JLIS.it (Italian Journal of Library, Archives, and Information Science / Rivista italiana di biblioteconomia, archivistica e scienza dell'informazione)
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Cui prodest libraries authority work?
Get PDFEleven years ago, in Florence, during an international conference on authority control, many experts reflected on this important aspect of cataloguing. This paper looks at the current state of authority work and try to conceive some cues to reshape authority control. Libraries can afford this costly process only in cooperation with other partners, especially cultural and research institutions but also publishers, local governments and other interested subjects. Two examples of successful partnership are the Social Networks and Archival Context Project and the well-known Virtual International Authority File. An opportunity for libraries could be also to extend authority control to wide bibliographic databases that abound with homonymie
Business models for selection and acquisition of ebooks for Italian academic libraries. A comparison of three platforms (EBL, ebrary, EBSCO)
Get PDFIn recent years, the spread of ebooks has grown exponentially. 24/7 availability, portability, the advanced tools offered by platforms make this product particularly interesting for academic libraries, which are in an experimental phase with regard to the selection and acquisition of ebooks. The article analyzes three platforms (EBL, Ebrary, EBSCO), to find out whether an Italian medium-sized university library can buy foreign titles in electronic rather than paper, and under what conditions. It provides information about titles catalog, business models, features available. The cut is practical/experimental, since the comparison among the platforms is based on a set, used as a representative sample, of 150 monographs, published in the last 5 years by different publishers and purchased on paper.Negli ultimi anni la diffusione degli e-book ha avuto una crescita esponenziale. L'accesso 24 ore su 24, la portabilità, gli strumenti avanzati offerti dalle piattaforme rendono questo prodotto particolarmente interessante in ambito accademico. Le biblioteche si trovano ad attraversare una fase di sperimentazione per quanto concerne la selezione e l'acquisizione degli e-book. L'articolo analizza tre piattaforme (EBL, Ebrary, EBSCO) in particolare con l'ottica di stabilire se un'università italiana di medie dimensioni possa acquistare titoli stranieri in versione elettronica anziché cartacea, e a che condizioni. Vengono presentate informazioni sul catalogo offerto, i business model, le funzionalità disponibili. Il taglio è pratico/sperimentale, in quanto i paragoni tra le piattaforme si basano su un set di 150 monografie, pubblicate negli ultimi 5 anni da editori diversi e acquistate in cartaceo, utilizzato come campione rappresentativo
Enlightening music: the catalogue and digitisation project of Verdi's archive at the “Archivio Storico Ricordi” in Milan
Get PDFOur contribution concentrates on the processes of cataloguing and digitising of hand–written letters and business documents belonging to the ''Ricordi Historical Archive'' in Milan, which is at present housed in the Braidense National Library; the archive possesses documents referring to the history of the publishing company covering the two centuries of its activities.Starting from the ledgers compiled by Giovanni Ricordi, which cover a period from 1814 up to the middle of the 19th century to the documents relative to the school of engraving, the archive also houses a large number of editorial catalogues, published by Ricordi and by other publishing houses which it took over, as well as the original contracts stipulated with composers and librettists from Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini to Arrigo Boito. The collection of about 15,000 hand–written letters covers the period from the beginning of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century and includes documents sent to Ricordi from writers, singers authors, and composers such as Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Ottorino Respighi and librettists Luigi Illica, Giuseppe Giacosa and Arrigo Boito. The second part of the correspondence is made up letter–books and business correspondence which were kept intact from 1888 to 1962, except for the period from 1944 to 1953. Since 2006, work has been carried out to catalogue and digitise the Ricordi Archive based on the standards set out by the National Library Service (Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale – SBN) which is head of the Central Institute for the Single Catalogue (ICCU). The structure and use of the archive and the external transmission of its contents are safeguarded and enhanced thanks to the combined work of cataloguing and digitisation of this heritage: the preliminary cataloguing of the documents uses a simplified model of the scheme adopted in the description of the manuscript according to sw Manus, elaborated by ICCU: the detailed cataloguing uses seven main fields (identifier, creator, publisher, subject, description, contributor, date) followed by six fields relative to the material details of the document (type, format, language, relation, library, shelfmark); digitisation is done after cataloguing of the pieces: in this brief contribution we will show the production phases (Shooting mode, electronic formats of the digital articles, identification of images) and post–production (Indexing and editing of metadata mag) of the digitised files
Transforming and enhancing metadata for enduser discovery: a case study
Get PDFThis paper describes the process developed by Binghamton University Libraries to extract embedded metadata from digital photographs and transform it into descriptive Dublin Core metadata for use in the Libraries’ digital preservation system.In 2011, Binghamton University Libraries implemented the Rosetta digital preservation system (from Ex Libris) to preserve digitized and born-digital materials. At the same time, the Libraries’ implemented the Primo discovery tool (from Ex Libris) to bring together not only the digital collections in Rosetta, but also bibliographic holdings from our integrated library system and other sources.Currently, the Libraries are working with the campus photographer to preserve and provide access to 350,000+ digital images. Most of these images depict campus events, such as Homecoming, Commencement, etc. that are of historical and immediate social value to the campus community. These images are used widely in marketing and outreach materials, and on the University’s website. However, owing to volume of photographs, as well as to budgetary and other constraints, it is not possible to have library staff inspect the photographs and create a complete descriptive metadata record for each, so we needed to explore different options. Each of photographer’s images contains embedded metadata (file format, date and time stamps, location, etc.) and additionally, many of the files also contain basic descriptive information supplied by the photographer, including his name, keywords and/or a short description.Using this basic metadata as a starting point, cataloguing and systems librarians at Binghamton University Libraries were able to create an automated process to reformat and enhance the available descriptive information, crosswalk it to the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, and map keywords to controlled subject and location terms (including Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (TGM), Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN), etc.) Following the initial set-up, the only steps requiring manual intervention are extracting and identifying new keywords, updating the mapping table, running the scripts, proofreading the Dublin Core metadata once it has been produced, and lastly, depositing the images and metadata into the preservation system.Using this collection as a case study, we will demonstrate how embedded metadata can be upcycled in order to produce complete descriptive metadata records, which can then be integrated and indexed with metadata from other sources, and ultimately made discoverable by library users. After all, no matter how well a repository takes care of a file, how well it keeps, preserves or displays it, it makes no sense to put an digital object into a system if you cannot find it later.The Libraries’ workflow and portions of code will be shared; issues and challenges involved will be discussed. While this case study is specific to Binghamton University Libraries, examples of strategies used at other institutions will also be introduced. This paper should be useful to anyone interested in describing large quantities of photographs or other materials with preexisting embedded metadata
RDA’s Pros And Cons: One Point Of View From Brazil
Get PDFThis study group intends to analyze the Resource Description and Access (RDA) code’s pros and cons, under one point of view of some Brazilian catalogers, that is, from an emerging country. The five International Meetings of Experts on an International Cataloguing Code (IME ICC) brought many expectations world-wide about a new international cataloging code, free as the International Standard Bibliogrpahic Description (ISBD), and that could merge different points of view for cataloging questions. The RDA proposes itself to be this international cataloging code. Undoubtedly, it brings innovations and various positive points, as the introduction of digital materials and some elements from the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Description (FRBR) family. At the same time, RDA can be analyzed under other aspects, such as: a) it is not as close to FRBR as expected, by keeping a more descriptive approach instead of a relationship model one; b) it is not as far from AACR2 as expected, by keeping rules and examples to catalog manifestations instead of a multiple level approach; c) as a consequence, it doesn’t use all possibilities offered by the new computer technologies; d) the facet translation versus adaptation: in Brazil, AACR2′s translation was restricted to the original text, not including solutions and examples used in our country and with our language. It is expected that RDA respects these issues; e) and last, but not least, the RDA prices for licencing or copyright must consider the current world economic crisis, specially for emergent and developing countries. RDA remains an open question, although it brough many improvements for cataloging practices
Rare books in the Vatican Library: reshaping the catalogue
Get PDFThis contribution will focus on the aims of the Rare Books’ Section of the Vatican Library. Taking as a start the analytical cataloging of incunabula, the Section will deal with similar cataloging of the books printed in the 16th century and later. Analytical cataloging requires deep skill in reading and interpreting the features which bear witness to the book’s journey through history: handwritten notes, coats of arms, owners’ identification, printers’ marks, bindings, etc.In recent years, the Section also takes part in the rare books’ digitization project known as “Project Polonsky”. Thanks to digitization, scholars from all over the world will be able to see the rare incunabula preserved in the Vatican Library
The usability issues of faceted navigation in digital libraries
Get PDFThe last decade transformed faceted navigation from a “nice-to-have” into a “must-have functionality” for all online web services that contain a search function. The movement has been started by commercial websites, such as online clothing stores, with the purpose of facilitating access to the products.Now, faceted search seems to be more and more well-known within the community of information institutions and their digital services, too, as for example the online catalogue ofthe Library of Congress or Europeana show. In this context, as well, the feature is often sold as an added value to access the content of their sites in a more effective way. Still, experience shows that the use of faceted navigation in a digital library context is more complex than for online clothing stores. For this reason, it is important to focus on the usability of such functionalities and to test it as often as possible during implementation and regular use, as well. Site providers have to be aware of one important fact: a faceted search that has not been implemented correctly or does not work in the way the user expects it, will create frustration and/or not be used at all. This implies in a worst case scenario that users don’t come back to the site anymore, and may even spread their negative experience among the community. To prevent this, usability tests, either with experts or real users, should be conducted regularly.This can be done with common usability tests, using direct human interaction with a system, or with online tests, where test user are free to fill in the test whenever they want. In both cases, test results illuminate a system’s weaknesses and expose dysfunctional issues, which should be improved in order to offer a positive experience to its users.For more than five years, the project ACCEPT, a subproject of a Swiss national project called e-lib.ch, analyzes the usability and usefulness of digital libraries, by using user oriented methods. Experience has shown that filters provided through faceted navigation are considered as positive and very useful by end users. Nevertheless, based on different test results, several returning mistakes have been detected and it turns out that there are some ‘unwritten standards’ concerning e.g. position, labelling or ranking which should be respected to fulfil the aim of a good usability which users do expect of such web services. In this poster we will first give an introduction to faceted navigation, actual design issues and their use in digital libraries and then present testing methods, which can be easily applied in a digital library context. Together with a list of best practices concerning faceted navigation drawn out of different test experiences, the paper should give the reader all important information to evaluate its current faceted navigation and see where improvements could be made
No full textQuesto lavoro presenta il progetto di segnaletica per gli scaffali aperti classificati che è in corso di realizzazione presso la Biblioteca di Scienze sociali dell'Università di Firenze, nella quale si indicizza per classe con la Classificazione Decimale Dewey. Per rendere realmente efficace l'ordinamento classificato, un sistema di segnaletica deve chiarire la complessità, renderla esplicita, cioè deve fare intuire agli utenti la logica in base alla quale sono ordinati i documenti sugli scaffali, presentando in modo visibile e comprensibile le entità e le relazioni che compaiono nell'indicizzazione per classe.Questa segnaletica è fondata sulla comunicazione cross-mediale, e integra le modalità comunicative della biblioteca a vari livelli, sia nel contesto dello stesso medium, sia tra media diversi: tra i cartelli sulle testate degli scaffali, tra questi cartelli e il sito web della biblioteca, tra il sito web e il catalogo. Per questo sistema integrato sono particolarmente adatti i dispositivi mobili come i tablet e gli smartphone, perché danno la possibilità di accedere al Web mentre ci si muove tra gli scaffali. Il collegamento diretto tra gli scaffali aperti classificati e il catalogo è reso possibile dai codici QR stampati sui cartelli.This paper intends to present the in-progress project for the signage system of the Dewey-classified shelves in the Library of Social Sciences at the University of Florence. To make the classified arrangement effective, a signage system must clarify complexity, that is it must orient users towards the logic behind the shelf arrangement, presenting in a visible and understandable way the entities and the relationships which appear in class indexing.This signage is based on cross-media communication and integrates the library's communication means at various levels, both in the context of the same medium and between different media: between the information signs on the end-caps of the shelves, between these information signs and the library website, between the library website and the catalogue. Mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones are particularly suitable for this integrated system, because they give the possibility to access the Web while moving from shelf to shelf. The QR codes allow a link between the Dewey-classified shelves and the catalogue directly from the information signs
RDA and the Semantic Web, Linked Data Environment
Get PDFConnecting to friends, colleagues, customers, and others on the internet is an everyday experience for most people these days. We use email, Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking systems quickly and easily when there is wifi or an internet service provider that reaches our geographic location – even as we move around. This change in our communication systems even extends sometimes to replacing phone calls with communications like Skype or Facetime. A former phone communication can now be a multi-media experience where you not only talk but also see each other (or groups of people), share pictures or videos or documents quickly and easily all at the same time. Where are libraries in this world?Connecting to friends, colleagues, customers, and others on the internet is an everyday experience for most people these days. We use email, Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking systems quickly and easily when there is wifi or an internet service provider that reaches our geographic location – even as we move around. This change in our communication systems even extends sometimes to replacing phone calls with communications like Skype or Facetime. A former phone communication can now be a multi-media experience where you not only talk but also see each other (or groups of people), share pictures or videos or documents quickly and easily all at the same time. Where are libraries in this world
Diritto all'oblio e archivi online dei quotidiani: alcune considerazioni sulla memoria sociale ai nostri tempi
Get PDFPrendendo spunto da un recente provvedimento del Garante della privacy, l’articolo prende in esame le problematiche relative al diritto all’oblio in relazione alla messa a disposizione in Rete degli archivi online dei quotidiani. Questa particolare fattispecie si presenta come un esempio concreto della necessità di trovare una forma di bilanciamento tra il diritto alla riservatezza e il diritto alla libera ricerca storica; un esempio altresì particolarmente significativo di come stia mutando il concetto di memoria nel mondo contemporaneo. L’articolo si chiude formulando una proposta per un accesso maggiormente controllato agli archivi online dei quotidiani non allo scopo di censurare la documentazione contenuta in essi ma per informare gli utenti in merito alle conseguenze civili e penali della divulgazione di notizie per le quali oggi non siano più validi quei profili di interesse pubblico che ne avevano giustificato la pubblicazione nel passato.Inspired by a recent decision of the Italian Data Protection Authority, the article examines the issues related to the right to be forgotten in relation to the newspapers archives available on the Internet.This particular case is presented as a concrete example of the need to find a form of balance between the right to privacy and the right to historical research; it is also a particularly significant example of how the concept of memory is changing in the contemporary world.The article ends with a proposal for a more controlled access to online newspapers archives, not for the purpose of censoring the documents contained in them, but to inform users about the legal consequences of their activity