Michael Gorman

Metadata dreaming : The keynote speech at the canadian metadata forum, september 2005

ABSTRACT The author presents the state of metadata schemes today and discusses the idea of a “third way” between free-text searching and full cataloguing. He concludes that there is no such compromise and suggests that metadata schemes will have to incorporate controlled vocabularies and detailed designators if they are to progress, thus leading to a confluence that will be, in essence, a new form of traditional cataloguing.

Book Review: Towards a worldwide library: a ten-year forecast

material’ (Wa l f o rd, 1978). In a volume with over 8000 entries it is only too easy to find faults, so a reviewer needs to identify those that indicate general failings rather than individual idiosyncrasies. One problem is the updating of annuals and new editions; the editors claim a cut-off date for revision of 1996 and early 1997, but there are many books listed in out-of-date editions – W h i t a k e r’s Almanack i n 1993 and the Guide to the social services in 1988, yet both of these are published annually. Other entries need to be updated; there was a new edition in 1993 of the BSI G l o s s a r y of terms used in work study(BS 3138), but it is listed in its original 1979 version. It would also be desirable to make a point of noting the geographical coverage of re f e re n c e books; the Subject directory of special libraries, for instance, is limited to the USAand Canada, but the annotation does not tell us. One of John Wa l f o rd’s innovations was the inclusion of useful articles from periodicals such as those on sourc e s of business information in Scotland, Italy, Russia and A s i a , a review of archaeological maps in the Cartographical jour n a l, and several articles on genealogy in libraries; these are now rather dated, being mostly published in the 1980s. Another problem is caused by the subject scatter of Dewey and the division of Wa l f o rd into three volumes. Medals, for instance, are in volume three under fine arts, but a w a rds for gallantry are in volume two under armed forc e s , indexed as ‘decorations’ with no reference from medals or g a l l a n t r y. It must be admitted, though, that the indexing of this work is a large and difficult task, and on the whole it has been tackled efficiently (Hamilton, 1983). Some librarians, including a previous reviewer in this journal (Duckett, 1996), have queried whether we still need a work of this type, and asked who actually uses it. The I n t roduction to this volume lists the intended users (stock revisers, enquiry desk staff, librarianship students), but omits one category, those using large libraries (or being re f e r red to them from their local library) who need help in identifying what might be available (not always easy when c o n f ronted with a large catalogue, often in several sequences and diff e rent formats). The other day I needed to know if t h e re was an English-language encyclopaedia of Arabic lite r a t u re; the library I was using had its catalogue divided c h ronologically between cards, fiche and OPAC and, until I had established what had been published, I did not even know the date of publication. In these circumstances, Wa l f o rd is invaluable for identifying suitable sources. The lack of use identified by Duckett stems partly from lack of staff training, although it may also be symptomatic of the general decline in the purchase of bibliographies resulting from over re l i a n c e on electronic sources. Writing as an extensive user of libraries, I must say that I would find it difficult to do so without a set of the Wa l f o rd volumes to hand.

Technical Services, 1984-200 1 (and Before)

A statement is presented concerning the importance of libraries. The use of the computer in centralized cataloging and in access enhancement is discussed, and suggestions put forward concerning the need for an increase in quality and scope of interlibrary cooperation. Finally, ideas are formulated concerning library organization, library education, future forms of cataloging and publication, and the ultimate fate of technical services.