OCLC Internet Cataloging Project Colloquium
Field Report
Background
The Library joined the Intercat Project in mid-April, 1995, just a week before the Oregon Library Association’s annual conference. The juxtaposition of events was fortuitous in this instance as both the Head, Catalog Department--the person appointed as the Local Coordinator for the Project--and the Head, Collection Development attended a pre-conference entitled,
Developing the Electronic Library: Issues and Decisions.
The seminar, led by Peggy Johnson, University of Minnesota Libraries, provided an excellent springboard for reflection and discussion. Of direct relevance to the Intercat Project, participants were asked to consider the following questions:
Additionally, those in attendance were provided with a Decision-Making Matrix-- a useful tool for evaluating information resources according to different characteristics across physical formats.
Providing motivation and vision, the preconference set the stage for a local dialogue about the Intercat Project. Shortly thereafter, the Head, Collection Development, and the Local Coordinator began making preparations to present Intercat Project goals at the Collection Development Conference--a regular meeting of all the Library’s subject specialists. For discussion at the meeting, the Head, Collection Development, prepared a draft of the now approved Collection Development Policy for Internet Resources. The Local Coordinator wrote a memo that included the significant URLs associated with the Project and provided copies of bibliographic records for two World Wide Web sites.
Both of these documents were discussed by subject specialists at a meeting held in August, 1995. At a subsequent meeting in September, the Policy was revisited, along with a document that provided several different options for the assignment and display of locations and call numbers within the online catalog. The procedures and workflow for communicating selection decisions to the Catalog Department were also presented.
At the conclusion of the meeting, subject specialists were given "the green light" to begin selecting Internet resources for inclusion in the Library’s collection. Since the meeting in September, 1995, eight titles have been selected, cataloged and added to Online Union Catalog as well as Janus, our local system.
Discussion
The collection development policy and cataloging procedures established the direction in which the Library wanted to move in adding Internet resources to its collection. But, to close the Field Report at this point would leave out several significant aspects of the Library’s experience to date.
First, the two Collection Development Conference discussions revealed that the policies and procedures are somewhat controversial in that a number of subject specialists had concerns about whether "adding" and "cataloging" these resources using traditional methods represents the best or proper approach. Some of the questions that were raised included the following:
The Purpose section of the Collection Development Policy aptly summarizes the responses offered to these questions during the discussions that took place. Despite these answers, however, some subject specialists remain unconvinced.
Secondly, the collection development policy and cataloging procedures do not as yet cover electronic serials, nor any materials for which the Library would expend funds. Naturally, this was a disappointment to some librarians who, although understanding the desire to "get something going" and tackle the issues related to electronic resources in manageable portions, are eager to make progress in this area.
Finally, as stated at the outset, the collection development policy and cataloging procedures have not unleashed much enthusiasm, nor support for bringing these materials under bibliographic control. In the four months that have passed since subject specialists were given permission to forward URLs to the Catalog Department only eight titles have been cataloged. Is the absence of a Web interface to the local online catalog responsible for stifling interest? Are the competing demands of creating subject oriented Web pages too strong? Do subject specialists have the time to cull the best from the Internet in their subject areas? In search of answers, the Local Coordinator contacted several colleagues in Public Services to ascertain the reasons why so few titles had been selected for bibliographic control. Here is a distillation of the responses received:
