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Hi all, What Kevin says is very much in line with what UKAD is all about. What we want to do is to focus on users, and on trying to reach users in the most effective way that we can - looking at both more traditional and more innovative ways to promote our archive collections to the widest possible audience. Cataloguing, and standards for cataloguing, form a part of our interests, as issues here can impact upon discovering archives. We are also interested in the potential for more cross-searching, enabling users to find archives along with library materials and museum resources, and indeed, other resources that they might be interested in. I'm sorry that the name doesn't work for you. But we felt that 'resource discovery' was fairly clear and oriented towards user benefits. all the best, Jane. Jane Stevenson Archives Hub Mimas, The University of Manchester Devonshire House Oxford Road Manchester M13 9QH email:[log in to unmask] website: archiveshub.ac.uk blog: archiveshub.ac.uk/blog twitter: archiveshub.ac.uk/twitter On 5 Jan 2011, at 10:37, Kevin Ashley wrote: > Andrew R. Nicoll wrote: >> Melinda Hauton wrote: >>> The UK Archives Discovery Network* **was formed by a group of like-minded > >> archivists and information and information professionals who believe that we >> can work together to more effectively expose our archives through the opening >> up of descriptive information and the use of technology and shared > >> expertise.* >> Can I just ask what is likely a silly question ... >> Is the term ‘resource discovery’ now what we call cataloguing and getting the >> catalogues online? > > In a word, no. > > But to give a slightly longer answer: the term 'resource discovery' > is generally used to describe the process of finding material of any > sort regardless of the curatorial tradition which has custody of it. > So it covers finding material described in library, archive and museum > catalogues as well as other sorts of material (such as research data) > which is intentionally catalogued for reuse but not by any of those > types of institution. > > The other primary difference between the terms is that one is > institutionally focussed and the other is user focussed. Cataloguing > is what institutions do; resource discovery is what users do. > > What you describe is an essential part of the process, in that > without catalogues it is difficult to find material unless one has > direct access to the archivist/librarian/curator/etc who has custody > of it (and often not even then.) But cataloguing alone does not deliver > ideal resource discovery. > > For example, one goal of initiatives such as JISC's resource discovery > task force was to encourage ways of working that would ease cross-searching > of material in library, museum and archive catalogues and to bring in > other material of interest from outside those domains. > > It isn't necessarily a shift in what you do, although experience with > existing cross-search services such as those provided by AIM25 and > the M25 Libraries consortium suggest that slight changes in cataloguing > practice by both disciplines could make the task easier. That doesn't mean > abandoning or changing standards, but it may mean using the ones we > already have in particular ways. > >> I feel I must have missed some major debate/shift in what we call what we do. >> Oddly though, I haven’t had any requests recently for work experience in the > > field of resource discovery, nor seen many job advertisements requiring such a > > skill! >> In all seriousness, why do we feel it necessary to change the terminology of > > what we do? If this new term provides me with confusion/mild irritation, what > > does it do for the wider world? Gobbledegook I say! > > Contact the list owner for assistance at [log in to unmask] > > For information about joining, leaving and suspending mail (eg during a holiday) see the list website at > https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=archives-nra Contact the list owner for assistance at [log in to unmask] For information about joining, leaving and suspending mail (eg during a holiday) see the list website at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=archives-nra