2017 Charleston Library Conference

Traditional processes for obtaining and managing accurate, clean collection data are expensive and labor intensive. End-users expect fast and easy discovery of desired information, but do MARC records and KBART knowledge bases deliver the desired impact? The value stream from creation of a work to published metadata for use by our communities involves a complicated series of touches that includes duplicate efforts, gaps in quality, and inconsistent results. Changes in technology as well as in the publishing and library automation markets offer opportunities for a better approach. This session brings together speakers from different areas of the library world to consider several questions, including:

• Could ONIX feeds replace MARC record services as the primary data source for library catalogs?
• What opportunities does BIBFRAME provide us to improve the quality of library data?
• When libraries are connected and exposing collections to the web, what is the value of the local catalog and discovery experience?
• Are the library technology solutions available on the market today up to the task of accommodating such substantial changes?
• What changes are needed around the relationships between libraries, aggregators, publishers, and technology vendors in order to achieve success with a new model?

Join us for a lively discussion that incorporates what we’ve learned from past approaches to tackle this problem that could inform where we need to go in the future. We’ll share perspectives from each of the speakers about which of these elements feels most urgent or most interesting to pursue, and we hope to hear from the audience regarding priorities, ideas, and reservations about making changes in this space.