Library Catalogues as Data

Through the web of library catalogues, library management systems and myriad digital resources, libraries have become repositories not only for physical and digital information resources but also for enormous amounts of data about the interactions between these resources and their users. Bringing together leading practitioners and academic voices, this book aims to consider library catalogue data as a research resource.

Separated into four sections, the book will discuss a range of topics surrounding library information and data, including:

• Practical routes to preparing library catalogue data for researchers


• The ethics of library metadata privacy and reuse


• Data interoperability across library systems


• Data and collections bias


• Library-vendor relationships and data licensing


• The practical and theoretical issues inherent in reimagining administrative, usage, and bibliographic data as a research resource


• Scholarship that responds to the possibilities of library data.

This book will be an essential read for practitioners in the GLAM sector, particularly those dealing with collections and catalogue data, and LIS academics and students.