tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338174527262061848.post2397642246082425960..comments2023-09-29T08:51:56.163-07:00Comments on Coyle's InFormation: Libraries -- OpenKaren Coylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02519757456533839003noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338174527262061848.post-51211598938671065892008-03-06T12:31:00.000-08:002008-03-06T12:31:00.000-08:00I understand the discomfort of allowing "anyone" t...I understand the discomfort of allowing "anyone" to edit the bib data. However, this is a wiki environment, where all edits are given versions (meaning each version is saved, and you can choose to use a different version) and all edits are attributed (meaning you know who contributed them). In this sense, there is no one "record" but a number of versions. While this might seem like a vast confusion, in fact it's easily manipulated by programs. There's been some interesting speculation about treating catalog records as a social activity, where you can determine who your cataloging "friends" are and accept their records and edits, while ignoring others. I'll try to blog about this in the near future, but essentially there are applications and interfaces that make the "everyone can edit" much different to allowing users to edit the library's MARC record.Karen Coylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519757456533839003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338174527262061848.post-84680171749274122632008-03-06T11:48:00.000-08:002008-03-06T11:48:00.000-08:00This may sound a little old and stodgy, but what I...This may sound a little old and stodgy, but what I (as a cataloger) have issue with is the "allow anyone to edit the bibliographic data" part. Granted, I am not very familiar with wikis or Open Library, but the thought of random people changing the contents of a bibliographic record makes me pretty nervous. I agree that user comments, reviews, and subject headings would be fabulous, but would draw the line at letting the inexperienced user edit the record itself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338174527262061848.post-53158300144365858232008-02-22T13:32:00.000-08:002008-02-22T13:32:00.000-08:00Thanks, John, I'll pass that along to the OL folks...Thanks, John, I'll pass that along to the OL folks. Non-MARC is fine. And for anyone else looking at this, the last part of John's URL is "#data" - this template cuts things off (aaarrgh!)Karen Coylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02519757456533839003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338174527262061848.post-59335756506388387032008-02-22T13:05:00.000-08:002008-02-22T13:05:00.000-08:00I don't know if this is the sort of data you need ...I don't know if this is the sort of data you need (it's not MARC, but it does have LC subject headings, and many of its names are authority-controlled) but Dublin Core records of all 30,000+ listings of The Online Books Page are free for folks at the Open Library or elsewhere to harvest and reuse if you find them useful.<BR/><BR/>The records are exported via OAI-PMH and licensed via Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike.<BR/><BR/>While this is a much smaller catalog than that of the typical research library, it may be of particular interest because all the books listed can be read freely online.<BR/><BR/>For more details, see<BR/><BR/>http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/aboutolbp.html#dataJohn Mark Ockerbloomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00798089462412042209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338174527262061848.post-60152662150781271742008-02-20T11:16:00.000-08:002008-02-20T11:16:00.000-08:00We at the Montana State Library do want to be a pa...We at the Montana State Library do want to be a part of the Open Library and want to provide as many possible points of access to our unique collection of Montana State publications. <BR/><BR/>To this end I submitted nearly 12,000 bib records to Aaron Schwartz back in October but received no response. I'll try again. <BR/><BR/>Jennie Stapp<BR/>Montana State LibraryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338174527262061848.post-36161022167843207632008-02-20T05:49:00.000-08:002008-02-20T05:49:00.000-08:00I'm completely in agreement on open access to bibl...I'm completely in agreement on open access to bibliographic data. In my own library system (I work for a regional library system), the way our cataloging is paid for makes sharing with anyone outside our consortium difficult. For instance, we recently had a library look seriously into joining our consortium. This would have cost them a significant amount of money, as their membership fees go a long way towards paying a portion of the annual cost of our ILS plus system staff salaries, etc. When they decided to pull out and not join, they requested access to our bibliographic records. Because of the financial situation (they'd be getting the benefit of professional consortial cataloging without paying for it) we refused. <BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, I suspect that situations like this are not uncommon, and is one of the reasons current library models don't foster open sharing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338174527262061848.post-88247536574038066762008-02-19T15:31:00.000-08:002008-02-19T15:31:00.000-08:00A few times we have also been approached to share ...A few times we have also been approached to share our data, a request I passed on to our cataloging department. As we do a great deal of record customization, the cataloging department was primarily concerned about the quality of the records. They didn't want to put potentially non-perfect records 'out there.' (And yes our catalog is online). I believe it's the added exposure of errors that make them pull back rather than an unwillingness to share. <BR/><BR/>Solution? None so far here, but your post may be a start.Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17473737895136872966noreply@blogger.com