What's the Meta?

I'm a little late coming to this, but I wanted to point out some new functionality that the Ann Arbor District Library has put into their catalog. The "card catalog" function generates an image that resembles an old, dog-eared card for a selected book. Users can leave comments on cards, which are designed to mimick handwritten notes. users can also save cards to a personal collection.

An example record is here, click on the "card catalog image" link to see what I am talking about; a post explaining the genesis and use levels is here.

Your thoughts? I can think of a few enhancements and critiques, but is this an approach that deserves more exploration? Is it more or less suitable for a public library, vs. other types of libraries?

Posted by chapman at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The term 'Web 2.0" is already on a backlash to the backlash to the backlash to its ubiquity and misuse, so what better time to jump on the "Library 2.0" meme?

This term is generally designed to describe a new wave of library services that focus on creating community, incorporating user input and customizing views and perspectives. Some of these ideas and approaches are not that new, but the momentum of the discussion is growing rapidly.

Michael Stephens, who has recently been hired as a professor for the MLIS program at Dominican University, has published a bibliography on the topic, which can be found at http://www.tametheweb.com/presentations/CIL2006Bibliography.pdf. I recommend it for anyone who wants to explore this area, which is important not only to those involved in designing user services, but also to those selecting and describing materials.

Posted by chapman at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eric Lease Morgan at The University of Notre Dame has been doing some really interesting things with library services online. In a nutshell, much of it revolves around the idea of harvesting metadata from the home institution's various digital library applications into a central store that can then be indexed and searched more efficiently.

Eric and cohorts at UND and elsewhere have collaborated on a manual to describe the effort. I'm excited to dig into it and would love to hear your comments. It can be found at:
http://dewey.library.nd.edu/mylibrary/manual/

Plenty more info and applications at http://dewey.library.nd.edu/mylibrary/

Posted by chapman at 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)