Comments on: A “Next generation” library catalog – Implementation (Part #4 of 5) http://litablog.org/2006/07/a-next-generation-library-catalog-implementation-part-4-of-5/ Library and Information Technology Association Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:19:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jennifer Bowen http://litablog.org/2006/07/a-next-generation-library-catalog-implementation-part-4-of-5/comment-page-1/#comment-18019 Jennifer Bowen Mon, 24 Jul 2006 18:48:35 +0000 http://litablog.org/2006/07/07/a-next-generation-library-catalog-implementation-part-4-of-5/#comment-18019 Just a couple of thoughts on how to make this happen, based upon our experiences so far on the XC project. A step that I would add to your 7-step process is "Build Community", which may be intimately connected with "allocate resources". For a collaborative open-source system to be successful, it will likely require the support of the broader library community in order to secure ongoing funding. "Gauging library demand" and "securing partnerships" are two of the six threads of our initial XC grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. As I mentioned in a previous posting, I applaud your efforts to begin to focus public discussion in the library community on the needs for a next-generation catalog, as this is key to building community support. Under "Allocate Resources" you mention several skill sets that will be needed. We have a slightly different approach to this on the XC project. One of our three co-PIs is a metadata expert, as understanding the metadata needs of the system and the challenges that we're dealing with in bringing forward legacy library metadata are key to the success of the system. Another of the three co-PIs is an anthropologist, who will not only engage in focus groups and usability studies, but also study and synthesize the work in these areas that has been done elsewhere, and add to this what can be learned by engaging in work-practice studies of our target user groups. Finally, I can't speak to how we may be approaching the specifics of the design of XC since we are early on in the process, but it is very useful to us to hear discussions about what others would consider to be optimal. I do hope you'll receive other comments on this aspect of your post! Just a couple of thoughts on how to make this happen, based upon our experiences so far on the XC project.
A step that I would add to your 7-step process is “Build Community”, which may be intimately connected with “allocate resources”. For a collaborative open-source system to be successful, it will likely require the support of the broader library community in order to secure ongoing funding. “Gauging library demand” and “securing partnerships” are two of the six threads of our initial XC grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. As I mentioned in a previous posting, I applaud your efforts to begin to focus public discussion in the library community on the needs for a next-generation catalog, as this is key to building community support.

Under “Allocate Resources” you mention several skill sets that will be needed. We have a slightly different approach to this on the XC project. One of our three co-PIs is a metadata expert, as understanding the metadata needs of the system and the challenges that we’re dealing with in bringing forward legacy library metadata are key to the success of the system. Another of the three co-PIs is an anthropologist, who will not only engage in focus groups and usability studies, but also study and synthesize the work in these areas that has been done elsewhere, and add to this what can be learned by engaging in work-practice studies of our target user groups.

Finally, I can’t speak to how we may be approaching the specifics of the design of XC since we are early on in the process, but it is very useful to us to hear discussions about what others would consider to be optimal. I do hope you’ll receive other comments on this aspect of your post!

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