[Web4lib] Library Announces Real "Library 2.0" Application

[Stewart Baker]

Full story with screenshots is available at my blog:
http://infomancy.net/tomes/blogs/index.php?blog=2&m=20080401

*Library announces real "Library 2.0" application*

In what is being universally billed as a surprise move, a large public
library in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area has revealed what it
calls "a real library 2.0 application". The library, which wishes to remain
anonymous in order to avoid controversy, added the homebrew application to
its website earlier this morning.

The program is called YouCat, and allows any of the library's patrons―or
indeed anyone at all―to add to, delete from, and perform other actions on
the library's catalogue. An image link was added on to the home page of the
library, inviting users to sign up for the new service and give it a try. A
link was also added into the OPAC's main page, and a smaller link, captioned
"CatIt!" was added into the OPAC record of each item.

The library director, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, has a very
positive outlook for the program. "Quite frankly," he said, "I think it's a
great step. Libraries are finally starting to catch up to the rest of the
internet in terms of interactivity. We can now meet patrons on their own
ground, and that means better communication and better service."

Not all the library staff was so positive, though. The cataloguing
department members we spoke to were visibly upset. They mentioned the usual
wiki problems of vandalism and amateurism, as well as the added problem of
the specialised format of MARC records. "A 100, a 110, a 130, how is a
patron going to know the difference?" one cataloguer griped. Pink slips were
seen on many desks in the office, which only added to the dissatisfaction in
the air.

When we brought up these complaints to the director, though, he refused to
give them any credibility. "Some people," he remarked, "just live to
obstruct progress." When we asked about the layoffs, he cited the proposed
California budget cuts and an increasing cost of living, which in turn means
higher salaries. "YouCat will easily fill the shoes of those people who
leave, and at a third of the cost," he insisted. "We're just so excited to
be on the cutting edge of library 2.0."

But will the service be as successful as hoped? Usage statistics from
earlier this morning imply that it may be a flop. Of the 200 users who
registered and logged in, only 10 made any changes to the MARC records. At
least 60% of these changes were completely wrong, and had to be reverted by
'Mike', the sole remaining cataloguer, who was kept on to police the system
and make sure that nobody vandalises the library's catalogue records.

'Mike' told us that he thought the system was performing about as he had
expected. "There will always be some teething issues with a new service or
software package," he said. "I think that the opaque quality of MARC records
is causing a couple of problems, but patrons will grow used to the system as
time goes on. We're also going to make the link to the LoC MARC site much
more prominent, and someone in technical services is creating a simple
'how-to' guide." If the problem doesn't improve, 'Mike' told us that there
is a real possibility MARC will be phased out in favour of a more
"user-friendly" format.

The library director felt the same way. "We feel sure," he said, "that
patrons will become quite adept at the system in a short period of time.
Wikipedia had plenty of problems when it started out, and look at it now! We
have no doubt at all that YouCat will be just as popular, and become just as
important a tool for libraries everywhere." A 'global' version of YouCat,
billed as "kind of a hybrid between Wikipedia and WorldCat" is also in the
works, and the library invites anybody who wants the one-library version of
the software to contact them for pricing options.

As with all such changes, only time will tell whether this latest foray into
the world of "Library 2.0″ will succeed or fail.
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Enjoy, and have a pleasant day.

-- 
Stewart Baker
CSUDH Library
Web Services/Reference Librarian
Stewart.C.Baker at gmail.com