For several millennia, paper was the primary medium for storing and sharing information. Western library science, therefore, was developed and operated at the intersection of information storage, education, and this one particular technology. The proliferation of computers changed the field, but the invention of MARC encoding allowed library-developed metadata standards to retain importance by adapting them from the card catalog to the computer. When search engines and discovery systems took over, the incorporation of XML-based schemas, like Dublin Core, into library cataloging was a further adaptation. The integration of AI tools into societal information retrieval presents a similar turning point. In this presentation, I present the argument for how library metadata transformation into linked data can allow library catalogers to remain relevant as curators of information by adapting existing indexing and descriptive standards for the current era of information technology.
For several millennia, paper was the primary medium for storing and sharing information. Western library science, therefore, was developed and operated at the intersection of information storage, education, and this one particular technology. The proliferation of computers changed the field, but the invention of MARC encoding allowed library-developed metadata standards to retain importance by adapting them from the card catalog to the computer. When search engines and discovery systems took over, the incorporation of XML-based schemas, like Dublin Core, into library cataloging was a further adaptation. The integration of AI tools into societal information retrieval presents a similar turning point. In this presentation, I present the argument for how library metadata transformation into linked data can allow library catalogers to remain relevant as curators of information by adapting existing indexing and descriptive standards for the current era of information technology.
San Gabriel A,B,C Ex Libris Knowledge Days and ELUNA Conference 2026 eluna-conf-planning@exlibrisusers.orgTechnical Issues?
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