Category Archives: sharing

Will OCLC move to a service-oriented business model for bibliographic data?

Posted on May 15, 2009 by John Mark Ockerbloom

As you may recall, there’s been a fair bit of criticism (including some of my own) against OCLC’s proposed records use policy, which asserts OCLC’s rights over libraries’ cataloging in ways that would make it very difficult for libraries and … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, libraries, metadata, open access, sharing | 3 Comments

Do we need a “reader’s rights registry”?

Posted on May 5, 2009 by John Mark Ockerbloom

This spring’s Digital Library Federation forum, the last under DLF as an independent organization,  included a session for “lightning talks”, where speakers take 5 minutes or less to present an idea or make a demonstration.  Here are the remarks I … Continue reading →

Posted in censorship, copyright, metadata, online books, open access, reading, sharing | 3 Comments

The Google Books settlement: A symposium, and a call for library action

Posted on March 18, 2009 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Last Friday I went to a fascinating symposium at the Columbia Law School: “The Google Books Settlement: What Will it Mean for the Long Term?” The symposium included presentations by US copyright register Marybeth Peters, and antitrust expert Randal Picker … Continue reading →

Posted in libraries, metadata, online books, open access, reading, sharing | 2 Comments

Open catalog APIs and data: ALA presentation notes posted

Posted on January 28, 2009 by John Mark Ockerbloom

I’ve now posted my materials for the two panels I participated in at ALA Midwinter. I have slides  available for “Opening the ILS for Discovery: The Digital Library Federation’s ILS-Discovery Interface Recommendations“, a presentation for LITA’s Next Generation Catalog interest … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, discovery, libraries, open access, sharing | Comments Off on Open catalog APIs and data: ALA presentation notes posted

Chances to stop and think about the future of library catalogs

Posted on January 14, 2009 by John Mark Ockerbloom

OCLC yesterday announced that it is putting its new catalog record usage policy on hold while its Members Council convenes a group to review the proposed policy and suggest changes.  I’m very happy to hear this, as the policy was … Continue reading →

Posted in libraries, metadata, open access, sharing | Comments Off on Chances to stop and think about the future of library catalogs

Drawing a line in the sand, Part 3: How to respond?

Posted on November 24, 2008 by John Mark Ockerbloom

In my previous two posts, I discussed how open library metadata is becoming increasingly important for the future of library content, and how OCLC’s new catalog policy works against it. By asserting proprietary rights over the records in WorldCat, OCLC … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, discovery, libraries, metadata, open access, sharing | 4 Comments

Drawing a line in the sand, Part 2: Problems with OCLC’s catalog policy

Posted on November 21, 2008 by John Mark Ockerbloom

As I mentioned in my last post, OCLC’s new policy for the use of catalog records from WorldCat (a policy now in at least its third revision) has generated substantial controversy, particularly among library bloggers. The controversy focuses on statements … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, discovery, libraries, metadata, open access, sharing | 3 Comments

Drawing a line in the sand, Part 1: The importance of open library metadata

Posted on November 19, 2008 by John Mark Ockerbloom

(First of a series of 3 posts.  See also Part 2: Problems with OCLC’s catalog policy, and Part 3: How to respond?) A new bibliographic record distribution policy from OCLC threatens to split the library community from the increasingly large … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, discovery, libraries, metadata, open access, sharing | Comments Off on Drawing a line in the sand, Part 1: The importance of open library metadata

What are the marketers of EndNote afraid of?

Posted on September 30, 2008 by John Mark Ockerbloom

If you write papers on a regular basis, you’ll find it worthwhile to keep track of sources you might cite. When I was in grad school, I manually edited a BibTeX file to keep track of the references for my … Continue reading →

Posted in citations, copyright, crimes and misdemeanors, formats, sharing | 1 Comment

Views of possible future architectures of cataloging

Posted on May 29, 2008 by John Mark Ockerbloom

PALINET convened a symposium today here in Philadelphia on the future of cataloging. There was a full turnout, with over 150 library professionals attending. It appeared that the organizers had to scramble a bit to distribute lunch to the large … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, sharing | 2 Comments