Wikipedia Knows the Value of What the Library Catalog Forgets. Issue 2 (3rd April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Joseph, Kris
• Is Part Of: Cataloging & classification quarterly. Volume 57:Issue 2/3(2019)
• Page Start: 166
• Page End: 183
• Publication Date: 2019-04-03
• Subjects: Library catalogs -- catalog design -- historical analysis -- revision history -- classification systems; Cataloging -- Periodicals; Classification -- Books -- Periodicals; 025.3
• DOI: 10.1080/01639374.2019.1597005
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0163-9374

Abstract

Abstract: Shifting library catalogs from physical to digital has come at a cost. Catalog records no longer leave traces of their own evolution, which is a loss for librarianship. The subjective nature of information classification warrants self-examination, within which we may see the evolution of practice, debates over attribution and relevance, and how culture is reflected in the systems used to describe it. Wikipedia models what is possible: revision histories and discussion pages function as knowledge generators. A list of unanswerable questions for the modern catalog urges us to construct a new, forward-thinking bibliography that allows us to look backward.