The first post seems to have come through a bit garbled. Perhaps this will be
better. If it comes throught the same way - I give up!
*--------
Thanks so much for all your very thoughtful responses! I agree - the problem I
described of not being able to locate information in our catalog about Albrecht
absolutely IS a cataloging problem. I have added access points as much as possible
to my catalog already. For instance, all the people in my collective biographies
have been added to the marc records. That didn’t help with Albrecht who only
appears in our art and history books. Lets face it - none of us has time to do
what REALLY needs to be done to make our catalogs as user-friendly as Google. Why
can't we get that info automatically with our MARC records? Surely the technology
is available.
Of course it is possible * and necessary * to teach students to look for more
general topics, and then use the indexes. As librarians, we do that all the time.
Still * I think it is time for us to provide our students with a better search
solution. Is there anyone out there doing that?
Who should I contact? I know nothing about it - who IS in charge of MARC records?
Is anyone at that level thinking along these lines? Is there some way I can get in
touch with them?
Here are my ideas:
1. If Marc records came with both the full table of contents and the full index -
it would be a giant step forward. We already can search the table of contents in
some materials - or enter it ourselves. But it is not enough. Who of us would have
time to enter the entire index of a multi volume reference set ourselves into the
MARC record? And why should we have to? Why - at the very least - can't that
come to us when we order MARC records for our books?
2. Why doesn’t the table of contents for our books pop up in a library catalog
search so our students can look at it - just like Google Books, Amazon et al?
3. And how about full-text search * why not? Google can do it * why can’t we?
Yes - Google Book Search is a wonderful tool. Yes * it already points people in
the direction of area libraries that own the book. However, it is overwhelming.
Again - in an effort to bring us everything - it takes too much time to sift
through the dross to find the gold. Instead - why can’t we use this technology to
easily search a SINGLE collection - our own - which has been carefully selected to
serve our own unique clientele.
It just seems to me that in the age of Google - that library catalogs could be a
LOT more efficient! If libraries don't figure out a way to make this happen - then
it will be no wonder if folks prefer a google search!
Thanks again. And by the way - I know nothing about it - who IS in charge of MARC
records? Is anyone at that level thinking along these lines? Is there some way I
can get in touch with them?
Jacquie
"The Librarian, whose job is to heal ignorance, to keep life safe for poetry and to
put knowledge smack dab in the middle of the American way."
From The Philadelphia Inquirer, 9-20-03
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jacquie Henry, MLS
Ruben A. Cirillo High School (GHS)
Gananda Central School District
3195 Wiedrick Road
P.O. Box 609
Macedon, NY 14502
315-986-3521 x 3144
jhenry@gananda.org
Library Page: http://www.gananda.org/library/mshslibrary/indexgcl.htm
Blog: http://nlcommunities.com/communities/wanderings/default.aspx
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