MnObe Thinks about the Future of the Catalog

Collecting Links:

• Information and Ideas

  http://del.icio.us/tag/mnobe_futurecat

  As you find information on the web, you can bookmark it using del.icio.us and tag it "mnobe_futurecat."  Then we'll all be able to see what you've found. (If you have never done this, contact Iris.  She can either get you set up or bookmark it for you.)

   

• Specific Examples of Catalogs

  http://del.icio.us/tag/mnobe_futurecat_examples

  As you find examples of catalogs that are doing something you like or something "future-ish," use del.icio.us to tag it "mnobe_futurecat_examples."  Again, you can contact Iris if you'd prefer not to set up a del.icio.us account.

   

What developers are thinking:

• http://futurelib.pbwiki.com/

  This is a wiki that participants on the Next Generation Catalog Listserv are creating.  They're gathering their thoughts in preparation to design and build a new kind of catalog.  So far, it doesn't seem like this will be actually built any time soon, but it's a great place to see what IT people, web designers, and librarians of many kinds think would be important in a catalog.

Other Information:

• Iris' notes from Roy Tennant's talk (November 10th, 2007)

About this Wiki

As we think about what MN-Obe schools might want out of our catalogs, we can use this space to collect links and thoughts or to draft documents together.  As the owner, I'm the one to contact if you forget the password, if something seems broken, or if you need help editing the content or creating new pages.  You can always send me stuff you want included if you'd rather not edit this space directly, but I'd encourage you to at least try it.  I've created a "sandbox" page, so if you want to just try adding content and editing stuff without "messing up" what's here, feel free to use that page to experiment.  I've included links to help and instructions there as well.  -- Iris

A couple of points about wikis that you should know right off the bat:

1. You need a password in order to modify anything.  Without it, you won't be able to see the "Edit Page" button.  Contact Iris if you lose the password. (You log in using the "log in" link on the upper right hand side of the page.  Please add your name in the "Optional" section of the log-in page.)
2. You can view the history of changes for each page.  At the bottom left corner of every page is a box of "page information."  This box includes a link to the page's history.  If you make a mistake or would like to go back to an earlier version of the page, you can do that in the History.  You can also see who made each modification.
3. You can subscribe the entire wiki or to any individual page of the wiki using the RSS feed (link located at the very bottom of every page).  That way you can receive notifications in your RSS reader whenever there are updates.  If you prefer to get emails, PBwiki provides this service as well.  Simply check the "Notify me of Changes" button when you log in. Alternatively, you can copy the RSS feed link into Rmail.  Just a word of warning, though, this will fill your inbox quicly with only somewhat comprehensible notices of changes even if somebody only adds a space or a period to a page.