[uf-discuss] Re: [Structuredblogging-discuss] microformat for books in a library catalog

[Edward Vielmetti]

Thanks Benjamin.  I'm actually not after an XML-coded
raw MARC format, let me explain the use case a little
better.

Our library has RSS feeds for all sorts of patron searches
through the catalog (note "patron", not "cataloger").  I'm
aiming for a microformat to mark up that RSS so that
a minimally smart reader or application can pull out
fields and do something useful with them.

The intended use can be envisaged by looking at this
posting:

http://vielmetti.typepad.com/vacuum/2005/12/duckytool_searc.html

showing a command-line library search tool, and

http://vielmetti.typepad.com/vacuum/2005/12/a_design_for_a_.html

with a design for an IM library bot that would read a microformatted
RSS feed and transform queries into appropriate responses.

thanks

Ed

On 12/19/05, Benjamin Carlyle <benjamincarlyle at optusnet.com.au> wrote:
> On Tue, 2005-12-20 at 16:32 +1300, Phillip Pearson wrote:
> > This would probably make more sense over on the microformats-discuss
> > list.  Edward - visit
> > http://microformats.org/mailman/listinfo/microformats-discuss/ to join.
> > Edward Vielmetti wrote:
> > >I'm looking for suggestions for a microformat
> > >suitable to recommend to my library which
> > >produces an RSS feed as a result set for
> > >a search through its library catalog.
> > >hReview isn't quite right, and there's a lot
> > >of potentially useful book metadata that
> > >comes from a standard format (US-MARC)
> > >and should be straightforward to map in.
>
> MARC is also the name of what we use in Australia, especially in
> academic libraries. My spouse works in this field, but isn't sure if the
> encoding is the same as US MARC or not. According to wikipedia[1], it is
> US MARC.
>
> In the primary school library where she currently works, she makes
> extensive use of the scis[2] database. This is a subscriber-only system
> that allows users to search for already-catalogued works so that they
> can avoid doing the original cataloguing over again. The user enters
> ISBNs for those works that have them, and SCIS numbers that need to be
> searched for when items do not have an ISBN. The list of ISBN and SCIS
> numbers is entered into a dialogue, and a usmarc.dat file is produced
> for download. This file is imported into the local library system, and
> bob's your uncle.
>
> Interestingly, this isn't an XML MARC. It is still the original system,
> which looks something like this:
> 00741nam  2200265 a
> 4500001000800000005001700008007000300025008004100028020001500069040000900084082002000093100001600113245004100129260003900170300002300209440002500232440003800257500004100295500001400336650002200350650002200372650002700394650002700421650002700448
1050689
20010622154425.0
ta
010622s2000    at           |000 0 eng d
  a1862830517
  aW.A.
14a796.5bGRA2a13
1 aGrant, Jim.
10aEveryone likes ....
>
> It seems likely that any microformatted MARC would have to be able to be
> translated back to this version for import to local tools in order to be
> useful.
>
> --
> Benjamin Carlyle <benjamincarlyle at optusnet.com.au>
> [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MARC_21
> [2] http://www.curriculum.edu.au/scis/
>
>


--
Edward Vielmetti in Ann Arbor, MI 48104
+1 734 276 5910

edward.vielmetti at gmail.com
http://www.vacuumgroup.com