Sunday, 20th June 2010

Library Catalogues: From Dominance to Decline? The Future of Bibliographic Discovery, Access and Delivery

This paper will be delivered at the IFLA General Conference and Assembly on August 11, 2010.

by Martin Flynn
Head of Information Services
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom

Access the Full Text Paper (8 pages; PDF)

From the Executive Summary:

Library catalogues have been moving from a position of dominance to one of decline in bibliographic discovery, access and delivery in recent years. Their contents are largely invisible to search engines. The process of cataloguing is complex and difficult to master and users struggle to understand catalogues and therefore take full advantage of their added value elements. There is an extraordinary amount of duplication of effort in catalogue creation across the sector and considerable doubt about whether the current model of localised catalogues is sustainable.

In general catalogues tend to be automated versions of their printed card predecessors so have not incorporated the enhanced features users have come to expect in a digital environment. They also tend to concentrate mainly on printed materials to the exclusion of digital formats. Endemic problems of catalogue, such as confusing search methods, poorly organised results and search dead-ends, have still not been addressed on any perceptible scale yet these failings have been tackled by search engines. Delivery of the content of search results either through inter-lending of actual books or the provision of digital facsimiles continues to be a vastly under-exploited service. The proprietary library management system sector is a relatively insignificant player in the global IT market and therefore has very limited investment capital. However, much of this capital is squandered on customising their products for the benefit of librarians rather than their users.

Access the Full Text Paper (8 pages; PDF)

Source: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)

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