I would argue that our energy would be better spent thinking about
the next generation library rather than the next generation opac.

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that the very idea of having
a catalog as an important component of a library smacks of retrograde
thinking? To my mind, in a clean-slate NG Library architecture, the
library catalog should only exist as a facade that recognizes of the
vanity of libraries and the people who fund them.

I can think of no technical justification for library catalogs as we
look forward. If not the next generation, then the next-next
generation of libraries. The functions that exist today in library
catalogs need to be pushed in two directions- toward the user on one
hand, and towards global registries on the other.

the other Eric
--

Eric Hellman, Director                            OCLC Openly
Informatics Division
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http://www.openly.com/1cate/      1 Click Access To Everything