I recently discovered Chad Abel-Kops’ article “Just where’s the damn book?,” or Rediscovering the art of cataloging. It was only made available this month.
Abstract:
“Current discussions on the future of cataloging describe a “crisis” that has been going on longer than most realize. However, new challenges posed by the Internet have given increased attention to a more complete transformation of bibliographic control. Contributions by Calhoun and others have shown that much can be gleaned from research in fields beyond library and information science, namely in documenting how people actually react to information and the process they employ in its discovery. While many technical solutions have been offered in these discussions, the author considers the more elusive social and moral dimensions which help explain why what has been described as a “crisis” continues. “
I’m still considering and digesting what Mr. Abel-Kop has to say. I’ll be posting my thoughts shortly.
