Re: [ARSCLIST] Digital "catalogry"--was: Tape baking question

[Karl Miller <lyaa071@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 11 Oct 2006, Steven C. Barr(x) wrote:

> Now, quite seriously...it seems to me possible that we (that
> being a VERY general "we!") could start using a process whereby
> all the necessary information needed to "catalog" (standard
> format here assumed) an entity (i.e book, sound recording,
> physical/digital document, photograph (still or movie) or
> similar such thingies...would be placed on a microchip which
> would then be attached/inserted/whatever in/to/upon the thing
> being catalogued!

I believe that a similar idea is a solution. From my perspective,
the very notion of "cataloging" runs contrary to the nature of information
in the digital world. Information is its point of access. This notion is
cleary understood by the major search engines like yahoo, google, et al.

The information included at the header of any audio file could be all that
there is for the purposes of identification. That information is perhaps a
file unto itself, but it need not be isolated in a separate database.

>From my perspective, the notions of authority control, and lets face it,
uniform title and subject headings for music are too labor intensive and
relate to the old linear information environment. Maybe this is still
appropriate for print materials...well I guess we really don't need the
subject headings and uniform title, but I think of what we could
accomplish if instead of hiring a cataloger, a library hired at least one
person trained in reformatting...I know, I am talking heresy and would
probably be stoned to death at any library association meeting...

Karl