OCLC: A Review (PDF here) is the title of an essay by Jeffrey Beall that is included in a book titled Radical Cataloging: Essays at the Front.

First, let me reiterate my own attitude about OCLC: They are, for good and for bad, the 800 pound gorilla of the library world. Decisions that they make, and the approach they take towards librarianship, effect us dramatically, and there is not much that we can individually do about it.

They have done great things, from WorldCat.org to providing as complete a set of bibliographic records as exists in the world. Among the negatives are the cost barriers that can eat away much of the budget of smaller libraries, as well as the one-way trip that bibliographic information seems to make into their system.

This article, however, is a strong attack on OCLC that simply overreaches. Many of the projects run by OCLC, including WorldCat, have benefitted from their monolithic approach, and while I would much prefer to see them be more open and flexible, I still appreciate their scope and vision.

One example of the style of his argument: He opens the article with criticism for the title of Karen Schneider’s posts on ALA TechSource (“How OPACs Suck” (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)). He states that her title is “specious, of course” because “they have quietly and efficiently been linking researchers and others with desired information for about twenty years.” He does not address the main concerns of the posts, which is how library search tools have fallen behind, and that the search capabilities that people have grown to expect are lacking in many of the major ILS OPACs.

It would be interesting to see an article that addressed each of her points in detail, explaining how the results she retrieved from various libraries in Part 1 are both valid and desired. What we get is his calling the TechSource editor “spineless” for allowing “such rubbish to be published”.

Near the end of the essay he also takes on Lorcan Dempsey, OCLC Chief Strategist and Vice President of Research. Again, he doesn’t quote, doesn’t give specifics, and doesn’t keep it on an opinion level:

“Have you ever tried reading one of his articles? They are some of the most incoherent and desultory articles in the history of information.”

“…of course, has a blog. He lives for new technology. It seems as if he thinks that any new library or information technology is automatically better than the technology that predates it and it must be implemented immediately, especially if OCLC has a hand in it.”

I use these two examples because I have been reading Karen and Lorcan’s blogs for some time. I saw Lorcan Dempsey present at the Ohio State University Library 2.0 Seminar last year. I can vouch that they have substance behind what they write, and that they are well worth reading. His blanket portrayal of OCLC as existing only to “separate libraries from their money” reminds me of a library director I met who once referred to the OCLC logo as a “swastika”.

And so, about this essay? Read it and recognize that there are some very valid criticisms contained within. Some of these are criticisms that I have expressed over the years. However, beware the hyperbole and the personal nature of his criticism, for they strongly overshadow that which is worth stating.

found via ResourceShelf

This announcement by the Indiana State Library and the Hussey Mayfield Memorial Public Library in Zionsville is significant : they aim to make Indiana the third statewide implementation of the Evergreen ILS, assuming that it meets their needs.

Third??? Well, they missed second by two days… the Michigan Evergreen Project was also announced.

from the open-ils blog

additional note:  Karen Schneider has a great overview of the variety of current Evergreen projects

I occasionally point out something that Karen Schneider writes, and this post will link to another example of her writing.

One of the things I really enjoy about her blog is that she, like Jessamyn (part of my inspiration for starting this blog), tries to be straightforward about her views and ideas regarding libraries.  They know that they aren’t perfect, and they know that the rest of us aren’t as well, and they go on to create wonderful, informative posts that feel like you are conversing with them between sessions at your favorite conference.

This particular post, titled How to be “famous” (wink wink, nudge nudge) is a week old, and by some magic involving RSS, the internet, and some type of little creatures that occasionally capture e-mails and blog posts to play with before passing them along, I didn’t get it in my feed until tonight.  It is a great example of her style, which passes along information that we all can benefit from as we make our way through libraryland.

Remember that, even if you aren’t well known, people do look to you for guidance – even if they are looking at your entire workplace for that guidance.  We all set examples, and we all have the power and ability to make better choices and to make life better for those around us, even if only indirectly.  I suspect that it is easy to forget how much influence we really have on others.

No brand new flashy sites in this post; just a small collection of links on how one deals with the demands of time, projects and learning:

Big or Small? — Jen Riley at the Indiana University Digital Library Program has a post regarding doing a few big vs. many small projects.

Nicole’s Burnout Blues — Karen Schneider, a.k.a. Free Range Librarian, gives her tips on preventing burnout.

Three Hard Things — new guy at OCLC Roy Tennant’s follow-up to his Five Easy Pieces essay three years ago.

Each of these pieces speak to me, as I am preparing to start a relatively involved project that will require a fair amount of time management.  It could work, mainly because the time involved can be very flexible (and who needs sleep when you have a project?).

However, most everyone I know is trying to balance their time, effort, energy, and resources.  Perhaps there is a helpful nugget or two for everyone who follows the links….

Through Karen Schneider’s blog, I have been pseudo-assigned to post 5 non-library blogs that I read.

Here they are, in alphabetical order (hey, I work in a library… feel lucky I didn’t classify them via LC or Dewey):

1. A List Apart – even though the initials spell ALA, this is a great non-library blog with web design information.
2. Damn Interesting – essays about odds and ends throughout society and history that all seem to be, well, damn interesting.
3. MetaFilter – as unpredictable as the internet itself, but usually a glimpse into the fascination du jour.
4. NewsForge – dispatches from the Open Source world.
5. Robert Reich’s Blog – fascinating commentary on politics and economics, plus his video blogs contain tidbits about his date with Hilary Rodham back in the day.

If you are a library blogger and are reading this, you are now on assignment… give me 5!

p.s. This meme was started by The Liminal Librarian, btw.

The Library of Congress has formed the Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control, and will be having their first public meeting tomorrow, March 8th, at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.

The truly interesting thing is that anyone can attend, no prior registration needed. I would love to be able to drop in at Google tomorrow and delve into the topic of Users and Uses of Bibliographic Data, but it isn’t going to happen for me without a tornado, puppy and ruby slippers. Andrew Pace and Karen Markey are among the speakers; it ought to be an excellent day.

Karen Schneider was inspired to dash off an open letter to the Library of Congress on ALA TechSource. Karen Coyle is planning to attend (as per a post to the NGC4Lib listserv) and will likely post info on her blog about the meeting.

I am entertaining the idea of wandering over to Chicago for their May 9th meeting on “Structures and Standards for Bibliographic Data”, which I think I would find almost as fascinating as the user focus of this meeting. Several things would need to fall into place to allow that to happen, including the LOC keeping the meetings open to all without invitation, and I think I shall see what the feedback from tomorrow is before pursuing it.

Remember Mazlow’s Hierarchy of Needs?  Karen Schneider’s take on how that relates to the library universe is an interesting overview of some of the problems with our current automation systems.

from ALA TechSource