Cataloging challenges in an Area Studies Virtual Library Catalog (ASVLC): Results of a case study

This paper describes the combined experience of two research driven case studies that resulted in an Area Studies Virtual Library Catalog (ASVLC). The purpose of the catalog was to provide easy access to, and retrieval of, distributed Internet resources pertaining to four geographic regions: Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and South Asia. The case studies addressed the special considerations encountered in dealing with dynamic Web-based documents in a distributed virtual library. Our experience led to an understanding that collection guidelines for Internet sites must consider various document types available on the Web, document behavior, and document quality. We baselined quantities of Web documents reported by search engines to gain a general concept of document distribution by country, region, and language. Research was performed on Web document persistence to answer questions on catalog maintenance. Findings on document persistence were applied to collection guidelines. The record format for the catalog was modified to capture quality indicators about the Web document being described and new metadata forms to better meet the needs of the end user. By incorporating commercial, off-the-shelf software and existing cataloging standards and practices with our findings, we developed a semi-automated methodology for record and catalog creation. Our findings emphasize the differences between the print or paper-based and Web-based electronic documents, the application of the new technologies, and the impact of the findings on creating a virtual library catalog.