Just Released: New White Paper From NISO: “The Future of Library Resource Discovery”

The new white paper was written by librarian and library tech guru Marshall Breeding. Breeding is also the proprietor of LibraryTechnology.org and the useful Libraries.org database.
From National Information Standards Organization:

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) has published a white paper, The Future of Library Resource Discovery, written by independent consultant, speaker, and author Marshall Breeding.
The white paper was commissioned by NISO’s Discovery to Delivery (D2D) Topic Committee as part of its ongoing examination of areas in the discovery landscape that the information community could potentially standardize. Included in the paper is an overview of the current discovery environment; descriptions of how these technologies, methodologies, and products may be able to adapt to potential future change; and a look beyond current models of discovery to explore possible alternatives, especially those related to linked data.
“Marshall’s paper thoroughly fulfills D2D’s charge when we determined that further focused exploration and analysis of the future discovery terrain would better direct our work as a NISO Topic Committee,” states Pascal Calarco, Associate University Librarian, Research & Digital Discovery Services, University of Waterloo, and Chair of the NISO Discovery to Delivery Topic Committee. “The D2D Topic Committee focuses on issues regarding the finding and distribution of information by and to users and, among other tasks, identifies where new standards may provide solutions in this area and creates and provides guidance and oversight to working groups under its purview. We are appreciative that the paper, in addition to an extensive background section, includes significant sections on gap analysis, opportunities for future enhancements using various emerging technologies, and discovery beyond library-provided interfaces, which will provide rich material for our decisions on NISO projects in 2015 and beyond.”
“This impressive work will propel the Discovery to Delivery Topic Committee’s and NISO’s work in the area of discovery,” observes Todd Carpenter, NISO Executive Director. “NISO is pleased to be able to make Marshall’s expert observations and analyses available to the library and information community through the commission and publication of this white paper. We expect that the community will continue to strive to provide its users with more universal access to diverse types of content, and this document is an important tool to help identify areas which, if engaged in, will provide positive and long-lasting outcomes.”
“I’m gratified that the paper will be an important contribution to NISO’s work,” said Marshall Breeding, author of the white paper, who has also served on numerous NISO committees and working groups over many years. “An area of interest for me in this paper’s composition was identifying or exploring factors that may cause barriers to discovery, examining potential methods for progress which may benefit from additional stimulation, and detailing further opportunities to lower thresholds of entry to support additional contributions in the important arena of discovery services. I hope the material in the paper will enable the Discovery to Delivery Topic Committee to further support its important work.”

Direct to Full Text Paper: The Future of Library Resource Discovery (53 pages; PDF)
See Also: Also New From Marshall Breeding: Perceptions 2014: An International Survey of Library Automation

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