ResourceShelf

I recently subscribed to a free newsletter and found that it is helpful in ways that I did not anticipate. ResourceShelf is available as a WordPress.com site and is updated daily. I didn’t pay too much attention to it at first, but the more I have used it, the more functionality I see. The editorial team of Gary Price and Sherl Kennedy scan the web for information that may be useful “information professionals, educators, and journalists.”

While I knew that Resource Shelf provided current information, I was not prepared for the depth included. My big surprise came when I searched their site for “metadata.” Wow! I found presentation papers, tables of contents, preprints, news briefs, and a lot more. All of their resources had links to websites for further study.

They also publish a companion site Docuticker. This is “another daily update with direct links to a variety of new reports from government agencies, think tanks, ngo’s, universities, and other groups.” It is a great way to stay current.

I hope you find it as helpful as I have.

Book Dummies in an OPAC?

A recurring theme in information circles is how to provide access to the archival collection of the library. Brenner, Larsen and Weston (2006) explain their process of using Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) software to include links to digitized resources. As I read through their process, I thought about the libraries that are struggling to integrate digital collections within their own library software.

Many libraries use separate lists or software to identify digital collections. Some of these collections are direct links to images of varying sorts and the descriptions may not be concise. While MARC records work very well for monographs and other tangible products, they are not as precise as other methods. However, they made a good point that letting users know that these records exist is important. The details in MARC may not give the same levels as EAD, but they do serve as pointers.

In our library, we have pointers on the shelves, called “book dummies.” These pointers explain to library users where an expected item is actually located, rather than where they are looking. For example, we may shelve older volumes, in a series, in another location. The pointer gives the call number and location for the older volumes. The records that Brenner, Larsen and Weston describe serve as “book dummies.” Whether this is the best method of provision to digital collection, or if something else would be better, it does, at least, point the way.

Brenner, Michaela, Tom Larsen, and Claudia Weston. 2006. Digital collection management through the library catalog. Information Technology and Libraries 25(2): 65-77.

A little bit of nostalgia

One of my classmates published a historical collection from the University of Missouri-Columbia. I remembered seeing a Missouri collection a while ago, and was delighted to see it was still there and has grown,  Missouri Digital Heritage Collection. This is a fun collection for me, because I love history, especially of places I’ve been (or hope to go to I am a Missoui native, so it is nice to see some Missouri information.  http://www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/collections.asp

While I have not found the same sort of collection for Oklahoma, I do enjoy reading the Chronicles of Oklahoma. This journal has been digitized and is searchable. http://www.okhistory.org/publications/COOonline.html

Additionally, Oklahoma State University has made many Oklahoma publications available http://digital.library.okstate.edu/

It is interesting for me to see the different approaches that these two states have taken toward history and what they have chosen to digitize. Oh there is lot’s more out there, you know on the web, but this is what I found that interested me. Who knows, you might enjoy some history, too!