Anthony was right on point:: "the person wishing to view the
resource/book/webpage will *retrieve* a copy from the library/institute which
holds it."
If we add the creator's email to the metadata, then we have the responsibility
to maintain that information--otherwise, what's the purpose of it? Email is not
a useful means of resource *discovery*, i.e. certainly no more useful than the
creator's home address or telephone number. If we can't even agree to have a
rule such as "Surname, forename," (something that very rarely changes) much less
an authorized form of a name, how can we expect email addresses to be any better
at all?
I'm not saying that this information would be completely useless--it's that the
maintenance far outweighs any benefit and cannot be maintained in the long run,
unless we openly declare that we are making a phone book. If there will be email
information in the record, it cannot be maintained and will inevitably be
annoying to the user (much as the old links in Alta Vista are now).
As I said in my previous statement, creators should be encouraged to add a
contact point to their pages.
I realize that DC.Creator.Email will probably be accepted, but to be fair to the
users, we should probably warn against its use.
Jim Weinheimer
Princeton University
[log in to unmask]
Paul Miller wrote:
> James wrote:
>
> ...
>
> > Yes, it might be *nice* to have this sort of information in the
> > catalog--it would
> > be nice to be able to tell someone where they can buy a copy of a
> > certain book,
> > for instance--but the system is not made for that.
>
> ...
>
> That very much depends upon what 'the system' is... We're not necessarily
> building a library catalogue here, or a museum collection management system,
> or a database of news feeds. We're creating a framework that can be used for
> the *discovery* (and retrieval) of resources.
>
> Especially in a distributed, non-controlled environment, actually being able
> to get hold of a person or institution can be a vitally important part of
> the resource discovery process. There's therefore, arguably, a valid role
> for contact-type information in (or accessible from, via something like a
> ULAN/vCard reference) the record... despite the plethora of problematic
> issues with this information which you and others have accurately
> identified.
>
> Paul
>
> -- dr. paul miller - interoperability focus - [log in to unmask] --
> u. k. office for library and information networking (ukoln)
> tel: +44 (0)1482 466890 mobile: +44 (0)410 481812
> ---------------------------- http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/interop-focus/ --
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