Functional Future for Bibliographic Control

Book excerpt: The quest to evolve bibliographic control to an equal or greater standing within the current information environment is on-going. As information organizers we are working in a time where information and communication technology (ICT) has pushed our status quo to its limits and where innovation often needs the pressure of do or die in order to get started. The year 2010 was designated as the Year of Cataloging Research and we made progress on studying the challenges facing metadata and information organization practices. However, one year of research is merely a drop in the bucket, especially given the results of the Resource and Description and Access (RDA) National Test and the Library of Congress’ decision to investigate the possibility of transitioning the MARC21 format. This book addresses how information professionals can create a functional environment in which we move beyond just representing information resources and into an environment that both represents and connects at a deeper level. Most importantly, it offers insight on transitioning into new communities of practice and awareness by reassessing our purpose, re-charting our efforts, reasserting our expertise in the areas that information organizer have traditionally claimed but are losing due to stagnation and lack of vision. This book was published as a double special issue of the Journal of Library Metadata.