, title, artist, genre, recently added, etc. There are only browse lists, no search functions. What they are called, how they work is very well known by the MP3 player users, a large group. Can we leverage their knowledge using this tool to improve their access to items in our catalogs?

iPod
OPAC

RDA: Resource Description and Access

RDA: Resource Description and Access is a new cataloguing code for the digital world. Built on the foundation established by AACR2, RDA will provide a comprehensive set of guidelines and instructions on resource description and access covering all types of content and media. RDA’s first release is anticipated in mid-2008 in an online format.

While the Joint Steering Committee for AACR and the RDA Editor have been concentrating on the content of RDA, the Co-Publishers (the American Library Association, the Canadian Library Association, and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) have been developing the online product. To that end, they have created a prototype for RDA Online.

The Co-Publishers have made this prototype available for you to view.

This is the same prototype that has been demonstrated to several focus groups and individual during the last two American Library Association conferences.

Some suggestions for viewing the prototype:

First, the prototype is available for viewing in four versions depending on resolution with sound and without sound (eye-readable text). Depending on your internet connection, the audio version in particular might take a few minutes to load, so please be patient.

Second, the prototype is a snapshot, created for you to view and assess the functionality of the software and not the content of the RDA rules. When viewing the prototype, please focus on it as an online tool rather than critiquing the rules that have been included as examples.

Finally, a short questionnaire has been attached to the prototype. We are very eager to receive your impressions of the prototype, to know if we’re on the right track in its development. Please take the opportunity to fill out the questionnaire. Let us hear from you while we’re in this early stage of development.

RDA