Get the straight facts on FRBR - and whether it is right for you! In 1998, Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) was a conceptual model promoted by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) as being the recommended new advancement in cataloging. As libraries strive to serve their users better in the coming years, questions remain as to whether FRBR may provide an answer on how to improve cataloging systems. Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR): Hype or Cure-All? explores not only the theoretical issues, such as the concept of "works" and the bibliographic relationships of musical works, but also provides a unique survey of most of the systems that actually implement FRBR such as the AustLit Gateway. This book describes the challenges that accompany implementation of FRBR, and how this abstract approach to cataloging can be a useful, practical tool to help improve library systems. Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR): Hype or Cure-All? clearly explains the concepts, ideas, and practical applications of FRBR. The book is comprised of four major sections. A chronological section explains how FRBR was developed and how it will evolve in the future; a theoretical section reviews how FRBR analyzes different types of library materials; a practical aspects section examines how some systems actually use FRBR; and lastly, a section that explains an alternative to FRBR - the XOBIS project - which shows that other solutions are possible to meet future cataloging challenges. Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) explores: innovative features, including the "Semantic Web" activities future evolutions in cataloging alternatives to FRBR the history of IFLA Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records Study an updated description of the entity-relationship model being developed by the Working Group to extend the FRBR model to cover authority data key aspects of the FRBR and FRANAR models that will need to be re-examined the concept of expression the cataloging of hand press materials the AustLit Gateway musical works in the FRBR model the Paradigma Project at the National Library of Norway the FRBR and the performing arts oral traditions and FRBR the design of future systems the European FRBR research initiative FRBRizing OCLC's WorldCat the IFPA software and application interfaces the Library of Congress's FRBR Display Tool XOBIS - metadata - the critical bridge between content and sophisticated access Librarians, library science faculty, students, and vendors will find Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR): Hype or Cure-All? an invaluable source of information on both the theoretical and practical aspects of FRBR.

"The primary purpose of this conceptual model is to provide a framework for the analysis of functional requirements for the kind of authority data that is required to support authority control and for the international sharing of authority data. The model focuses on data, regardless of how it may be packaged (e.g., in authority records)."--Page 13.

Contains complete text of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2d ed., 1998 rev., including all amendments, all appendices, a fully searchable table of contents and index, a tutorial, and Folio Views Infobase.

This book is ideal for anyone who aims to obtain an overview of the current status of Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) development. It helps identify the key FRBR issues that need to be addressed and investigates the future directions of FRBR development. Implementing FRBR in Libraries: Key Issues and Future Directions is the first book to address the theory and implementation of FRBR in a unified discussion. Authors Yin Zhang and Athena Salaba, winners of the 2009 ALISE/Bohdan S. Wynar Research Paper Competition Award," give readers a clear framework for understanding FRBR's current and potential implications on library catalogs. They provide a thorough introduction to the history of FRBR and its possible benefits, a detailed description of the FRBR model and its components, and a discussion of its practical influence in transforming description standards, cataloging and metadata practices. The book includes examples of how professionals are successfully applying FRBR in real-life library settings, and explores various methods for effectively implementing the FRBR model. Each chapter includes illustrations to help reinforce fundamental concepts. The book contains a comprehensive appendix of key terms and acronyms to aid readers new to the field and a list of projects and software to showcase practical FRBR applications. Library catalogers, indexers, metadata creators, reference librarians, researchers, and LIS educators and students who need to know, or know more about, FRBR will find this refreshingly straightforward book invaluable.

"FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) is a 1998 recommendation of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to restructure catalog databases to reflect the conceptual structure of information resources. More technically, FRBR uses an entity-relationship model of metadata for information objects, instead of the single flat record concept underlying current cataloging standards. The FRBR model includes four levels of representation: work, expression, manifestation, and item. If fully implemented, FRBR would produce the biggest change cataloging has seen in the last century." (OCLC Research: http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/frbr.html)