Outlines of the emerging paradigm in cataloguing

摘要

The basic principles of cataloguing were originally formulated in the 19th century and still enjoy general acceptance in the form of the Paris Principles. Initially, automation was simply a matter of producing conventional catalogues in a new way. However, the introduction of online systems makes possible searching modes for which the catalogues were not originally designed. Thus, technological progress accompanied by rising user expectations and economic pressures could lead to a breakdown of the present paradigm. The use of concepts from artificial intelligence could help us to exploit knowledge of cataloguing to a greater extent than is done at present. The description of books and the like and the determination of access points could be specified in terms of frames and production rules, respectively. Such developments would not make cataloguing a largely automatic process, as at present we do not properly understand the cognitive processes involved in the interpretation of title pages, although some possible heuristics are listed in the Appendix. A knowledge engineering approach to cataloguing should assist in the development of an improved code. If successful, such an approach would constitute a change of paradigm.