Katie and Jillian’s Collection – Assignment 1

COLLECTION TITLE:    Treasured Dolls!

USER GROUPS:

1. Young Girls – This group is comprised of girls between six months and twelve years of age.  We feel this is the most common group that plays with dolls.   Girls may want to use this collection because they do not have access to these specific dolls at home.  They may want to play with the doll before deciding whether to purchase their own similar doll.  Or, they may want to see a representation of a character from a story that they may have read.   This is our primary user group whose needs we will prioritize.
2. Doll collectors – This group consist of any age person that enjoys doll collecting as a hobby.  A collector may want to see dolls that they do not have in their own collections and learn what other people collect, and the value of such dolls.  This group may also want to see these dolls because the dolls are inter-generational and may bring back childhood memories of playing with similar dolls.

CHIEF SOURCE OF INFORMATION:

We chose www.amazon.com as our chief source of information.  We found one specific resource, “DBT Track: The Ultimate Collector’s Software,” which is a database of thousands of dolls geared to collectors, but it is accessible only by paid subscription.  We could not find any other comprehensive source.   Specific information on each doll can be found using more specialized sources for different kinds of dolls, but Amazon’s website seems to be the best “one-stop” resource for our general needs.

ELEMENTS OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION:

1. Doll’s name
2. How the doll originated (ex.: storybook, movie, etc.)
3. Body material
4. Manufacturer/Date of Manufacture

INFORMATION TASKS

1. Young Girls: Find all dolls in the collection that originated from storybooks.
2. Doll Collector – Find all dolls manufactured prior to 1950.

CATALOG OR RETRIEVAL TOOL:  We would use a database to serve as a retrieval tool.

SOFTWARE:  We will use Pinterest, to focus on images.

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Christina Harlow’s Metadata Presentation

Here’s a link to Christina’s Prezi from last night: tinyurl.com/nlunlou

Also, here is a link to the event that she mentioned:

Doing It Your Way:  Approaches to Research Data Management for Libraries

• When:  April 28 – 29, 2014
• Where:  The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
• The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region (NN/LM MAR) is offering a 2-day symposium to help your library find its unique approach to research data management.  We have a great cast of speakers to talk about issues you may be facing in your library.
• Details / Registration:  http://guides.nnlm.gov/mar_data2014

Hailey & Amelia- Assignment 1

User Groups:

Kids/Students

Distinguishing characteristics of this user group are their relatively young age, their need for craft and creative supplies, and their need for a system that will help them study effectively. This group consists of kids and young adults who might study, work on posters, homework, art projects and general crafts. This group requires the office supplies to be  clearly and simply organized in order to work effectively. This is the primary user group.

Adults/Professionals

Distinguishing characteristics of this user group are the members are older and require professional supplies. This group might use office supplies to keep records, take notes and stay organized. This group requires more mature supplies and also that their supplies are separate from the primary user group.

 Collection Title:

            From Crayons to Calculators: Organization at Home

 

 Chief source of information:

            Our chief source of information is the staples website: www.staples.com.

 Elements of bibliographic description:

–Title

-Physical details

–  Dimensions

–  Terms of availability or price

Information Tasks:

 An information task for the primary user group, kids/students, is: group everything together that you could use to make a poster for class.

An information task for the secondary user group, adults/professionals, is: to file and organize your tax documents for the year.

Catalog or retrieval tool:

           Abstract, index, or database

Software:

          In order to cater to our primary user group we will use pinterest (https://www. pinterest.com/) as our software. Children will be able to navigate pinterest by looking at the brightly colored and attractive images. We will display them in collections on different pinterest boards.

 

COYLE ARTICLE

Coyle’s article, “Resource Description and Access (RDA) Cataloging for the 21st Century,” was in line with the thoughts I posted last week.  Coyle explained (in the best terms I’ve read so far) how changes in technology have affected cataloging, and why “out with the old” is needed more than just tinkering with what we have.  The way we search for information is different than how we searched for information when cataloging rules were created, based on that system.  It only makes sense to create new cataloging methods and rules based on the new ways users are interacting with information.  It seems to me that the old system isn’t necessarily broken, its becoming irrelevant, and I thought Coyle set this out clearly in her article.

Katie B.

Final Project Proposal

1. Name: Katie Bednark
2. Group members:  Katie Bednark and Jillian Lazaridis
3. My group has chosen this topic: Information Architecture
4. I am interested in this topic because: Outside of my own annoyance at websites that are not well organized and well designed, I haven’t approached this topic since my early undergraduate years.  I would like to learn more about good information organization structures.  All libraries should exemplify good information architecture on their websites (as the saying goes, “practice what you preach”).  A well-organized library website not only makes finding information easier for the user, but it also lends credibility to the library and librarian, which may increase the value placed on their services.  When I start working as a librarian in K-12 education, I would like to be able to speak intelligently and collaborate with the specialists who design the library’s website/online presence in a meaningful way, since I will be more knowledgeable about the library’s users. 
5. List at least three specific resources that you have found that may be useful to your essay research. (You may or may not use them in your final essay.) One of these sources may be a website. 

• Mvungi, S., de Jager, K., & Underwood, P. (2008). An evaluation of the information architecture of the UCT Library web site. South African Journal of Libraries & Information Science, 74(2), 171-182.
• Haller, Thom.  (2013).  Attending to performance. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 36 (3), 55-56.
• Information Architecture 101: Techniques and Best Practices.  http://sixrevisions.com/usabilityaccessibility/information-architecture-101-techniques-and-best-practices/

  Based on my preliminary research, I have chosen to focus my individual research essay on the following aspect of my topic (one-paragraph abstract):

While the group project will focus on basic Information Architecture principles, I would like to focus on school library websites in particular, and what kind of structures/information organization makes the most useful library websites. 

Cataloging Rules for the 20th Century

 “For the traditional cataloging community, full and detailed descriptive cataloging is still the gold standard. They believe fervently that this level of description is essential to the continuation of scholarship, and resist most challenges to this view of their role and mission, even as Google seduces their users… The notion that different communities of practice might welcome the ability to manipulate a catalog record display in ways not anticipated by rule makers, and that this capability should be considered essential as rules are formulated, is generally dismissed by this group as unworkable.”

I partially agree with or sympathize with the “gold standard” of fully descriptive cataloging practices. This high level of particularity and distinction has been the trademark of the library profession, and traditionally this task has been a major contribution, even if it is difficult for those outside of the field to understand. However, while there is something to be said about this level of detail or particularity, I also agree that the ability for the catalog information to be manipulated or put to use by those in other information professions is perhaps not fully understood by the cataloging “rule makers”. Coyle and Hillman’s article is significant because it recognizes that going ahead and rearranging the cataloging rules is not the first or most difficult part of the “paradigm shift” that would need to occur. All of the assumptions of the traditional method are spatially bound up from the assumption that what is held in the host library is emphasized in the relief of what this library does not have but could provide access to. Applying a systems analysis from outside of the library community, on how users can best be connected to information from everywhere, is the concluding point of this article and the key to understanding how to move forward.

Final Project Proposal

Diana Sapanaro

Group Members: Diana Sapanaro and Kate Chronister

My group has chosen the topic of Non-Western Cataloging Systems

I am interested in this topic because it is not directly covered in our course. It is logical that non-Western cataloging systems are not covered at Pratt since they are most likely not utilized in America. However, it is still interesting to learn about another country’s system of cataloging.

Resources:

Liu, M., Kwok, L., & Chan, K. (2012). Why Change to the Chinese Classification
Scheme? A Case Study in an Academic Library. Cataloging & Classification
Quarterly, 50(8), 852-868.

Zhang, W. (2003). Classification for Chinese Libraries (CCL): Histories,
Accomplishments, Problems and Its Comparisons. Journal Of Educational
Media & Library Sciences, 41(1), 1-22.

Hu, Y., & Chen, Y. (2007). Differences Between the DDC and the CLC in Classifying
Works of Literature. Illinois Libraries, 86(4), 5-10.

Jiang, S. (2007). Into the Source and History of Chinese Culture: Knowledge
Classification in Ancient China. Libraries & The Cultural Record, 42(1), 1-20.

http://www.ala.org/offices/oif/ifissues/censorshipinternet

http://www.infodocket.com/2013/08/30/access-to-information-an-inside-look-at-chinas-censorship-tools/

Based on my preliminary research, I have chosen to focus on The Chinese Library Classification also known as The Classification for Chinese Libraries and The New Classification Scheme for Chinese Libraries. In my paper, I would like to outline and explain the Chinese Library Classification System, briefly discuss its history, as well as compare it to Western Classification Systems, such as the Dewey Decimal System. Additionally, China has a long history of censorship. I would like to explore this impact upon libraries and their classification systems. Does China’s censorship manifest itself in the libraries’ catalog?

Final Project Proposal

1. Michael Dent

 2. Michael Dent and Jacky Connolly

 3. Image Indexing and Retrieval

 4. I am interested in this topic because I do not have experience in

indexing and retrieving images.  I am curious to learn how images are

organized, how they differ from other materials, and what standards are applied to them.

 

5. Jörgensen, C. (2003). Image retrieval: Theory and research. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press.

 Benois-Pineau, J., Precioso, F., & Cord, M. (2012). Visual indexing and retrieval. New York, NY: Springer.

 Vicario, E. (1998). Image description and retrieval. New York: Plenum Press.

 

6. Based on my preliminary research, I have chosen to focus on what

distinguishes the indexing and retrieving of images from other types of

library materials.  The project will explore what is unique about image

databases, indexing, retrieval methods and cataloging.  We will set out to answer the question: are there distinct cataloging standards, databases, and do different classification methods apply

Eden and Coyle

Eden’s article The New User Environment: the End of Technical Services? raises many important ideas.  I agree that library catalogs need to keep pace with the search engines of private companies like Google and Amazon to remain relevant.  But one idea that stood out to me was the “principle of least effort”, which suggests that people will use information of poor quality if it requires little effort to find rather than searching harder for high quality information.  It is important, then, for libraries not to diminish their quality of information as they adapt to meet the demands of users.  Adapting the R.D.A. standard, takes steps in the right direction by allowing relationships between records and a growing linked data environment, while maintaining high quality bibliographic information.  Coyle writes about the slow pace of its implementation and its antiquated format in the Resouce Desciption and Access article.  He arrives at abandoning R.D.A. in favor of finding consensus on a new model, basic principles, and general rules.  I’m not sure what the best solution is.  On the one hand R.D.A. creates a bridge from the MARC format to Bibframe, or whatever the new format will be.  On the other, it is slow to implement and transitional, at a time when library catalogs need to evolve to compete.  However the transition plays out, remaining a trusted source of high quality information may be libraries’ strength amongst the competition over time.

Chapter 3 – Cataloguing

This is arguably one of the most important chapters in our text.  In addition to explaining what a catalogue is (a detailed record of an item in a collection), the main objectives of a catalogue (let users know what is in a collection) and the key elements that must be included in a record as defined by the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2).   An observation from our last group discussion revealed that without cataloging, the library system might look like this:

This chapter also touches on a critical topic for many of us:  Cataloging of Internet Resources explaining why AACR2 and MARC 21 are not fully adequate for cataloging Internet resources.  This in turn leads us to Chapter 8 (Metadata) and Chapter 9 (Markup Languages).

Michele