Before you get to the tasks, I think you have to define what the catalog
represents. In most cases, the catalog represents those items held by a
library. So your user tasks take place within that context. To make that
explicit, statements below should be modified to read:
* Clearly display differences between items held by the library
* Bring together items held by the library that belong together
Linguistically, this is awkward, but the "held by the library" aspect is
key to understanding how and why users might approach the library
catalog. They are not doing general research, and the universe of their
research is not "everything ever written on this subject." In most
cases, "items" above could be replaced with "books" and still be true.
So the catalog provides certain user services for those books held by
the library.
kc
Bernhard Eversberg wrote:
Elisabeth Spanhoff wrote:
... It’s instructive that FRBR talks about ‘user
tasks.’ We used to call those ‘catalog objectives.’ What is a catalog
these days?
It is indeed necessary to find clear, brief, easily understood
definitions. An explanation must not be longer than the patience
and the attention span of those addressed. In one presentation, I
tried this approach to FRBR:
What Should Catalogs Do?
+ Produce reliable results
+ Clearly display differences
+ Bring together what belongs together
+ Present meaningful choices
+ Locate what users want
Here's the URL:
http://www.allegro-c.de/formate/gz-1e.htm
Click on "What does that mean?" and then, with every slide, on the
button "More about this".
The descriptions include enough reasoning why catalogs (or their
rules) have to care about indexing and the formatting of brief
result set listings. All of which are parts of the catalog as
perceived by users. RDA, like AACR, remains oblivious. They care
about just what we already had with cards, when there were no
indexes, result sets, listings, rankings, navigating.
B.Eversberg
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Karen Coyle / Digital Library Consultant
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kcoyle.net
ph.: 510-540-7596 skype: kcoylenet
fx.: 510-848-3913
mo.: 510-435-8234
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