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library:cataloguing_notes [2014-01-09 10:24] – alkanlibrary:cataloguing_notes [2014-01-09 17:37] – alkan
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 {{http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3736/11099862944_5bca2325a2_c.jpg}} {{http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3736/11099862944_5bca2325a2_c.jpg}}
  
-=== Digital cataloguing: first steps, April 2013 ===+=== Diary of an archivist === 
 + 
 +== Digital cataloguing: first steps, April 2013 ==
  
 We agreed to use the [[http://www.zotero.org/|Zotero]] desktop and [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.ale.scanner.zotero#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDIxMiwib3JnLmFsZS5zY2FubmVyLnpvdGVybyJd|mobile]] apps to make a first pass of cataloguing FoAM's small but esoteric library. Aside from a few annoying glitches, we were able to go through the library quite rapidly, scanning the barcodes with the [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.ale.scanner.zotero&hl=en|mobile app]] while setting aside those items that could not be scanned, or needed special attention (such as all the periodicals, magazines, etc.). A second pass involved manually looking up the ISBN numbers from within the [[http://www.zotero.org/download/|desktop application]], or searching online for the bibliographic data via [[http://www.worldcat.org/|WorldCat]] or similar and importing these citations into Zotero via the [[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zotero-connector/ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc?hl=en-US|browser plugin]], for the items that had no barcodes or could not otherwise be scanned. We agreed to use the [[http://www.zotero.org/|Zotero]] desktop and [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.ale.scanner.zotero#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDIxMiwib3JnLmFsZS5zY2FubmVyLnpvdGVybyJd|mobile]] apps to make a first pass of cataloguing FoAM's small but esoteric library. Aside from a few annoying glitches, we were able to go through the library quite rapidly, scanning the barcodes with the [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.ale.scanner.zotero&hl=en|mobile app]] while setting aside those items that could not be scanned, or needed special attention (such as all the periodicals, magazines, etc.). A second pass involved manually looking up the ISBN numbers from within the [[http://www.zotero.org/download/|desktop application]], or searching online for the bibliographic data via [[http://www.worldcat.org/|WorldCat]] or similar and importing these citations into Zotero via the [[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zotero-connector/ekhagklcjbdpajgpjgmbionohlpdbjgc?hl=en-US|browser plugin]], for the items that had no barcodes or could not otherwise be scanned.
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 Zotero online group libraries would seem to offer a flexible option for the idea of extending our cataloguing initiative into a collective, inter-organisational library database for some fairly unusual and rare books. Zotero online group libraries would seem to offer a flexible option for the idea of extending our cataloguing initiative into a collective, inter-organisational library database for some fairly unusual and rare books.
  
-=== Sorting and consolidating: June 2013 ===+== Sorting and consolidating: June 2013 ==
  
 After the heavy lifting of the initial pass, there remained what seemed to be an infinite regress of small items – journals, magazines, random that slipped through the dragnet, and a vast pile of grey literature. And it was all a mess. After the heavy lifting of the initial pass, there remained what seemed to be an infinite regress of small items – journals, magazines, random that slipped through the dragnet, and a vast pile of grey literature. And it was all a mess.
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 I ripped everything off the shelves and dumped the lot on the floor. From there I attempted to reassemble the material into the most basic and easy-to-use categories that were workable. I don't think this has been quite successful, but it's better than before. I ripped everything off the shelves and dumped the lot on the floor. From there I attempted to reassemble the material into the most basic and easy-to-use categories that were workable. I don't think this has been quite successful, but it's better than before.
  
-=== Information plumbing: December 2013 ===+== Information plumbing: January 2014 == 
 + 
 +In my absence over summer some amazing assistants tackled and substantially resolved the most serious nightmare of this library – the ephemera. Thanks to them, this mass of the greyest of grey literature has now been sorted. This will be an ongoing effort however, as the deluge of ephemera seems unstoppable and will require ever-renewed vigilance to ensure that the forces of greyness do not overwhelm us. 
 + 
 +The next step is to attend to the information plumbing.
  
 === Organisation: the sections === === Organisation: the sections ===
  • library/cataloguing_notes.txt
  • Last modified: 2020-06-05 22:30
  • by nik