I definitely find there is a general reluctance among practitioners in the
UK to talk publicly about what they are doing and in more broad terms than
just RDA. The example that comes to mind is that, when I worked in the US,
I did a lot of work on the cataloguing department's intranet documentation,
almost all of which was (and still is) publicly accessible on the internet
and not restricted in anyway. I still regularly search the documentation on
Technical Services pages/wikis when I want to investigate what other
libraries are doing.
In the UK, it is almost impossible to see documentation of local practices,
in-house policies, training or other information. There seems to be a
reluctance to share this kind of information openly, which is a shame as I
find it hugely useful to know what others do.
I am not sure why this is, cultural differences or historical diffidence? I
think speaking in a public forum about local cataloguing policies falls
into the same kind of category maybe?
Celine
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