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| library:cataloguing_notes [2014-01-09 10:24] – alkan | library:cataloguing_notes [2014-01-10 11:58] – alkan | ||
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| ==== Cataloguing Notes ==== | ==== Cataloguing Notes ==== | ||
| - | < | ||
| - | A library | + | === To-dos from Friday, 10 January 2014 === |
| - | This particular collection, where each book can in principle lurk at the interstices of the connection of everything to everything else, demonstrates most acutely | + | * preliminary pass on all remaining ephemera: extract books, magazines, journals and leave the remainder |
| + | * catalogue tags and collections | ||
| + | * catalogue and library hints | ||
| + | |||
| + | * going through | ||
| + | |||
| + | * sorting and making space for cards, games, and other weird items | ||
| + | * propaganda sorting, organisation, making space | ||
| + | * cd/ | ||
| - | --- //Armoracio " | + | * archival boxes as needed |
| + | * bookends (Michka?) | ||
| - | </ | + | * übercleanup |
| {{http:// | {{http:// | ||
| - | === Digital cataloguing: | + | === Diary of an archivist === |
| + | |||
| + | == Digital cataloguing: | ||
| We agreed to use the [[http:// | We agreed to use the [[http:// | ||
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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: | + | == Sorting and consolidating: |
| 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: | + | == Information plumbing: |
| + | |||
| + | 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: | === Organisation: | ||
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| what is the motivation for the '' | what is the motivation for the '' | ||
| - | |||
| - | * go through remaining files and buckets, sorting into applicable areas | ||
| - | * cleaning up and tagging of the digital catalogue | ||
| - | * add PDFs to the digital catalogue (where available/ | ||
| - | * significant pieces of ephemera, articles, etc. could be scanned and added as attachments to the Zotero references | ||
| === New books ==== | === New books ==== | ||
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| * https:// | * https:// | ||
| * http:// | * http:// | ||
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| + | |||
| + | < | ||
| + | |||
| + | A library -- including its physical and digital arrangement and cataloguing system -- should aspire to be simple, elegant, and beautiful. Visitors should be able both to browse and search in the greatest ease and comfort. A library thus becomes a pataphor for the art of living itself. I have striven to follow these principles in approaching the sometimes daunting task of coming to terms with, managing and (re)organising the FoAM archive. | ||
| + | |||
| + | This particular collection, where each book can in principle lurk at the interstices of the connection of everything to everything else, demonstrates most acutely the issue with filing items according to a single -- or even predominant -- topic or subject area. At the same time, with items digitally catalogued and instantly searchable by any field (including tags), the physical arrangement becomes less critical for indicating an item's subject, class, or other characteristic. The library is also small and seems unlikely to grow rapidly in the foreseeable future. Therefore, after some (uneven and random) thought, and a close perusal of [[library_notes|existing notes]] on this question, I decided to take the semi-organic organisational approach as indicated below. | ||
| + | |||
| + | --- //Armoracio " | ||
nik