Cataloging is Suddenly... Cool?

Diane Shaw's post for the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System blog titled What It's Like to be a Cataloger has been getting a great deal of traction in the online library world. I think it's great - especially when a specialization in cataloging and metadata generation has been under attack in this era of shrinking staff and budget cuts. It's also nice to read the thoughts of other professionals about why they love cataloging (as I do). Here's a lovely quote from Ms. Shaw's post:

Family History

I am currently reading Studs Terkel's oral history of World War II, titled The Good War. The book has been a great read, thus far - but I don't want to make this a book review post. It's really more about the importance of proactively learning about and recording your family history. I think this is something either done piecemeal by family members, or done after the passing of key familial figures.

Art Books and e-Books

I spend a significant amount of my time at the Carter working with what are broadly referred to as "art books." Be it fielding a reference query, cataloging, or shelving, much of my time is spent with these types of books. They are wonderful to view - high quality images and quality binding and paper. They are, though, quite heavy and ungainly to move - something I recently discovered when helping Jon Frembling with a major shift in the stacks. That said, they do serve an important purpose - they offer high quality reproductions of artworks for those of us that cannot visit (or own) the works of art reproduced in the books. They offer a convenient and personal method by which individuals can study or casually view artworks reproduced in these books. You might think this type of "analog" book will be replaced by, or at least outmoded by, an electronic replacement. Well, an article I read last week by Jim Lewis titled iPad, Meet Your Nemesis : Why art books won't become e-books any time soon points out that this might not be the case at all.

Baseball Archivists and Metadata

You know, it's aways interesting where metadata pops up. I was reading the New York Times on my iPad on the 13th of this month (October) and I read the article For Baseball Archivists, a Tag Ends Every Play, by John Branch, that combines two things I am very passionate about: baseball and metadata. This fascinating article discusses the task of describing all of the games in a "baseball year" (approximately 10,000 hours) with metadata, or, tags.

Tufte and Classification

One of the most fascinating classes I am taking this semester is IST 631 - Theory of Classification and Subject Representation, with Dr. Barbara Kwasinik. The class examines some of the psychology and methodology behind classifications, as well as best practices and implementation of the human act of classification. It's great looking at an intersection between my professional interests, as well as my broader personal interests (psychology, sociology, et cetera). Here's the official description, if you are so inclined:

Further Updates

Well, friends, our Mac has still not returned, but I am holding out hope to have it soon. Never fear, I am compiling many blog topic ideas to share with you when Rex returns. In the meantime, I have been working through classwork, and reasearching best practices for cataloging periodicals. Oh! I also signed up for ARLIS/NA, which is something I have been meaning to do for a long while.



Yesterday, I attended a talk by Joe Studholme about Banks' Florilegium, which was absolutely fascinating. Click that previous link if you want to earn more. It's been a great week, and I hope to have more to share next week - have a great weekend!

Allison V. Smith at the Barry Whistler Gallery

Friends,

I want to tell you that Jen and I are both thrilled to be attending Allison V. Smith's opening of new photographs from Maine, titled Maine. I'd usually say something pithy about the title, but I think it's great.

Rex and the Disaster

Well, friends, I want to tell you my blogging has been less regular than usual because not only have Jen and I been sick, but on Thursday our Mac, Rex, cratered. He acted funny and then wouldn't boot up. We took him into the Apple Store on Saturday, so we should have him back sometime next week. All I can say is AppleCare is your friend. Anyhow, I will do my best to post every day - thanks for sticking around!

Jason

Apologies and the Beinecke

Readers, I want to apologize for my lack of posts. I am feeling quite sick with a cold, but I still wanted to check in and let you know that I am still in this plane, and I anticipate a full recovery by Monday. At least that's what I am hoping for.

Old Movies and Fall

Well, as Jen has pointed out, cooler weather has arrived here in Fort Worth, heralding the arrival of fall. Fall is the perfect time to snuggle up to your significant other (even if that is a cat) and enjoy some movies. To me, fall is the perfect time to watch your favorite old movies. I hesitate to call them classics, as that word has been used too broadly and frequently to have any real meaning.

To be fair, I came to this post via an odd route. Yesterday's post over at A Continuous Lean wrote quite a bit about Steve McQueen and his personal style. It was a cool post, and be sure to check out the photos at the bottom. Of course, I can't think about Steve McQueen and not think about his roles in The Thomas Crown Affair and Bullitt.

Cataloging, RDA, and MARC

There has been a great deal of talk recently about MARC and RDA - which should not be surprising to those of you all who are catalogers (which is a few of us). Jason Thomale's recent article in Code4Lib, Interpreting MARC: Where’s the Bibliographic Data? was an excellent semi-outsider look at cataloging from a programmer/systems perspective. It has sparked some great discussion around the internet and has, yet again, raised the question - why should we go to RDA for an input standard when the format (MARC) is almost comically outdated?

Library Love: The London Library

By now, you know of my love for the London Library. What a place! Well, check out this wonderful video about the Library, and check out how much love libraries and librarians get. Almost makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Ha. Have a great weekend!

Exhibition Catalogues

So, I have a weakness for exhibition catalogues - and this is not helped by Jen working at the Kimbell, or my volunteering at the Carter. Exhibition catalogues are usually beautiful with phenomenal scholarship and images. They are, though, incredibly expensive books - with the hardback versions being between 70 and 100 dollars. I understand that even at this price, the museum subsidizes part of the cost - meaning that on every catalog purchased, the museum takes a loss. Much of my time cataloguing is consumed with cataloging small, "normal" and large publications created in conjunction with an exhibition. So, the article that Mary Jane and Sam at the Carter shared with me is especially pertinent, and got me thinking about exhibition catalogues: