An article by Jennifer Bowen entitled “Metadata to support next-generation library resource discovery: Lessons from the eXtensible Catalog, Phase 1” appeared recently in Information Technology & Libraries, the June 2008 issue. [1]

The article outlines next-steps for the XC Project and enumerates a number of goals for their “‘next-generation’ library catalog” application/system:

1. provide access to all library resources, digital and non-digital
2. bring metadata about library resources into a more open Web environment
3. provide an interface with new Web functionality such as Web 2.0 features and faceted browsing
4. conduct user research to inform system development
5. publish the XC code as open-source software

Because I am somewhat involved in the XC Project from past meetings and as a Development Partner, the article did not contain a lot of new news for me, but it did elaborate on a number of points.

Its underlying infrastructure is a good example. Like many “next-generation” library catalog applications/systems, it proposes to aggregate content from a wide variety of sources, normalize the data into a central store (the “hub”), index the content, and provide access to the central store or index through a number of services. This is how Primo, VUFind, AquaBrowser operate. Many others work in a similar manner; all of these systems have more things in common than differences. Unlike other applications/systems, XC seems to embrace a more transparent and community-driven process.

One of the things that intrigued me most was goal #2. “XC will reveal library metadata not only through its own separate interface.., but will also allow library metadata to be revealed through other Web applications.” This definitely the way to go. A big part of librarianship is making data, information, and knowledge widely accessible. Our current systems do this very poorly. XC is moving in the right direction in this regard. Kudos.

Another thing that caught my eye was a requirement for goal #3, “The XC system will capture metadata generated by users from any one of the system’s user environments… and harvest it back into the system’s metadata services hub for processing.” This too sounds like a good idea. People are the real sources of information. Let’s figure out ways to harness the knowledge, expertise, and experiences of our users.

What is really nice about XC is the approach they are taking. It is not all about their software and their system. Instead, it is about building on the good work of others and providing direct access to their improvements. “Projects such as the eXtensible Catalog can serve as a vehicle for moving forward by providing an opportunity for libraries to experiment and to then take informed action to move the library community toward a next generation of resource discovery systems.”

I wish more librarians would be thinking about their software development processes in the manner of XC.

[1] The article is immediately available online at http://hdl.handle.net/1802/5757.