Re: [RDA-L] Time and effort

[Cookson, Ms. Melissa]

It's not only when cataloger's "get so wrapped up in the 'brilliance' of their 
own cataloging," however. We know how to search our own catalogs, and we know 
the rules that allow for workarounds when the catalog cannot do what needs to 
be done to answer a question (or when we can't figure out how to make it do 
what we want, even if the capability is present). We become people who are just 
not regular catalog users.

Reference librarians may have some of the same problems, but an advantage they 
have is that they get to see some of the areas where users are stumbling. They 
certainly get to learn about the kind of questions users are asking. This sort 
of thing is why I'm happy that I'm required to spend a few hours at the 
reference desk each week - it's caused me to think about some of the things I 
do as a cataloger a little differently. This is also why I encourage the 
reference librarians at my library to let me know if there is something they 
think we need to change about the way the catalog works. Sometimes I'm able to 
accommodate their requests and sometimes I'm not, but I appreciate their input, 
because they have a different perspective of how our users use and need to use 
our catalog than I do.


Melissa Cookson
Catalog Librarian
Tarleton State University
Email: cook...@tarleton.edu



-----Original Message-----
From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access 
[mailto:rd...@listserv.lac-bac.gc.ca] On Behalf Of Miksa, Shawne
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 1:38 PM
To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA
Subject: Re: [RDA-L] Time and effort

Jim unbelievable wrote: "But it must be accepted that catalogers are *most 
definitely NOT* the people to know what people need from information. That can 
only come from reference librarians and the public, the researchers, scholars, 
and students, themselves."

With all due respect---what planet are you on, Jim? Come back to this one. 
Where do you get this stuff? Let me welcome you to the 21st century where 
catalogers are user-centric, born and bred. We start from the point of the 
user--what are their needs, how do we organize it to help them meet those 
needs; how do the choices we make as organizers affect their ability to find, 
identify, select, obtain, navigate.....and so on. Let's call it functionality, 
shall we?

Only a reference librarian, and not a cataloging librarian, can know what 
people need from information?  Bulldada. If there is an instance of this then 
it occurs when a cataloger gets so wrapped up in the 'brilliance' of their own 
cataloging skills that they can't see the forest for the trees. 

Done. Outta here. Buh-bye.


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Shawne D. Miksa, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Library and Information Sciences
College of Information
University of North Texas
email: shawne.mi...@unt.edu
http://courses.unt.edu/smiksa/index.htm
office 940-565-3560 fax 940-565-3101
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