Was:Anatomy of a netscam/ Organizing Web Information -Reply

[Mark Gooch]

I just want to mention that OCLC is just about to end a 2 year project 
called Intercat which was designed to determine the feasability of 
cataloging internet resources.  They have been able to answer the 
questions of "Is there anything worth cataloging" and "Can it be done and 
how?"  The result is a publicly accessible database of MARC records for 
about 4,500 sites.  

http://www.oclc.org/oclc/man/catproj/catcall.htm

I believe that what Karen is advocating is a logical step for libraries 
to begin incorporating Internet resources into their catalogs.  I am 
hoping to initiate such a project locally.  Many of us have library web 
pages listing a variety of sites.  I think it only logical that we begin 
by cataloging such resources.  We wouldn't provide links to them if we 
didn't consider them to be of some value, would we?  The one major 
difference between an Internet resource and a print item is the format 
and method of access.  

I believe this whole discussion gets to the heart of what libraries and 
librarians do.  I was tempted to jump into this discussion following 
Temple Hoff's post yesterday but I held off. He wrote:
			
				<snip>
>I've come to the conclusion that there are more than two types of users. 
>For instance:
>
>Educated? - These users have degrees, Masters, Doctorates etc. hanging on 
>there wall and yet they can't look at a button with a picture of a printer 
>and the word "Print" on it and logically deduce it's purpose.  Its seems 
>in all their schooling, someone forgot to teach them how to experiment, 
>explore with wonder, i.e. LEARN!
>
>Pretty colors! - This type has a hard time understanding the relationship 
>between the movement of the mouse and the movement of the little arrow on 
>the screen.  But, they do usually catch on fast and have enough of an 
>imagination to make the intuitive leap from a paper clip symbol on a 
>button, to the buttons possible use.  Most important to the learning 
>process though, they have fun!
>
>Shell Shock! - These users grew-up in the age of atomic threat and heard to
>often of a magical button that would blow-up the world.  They now live 
>in fear that any button on the keyboard or mouse just might be that evil 
>button.  Some people recover from this disorder, and some retire.
>
>Wow! - 4 or 40, heck 80 years old, Phd or preschooler, some people get 
>wide-eyed at the first glace at a computer, especially one connected to the 
>web, and emmediately want to know everything.  They tend to ask questions 
>enthusiastically, "how do I ..." rather than complaining pesimistically, 
>"it won't...", "I can't make it..." etc.  These users sometimes become 
>techies, but even when they don't, they always get the most out their 
>on-line experience.
				<snip>

When a patron comes into a library, be they highly educated or not, they 
may or may not know how to use the library or use it most effectively.  
One of the major roles of librarians is to help patrons navigate most 
effectively through the information maze they encounter.  It just so 
happens that this computer network contraption which we call the Internet 
provides one more format for information.  Our role then becomes to help 
patrons navigate it.

One of the most important topics, I believe, in Internet training is to 
teach users the means by which to better evaluate resources.  Another 
important topic is an explanation of search engines/directories and the 
fact that most of them are commercial ventures earning their profits by 
advertising, possessing differing search methodologies, and not 
necessarily designed/organized by librarians.

Coming full circle, this is where I believe the cataloging of Internet 
resources can be a way by which librarians begin to provide their added 
value to the Internet.  By evaluating Internet resources and providing 
access through one of our basic organizational tools (the catalog), we 
can begin to help patrons navigate this new information maze call the 
Internet.

Mark

On Thu, 11 Jul 1996, KAREN SCHNEIDER wrote:
> 
> Where I work, we are doing something "locally" that I'd like to see
> "globally"... we're preparing to create a database of our Internet
> resources. (Yet another local attempt to provide quality resources for a
> user community.)  Something in Oracle, vaguely MARCish, a bit
> GILSish and maybe Z39.50ish; a collaborative project between the
> Computer People and the Library Folks.  We have a crude hand-wrought
> index, called Yoo-Hoo!, up on the library site (well, the Library Folk
> made it, but the Computer People liked it and pointed to it) because there
> IS no really good by-the-people-for-the-people environmental index.  It's
> one of these out-of-desperation sites we consider a place to park and
> roughly organize fodder for a real catalog.
> 
> How nice to dream about a central spot where we could export our index
> records once they have been created!  Where would it be?  Who would
> house it?  What standards would we use?  What governing body would
> ensure it was a single index toward heterogenous resources (and that it
> didn't look like one very large virtual ransom note)?
> 

-----
Mark D. Gooch 
Government Information Librarian
Bartunek Law Library 
Cleveland State University
(216)687-5579  Voice	(216)687-5098  Fax 			  
http://www.law.csuohio.edu/lawlibrary/

          "Out the Token Ring, through the router, down the fiber,
                     off another router, down the T1,
                  past the firewall. . . nothing but net"
                   
                    --Dave Owen cited in Internet World