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1 – 10 of over 13000As the demand for new services strains library resources, directors of research libraries must practice efficient cost management and demonstrate alignment with institutional…
Abstract
As the demand for new services strains library resources, directors of research libraries must practice efficient cost management and demonstrate alignment with institutional objectives. For technical services, this requires managing the effective cost of metadata services, assessing core functions, and evaluating operational performance. This paper uses Complex Adaptive Systems (CASs) as a framework to expose the network of local and global dependencies that currently define the field of operation for technical services. Comparative analyses using a CASs framework were conducted on reports by the Library of Congress, the Heads of Technical Services in Large Research Libraries Interest Group, and the British Library. Each report addresses financial pressures placed on bibliographic control services in response to the 2008 recession. Statements within the reports were assigned to one of three dominant systems: bibliographic control, institutional identification, and distributive networks. The statements were then mapped to the CASs characteristics to determine environmental pressures and areas of adaptation. The reports exposed long-standing dependencies that tie local bibliographic control to a complex network of external agencies. Institutional shifts toward user-centered services coupled with growing fiscal restraint has disrupted the stability of these networks. The analyses found that in all cases network instability led to localized institutional adaptation to existing economic pressures. The paper recommends applying a CASs model to assess the alignment of distributed metadata standards and systems development to local institutional objectives.
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Goran Sladić, Branko Milosavljević, Dušan Surla and Zora Konjović
The goal of this paper is to propose a data access control framework that is used for editing MARC‐based bibliographic databases. In cases where the bibliographic record editing…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this paper is to propose a data access control framework that is used for editing MARC‐based bibliographic databases. In cases where the bibliographic record editing activities carried out in libraries are complex and involve many people with different skills and expertise, a way of managing the workflow and data quality is needed. Enforcing access control can contribute to these goals.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed solution for data access control enforcement is based on the well‐studied standard role‐based access control (RBAC) model. The bibliographic data, for the purpose of this system, is represented using the XML language. The software architecture of the access control system is modelled using the Unified Modelling Language (UML).
Findings
The access control framework presented in this paper represents a successful application of concepts of role‐based access control to bibliographic databases. The use of XML language for bibliographic data representation provides the means to integrate this solution into many different library information systems, facilitates data exchange and simplifies the software implementation because of the abundance of available XML tools. The solution presented is not dependent on any particular XML schema for bibliographic records and may be used in different library environments. Its flexibility stems from the fact that access control rules can be defined at different levels of granularity and for different XML schemas.
Research limitations/implications
This access control framework is designed to handle XML documents. Library systems that utilise bibliographic databases in other formats not easily convertible to XML would hardly integrate the framework into their environment.
Practical implications
The use of an access control enforcement framework in a bibliographic database can significantly improve the quality of data in organisations where record editing is performed by a large number of people with different skills. The examples of access control enforcement presented in this paper are extracted from the actual workflow for editing bibliographic records in the Belgrade City Library, the largest public city library in Serbia. The software implementation of the proposed framework and its integration in the BISIS library information system prove the practical usability of the framework. BISIS is currently deployed in over 40 university, public, and specialized libraries in Serbia.
Originality/value
A proposal for enforcing access control in bibliographic databases is given, and a software implementation and its integration in a library information system are presented. The proposed framework can be used in library information systems that use MARC‐based cataloguing.
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With the development and growth of the Washington Library Network Computer System in recent years, it has emerged as an effective and efficient automated system to support…
Abstract
With the development and growth of the Washington Library Network Computer System in recent years, it has emerged as an effective and efficient automated system to support acquisitions, cataloging and other technical processing functions in libraries of all types and sizes. The online union catalog and COM catalog production has greatly expanded the effectiveness of reference and interlibrary loan services. This article covers all features of the computer system. It outlines system hardware, software, and the file structure as well as providing a description of the use of the system. Also discussed are system features such as authority and bibliographic quality control, precision database searching, and automated fund accounting for acquisitions and fiscal management. Other areas covered in this paper are: governance, administration, training, research and development, and types of users, both online and those which want to transfer software as in the recent successful installation of WLN software at the National Library of Australia.
Tanja Merčun, Maja Žumer and Trond Aalberg
Despite the importance of bibliographic information systems for discovering and exploring library resources, some of the core functionality that should be provided to support…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the importance of bibliographic information systems for discovering and exploring library resources, some of the core functionality that should be provided to support users in their information seeking process is still missing. Investigating these issues, the purpose of this paper is to design a solution that would fulfil the missing objectives.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on the concepts of a work family, functional requirements for bibliographic records (FRBR) and information visualization, the paper proposes a model and user interface design that could support a more efficient and user-friendly presentation and navigation in bibliographic information systems.
Findings
The proposed design brings together all versions of a work, related works, and other works by and about the author and shows how the model was implemented into a FrbrVis prototype system using hierarchical visualization layout.
Research limitations/implications
Although issues related to discovery and exploration apply to various material types, the research first focused on works of fiction and was also limited by the selected sample of records.
Practical implications
The model for presenting and interacting with FRBR-based data can serve as a good starting point for future developments and implementations.
Originality/value
With FRBR concepts being gradually integrated into cataloguing rules, formats, and various bibliographic services, one of the important questions that has not really been investigated and studied is how the new type of data would be presented to users in a way that would exploit the true potential of the changes.
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Downloading and uploading offer labour‐saving advantages and are now accepted as useful options in online searching. All aspects are here considered, from recent technical…
Abstract
Downloading and uploading offer labour‐saving advantages and are now accepted as useful options in online searching. All aspects are here considered, from recent technical advances, applications and legal attitudes. There is also a review of current software for downloading. Recent developments mean a trend to higher internal memory and storage capacity, and greater transmission speeds. Packages now offer access to more than one host, give maximum assistance to the user without being menu‐driven and incorporate the latest developments in artificial intelligence. Disadvantages are in the length of time involved in the process and the fact that the legal issue of copyright has not yet been finalised. Database producers have turned to licensing under contract law, but there is still need to rely on user ethics, and the need for a standard permissions form is highlighted.
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The purpose of this paper is to model and implement an extensible markup language (XML)‐based editor for library cataloguing. The editor model should support data input in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to model and implement an extensible markup language (XML)‐based editor for library cataloguing. The editor model should support data input in the form of free text with interactive control of structure and content validity of records specified in the UNIMARC and MARC 21 formats. The editor is implemented in the Java programming language in the form of a software package.
Design/methodology/approach
The unified modelling language (UML 2.0) is used for the specification of both the information requirements and the model architecture. The object oriented methodology is used for design and implementation of the software packages, as well as the corresponding CASE tools.
Findings
The result is an editor for UNIMARC and MARC 21 cataloguing. The editor is based on the XML technologies by which the two basic characteristics are achieved as follows: a possibility of integrating the editor into different library software systems and, moving to another format requires only the changes of the module for bibliographic record data control.
Research limitations/implications
A basic limitation of the system is related to the subsystem that controls validation of the bibliographic records and its expansion for work with other bibliographic formats. In the proposed solution, a part of the control of data input is included into the implementation itself and it is related to the UNIMARC format. That is, a part of data by which the control is done, such as repeatability of the record elements and the codebooks, is contained in the XML document of the format that is input information in the editor. However, the control that is related to validation of the format of content in record elements cannot be performed for any other format without modification in the implementation. Therefore, the research could be continued by considering the separation of data used for content control as input information for the application. In that way, this segment would also become implementation independent. One of the solutions should be extending the XML document of the format by this data. Some other solution should mean creating a totally separate system for the content validation. Moreover, the proposed editor supports processing of a bibliographic record only in the UNIMARC and MARC 21 formats. Processing of records in other formats requires considerable changes in the model.
Practical implications
The model of a new editor is developed on the basis of the experience and needs of electronic management in city and special libraries. Based on the given model a new editor is implemented and integrated into the BISIS software system used by the mentioned libraries. Testing and verification are performed on the bibliographic records of the public city libraries.
Originality/value
The contribution of this work is in the system architecture that is based on the XML documents and is independent of the bibliographic format. The XML document that contains data about the bibliographic format represents the editor input information. After a bibliographic record is created in this editor, the record is stored into an XML document that represents the editor output information. This XML document can be stored into various software systems for data storage and retrieval.
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The National Bibliographic Information Network (NBINet) in Taiwan is a bibliographic database established on 30 October 1991 and maintained by the National Central Library. In…
Abstract
The National Bibliographic Information Network (NBINet) in Taiwan is a bibliographic database established on 30 October 1991 and maintained by the National Central Library. In 1998 there were 26 member libraries and 70 non‐member libraries in NBINet, which is considered a comprehensive database for Chinese studies worldwide and contains more than 1.6 million bibliographic records. This paper discusses the problems encountered in the establishment of NBINet and the solutions related to computers and networks, NBINet’s utilization on the Internet, and user expectations of NBINet.
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