[PGCanada] Re: PG* filenames/directories

Andrew Sly sly at victoria.tc.ca
Thu Apr 22 15:07:10 PDT 2004



A directory something like what Carlo proposed is certainly possible;
however, I believe the chance of getting different organizations to all
use the same system to be very unlikely. (And if such an attempt was
made, many inconsistencies and oddities would inevitably show up.)

What I see as a problem with this approach is that it mixes cataloging
decisions in with the filename/directory structure. Just from putting
together a list of about 200 Canadian books from PG, I found that I had
to make judgement calls about what forms of titles and author names to
use, and even which authors to credit. I am sure a professional
cataloger would not agree with all of my choices.

I have submitted numerous error reports in PG cataloging information
over the past few years, so I am aware of just how easy it is for
them to sneak in. If you already have the author's name hard-coded
in a directory name, and then later realize it's been spelled wrong,
it would be a major pain to change it, and fix links to it.

In contrast, simply using digits, based on ascension numbers, is much
more neutral, and easier to correct when the inevitable errors
surface.

Carlo said:
"before including a book, an authorization should be obtained."

And that would be the major stumbling block, requiring extra research
and cataloging decisions to be made before each and every new eBook
is posted.

Please note, I'm not saying this type of organization is wrong, or
a bad idea, just that it has a potential for causing extra,
unanticipated problems.

Thanks,
Andrew




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