Bernhard Eversberg wrote:
And can anything be said about the expected cost of access thereafter? How long will the draft be available? Has any date been named?
The question of cost came up at the RDA update meeting at ALA. Don Chatham, of ALA publishing, said that they do not yet have an estimated cost. He did say that there would be a "formula", probably based on simultaneous accesses (did I hear that right?), but they also expected that they would negotiate pricing with the larger consortia (because that's how those organizations operate). I believe I heard that the draft period is 3 months.
So, will there be a way, eventually, to obtain structured (XML or whichever ...ML) text files and try other approaches with them, like a wiki or some sort of database for open access and collaboration? Wouldn't it be appropriate, in this time and age, to encourage novel approaches in addition to conventional marketing of a product? Esp. if envisioning to convince other constituencies.
The "product" includes some interesting features that allow libraries to customize their view, including creating their own work flows and adding content for their catalogers (such as their local rules for a field). Someone asked about getting the files and running it themselves, but Nannette Naught, who is developing the online product, said that there are many dependencies built in, implying that it would be too difficult. There wasn't really an answer about the ability to purchase the XML files. In terms of print, Chatham stated that they are willing to consider "derivative" print products, but that there isn't enough of a market to make printing the whole thing (which is twice as long as AACR2 in its print form today) economical. My understanding of the XML file structure tells me that it should be possible to pull off and format a "concise" for printing. kc -- ----------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------
