ETL 505 Critical Reflection

ETL 505 Information Resource Description - Critical Reflection 

On commencing this unit I had little knowledge of Resource Description and Access (RDA) and a limited understanding of subject heading and Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) number construction.  Along with expanding my understanding of these and their relevance to teacher-librarians, this subject deepened my understanding of information resource description and the tools and systems employed to ensure effective information access. One important understanding gained was the interplay between resource description, standards and the application of subject classification schemes such as DDC and the fundamental way in which these must link to the user.

Svenonius (2000, p. 18) argues the aim of bibliographic systems is to find, collocate, chose, acquire or navigate information. This unit highlighted the way bibliographic systems rely on information being described and recorded to provide access to information and connected this with the role that standards and metadata play in facilitating user access.

The user as a central consideration to information resource description was further reinforced through exploring how the principles of Functional Requirements of Bibliographic Records (IFLA, 1998) apply to standards such as RDA. Likewise, examining the use of standardised vocabularies through developing subject headings according to School Cataloguing Information Services (SCIS) Standards (ESA, 2013), highlighted how the needs of school libraries influence this process.  A point further emphasised through examining the building of DDC numbers for resources and modifications applied by SCIS to suit the school library environment.

Along with user consideration, the application of information resource description standards was a recurring theme throughout the unit. Oliver (2010, p. 6) argues metadata standards ensure interoperability, resource sharing, and seamless metadata exchange highlighting how standards help provide structure to information organisation and access. Witten & Bainbridge (2010, p. 329) suggest standards such as name authority control and subject authority control improve user experiences thereby linking standards to users and emphasising the importance of metadata to library systems.

While metadata and vocabularies are currently fundamental to our library systems, consideration must be given to the impact of future and changing technologies. While content-based retrieval and social metadata have appeal, the primary role of school libraries is to support school curriculum and, as Mitchell (2013) suggests, school users have specific literacy and maturity considerations. As Hider, (2012, p.188) argues, metadata schema such as RDA and vocabularies provide structures that support collection navigation and information seeking in ways that content-based retrieval and folksonomies cannot.

This does not preclude these advances, but reinforces the need to consider the user and the information context. Perhaps of key importance to the school library is the user interface which links to the metadata underpinning it. Thus, customisation and smart searching along with the integration of features such as faceted navigation, hierarchical rankings or the inclusion of social metadata (Yang & Hoffman, 2010) can supplement traditional catalogues as additional layers.

This unit challenged and extended me while also allowing me to appreciate that quality resource description, the application of standards and consideration of the end user is central to information resource description and ultimately, effective information access and retrieval. It also highlighted that to maintain relevance, school libraries must consider their information context and modify the systems and tools they utilise to best serve the needs of their users in providing effective access to information.

References

American Library Association, Canadian Library Association, and CLIP: chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. (2010). RDA toolkit.  Retrieved 18 August, 2014 from Charles Sturt University website http://access.rdatoolkit.org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/

Education Services Australia Ltd. (2013). SCIS Standards for cataloguing and data entry.

Retrieved  27 September 2014, from http://www2.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/SCIS_standards_2014.pdf

Hider, P. (2012). Information resource description: Creating and managing metadata. London: Facet publishing.

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) (1998). Functional requirements for bibliographic records: Final report. Munich: K.G. Saur Verla. Retrieved 13 August, 2014 http://www.ifla.org/publications/functional-requirements-for-bibliographic-records

Mitchell, P. (2013) The future of the school library catalogue. In Connections (87). Retrieved 7 October 2014, from http://www2.curriculum.edu.au/scis/connections/issue_87/articles/the_future_of_the_school_library_catalogue.html

Online Computer Library Centre. (2011). WebDewey. Retrieved October, 2014 from http://dewey.org/webdewey/login/login.html

Oliver, C. (2010). Introducing RDA: A guide to the basics. Chicago: American Library Association. Retrieved Charles Sturt University website http://reader.eblib.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/(S(v0qmdssxqgrljvpntn1f132j))/Reader.aspx?p=675845&o=476&u=sa3s6x%2b4liO1HCmUZhGeKA%3d%3d&t=1408776351&h=5A5E92A424963CEE08267B9CC8F870B3D86CA36C&s=25775206&ut=1443&pg=21&r=img&c=-1&pat=n&cms=-1

Svenonius, E. (2000). The intellectual foundation of information organisation. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press

Witten, I.H, & Bainbridge, D. (2010). How to build a digital library. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann

Yang, S., & Hoffman, M. (2010). The next generation library catalog: A comparative study of the OPACs of Koha, Evergreen, and Voyager. In Information Technology and Libraries, September, 2010. Retrieved 9 October, 2014 http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/ital/article/viewFile/3139/2753