Ref lib questions WWW in OPACs

[Paul Neff, Internet Librarian]

> I don't claim to have read all of the postings about cataloging the 
> Internet, however here is an angle I haven't seen addressed.

> Has any thought be given to how the general public finds the cataloged web 
> sites?  My understanding is that cataloging rules do not provide for a 
> floating form division i.e. internet. (Or for that matter do media, film, 
> audio recordings, videos get special recognition in the subject catalog.)  
> So if one is looking for such formats don't look in the subject section for 
> guidance.  The item will be there, but buried; for example the web site for 
> resources to study Edmund Spsnser has simply been entered under subject: 
> Spenser, Edmund.  

> If one is sophisticated enough, one could notice a different location as you 
> browse through the entries in that file (which in a large library could 
> easily be more than 100).   

> Or one could do a limit search, limiting by type of material.

> Or one could ask for Computer File in the title and look through ALL of the 
> titles with that material designation. 

> It seems to me that only the persistent, sophisticated or just plain lucky 
> will locate any of those cataloged urls!

An assumption I had made in earlier posts in this thread without stating so
(which Carlos McIllvey, (spelled incorrectly?) rightly called me on) was that 
the trend toward production of WWW/Z39.50 gateways and other WWW-based front 
ends to catalogs would continue, making it possible to access MARC displays 
through a Web browser and display them as hypertext.  This would make it
possible to imbed URLs in the records in the 856 field, allowing users to 
access Internet resources directly from the displayed record.  Without this
possibility, my enthusiasm for cataloging Internet resources would be somewhat 
diminished.  

Paul Neff
Internet Librarian, Kansas City Public Library
paul at kcpl.lib.mo.us