ALCTS *CCS Catalog Form and Function Interest Group* invites speakers for presentations for its meeting at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans on *Saturday, June 25, 2011*, from *10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon*. This
year, we are asking, “Is it already too late for the catalog?” Has our primary discovery tool been irreversibly eclipsed by Web Scale and Open Web discovery tools?
Suggested approaches might include:
* Are patrons/students still using the catalog on their own and if so, for what purpose? Are they empowered or confused by the library’s parallel discovery systems?
* Are reference librarians directing users to the local catalog, to Web scale library apps (Summon, Ebsco Discovery Service, WorldCat), or to Google?
* If you’ve recently implemented a next-gen and/or Web scale discovery layer, can you offer comparative usage statistics.
* Is custom catalog development still a good investment of scarce library resources?
* Will our library-created catalog metadata thrive in replacement discovery applications?
Presentations should be approximately 15-20 minutes in length, with additional time allowed for questions and answers. The level of discussion will be determined by the level of interest/involvement of you, the presenter! Please indicate your interest in presenting to Katherine Harvey, Chair, CFFIG, kharvey@uci.edu by May 25th.
The Catalog Form and Function Interest Group exists to explore the evolving nature of the library catalog and its relationship to the fundamental mission and expanding services to libraries.
We look forward to hearing from you.