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Abstract

This dissertation consists of a critical commentary anchored on the portfolio of publications consisting of six peer-reviewed papers selected for their breadth of coverage on library cataloguing issues and also for their evolutionary and futuristic outlook. The overall project traces the transformation of the work of the professional library cataloguer through examining advances in the past decade as documented in the prior publications, and charts the expansionary trajectory of the profession in light of the ongoing digital transition in libraries. The critical commentary places cataloguing, the catalogue, the cataloguer, and catalogue librarianship in the evolutionary framework for library services, described in Michael Buckland’s 1992 publication Redesigning Library Services: A Manifesto , and subsequent extensions of this framework by other authors. Into this framework, a new “Blended” state, omitted as transitory between “Paper” and “Electronic” in Buckland’s framework, is inserted, and a new professional identity of the “Blended Cataloguer” is developed to take on the roles of data curator, knowledge creator, and information policymaker. A unified practice surrounding these new roles, the “Decomposition-Assembly Approach” is developed to describe a data processing methodology incorporating both traditional and digital library cataloguing skills. Beyond complementing the new Blended Cataloguer professional identity, this approach is also shown to represent a practical approach to “enrich and filter,” a theoretical model for digital library metadata developed by Alemu and Stevens (2015). The Blended Cataloguer practising the Decomposition-Assembly Approach represents a radical shift from the traditional standard-based practise, and provides a new evolutionary framework and practical model for current library cataloguers and metadata workers that will enable the development of foundational information infrastructure for future library services and provide leadership in shaping the broader information ecosystem.

Publication Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z665 Library Science. Information Science Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources
Departments:	Doctoral Theses School of Communication & Creativity > Media, Culture & Creative Industries > Library & Information Science School of Communication & Creativity > School of Communication & Creativity Doctoral Theses

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