Introduction

Abstract

“FRBR, FRAR, FROR, FRVRR, FRANAR, FRSAR … What are these abbreviations? In a profession that lives and breathes abbreviations and acronyms, do we really need more? Apparently we do, because these are the new boys (or girls) on the block. There is an information revolution on the horizon. Actually, it is going on right now. Libraries no longer have a monopoly on information. As library professionals, we are challenged by publicly traded companies—such as Google and Amazon—with billions of dollars in resources. They provide the consumer with easy-to-use Web interfaces, a single-search box that belies the complexity of indexes and programming beneath, and add-on features that have become extremely popular with users who now expect them to be available on the library's online public access catalog (OPAC) and databases.

“It has become apparent to library administrators the current organizational arrangement and division of operations of technical services and public services is not sustainable either financially or organizationally. The clear imperative is: libraries need to be able to morph, change, reengineer, and strategically invest and train personnel and resources toward a future in which information is no longer controlled or held by the library, but by a large number of publishing and service conglomerates for whom there is little incentive to think about issues, such as persistent access, preservation, or standardization of digital objects….

“We have neither the money nor the market dominance that companies like Google, Amazon, and eBay have in the new information environment; we must change, and we must change NOW! FRBR and its subsequent follower abbreviations and/or acronyms may be able to provide the marketability and viability towards this new direction. Only time will tell.”

Brad Eden is Associate University Librarian for Technical Services and Scholarly Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Previous positions include Head, Web and Digitization Services for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries; Head, Bibliographic and Metadata Services for the UNLV Libraries; and Coordinator of Technical Services for the North Harris Montgomery Community College District. He is editor of OCLC Systems & Services: Digital Library Perspectives International and is associate editor of Library Hi Tech and The Journal of Film Music . He has a master's and Ph.D. degrees in musicology as well as an MS in library science. He publishes in the areas of metadata, librarianship, medieval music and liturgy, and J. R. R. Tolkien. He recently edited Innovative Redesign and Reorganization of Library Technical Services: Paths for the Future and Case Studies (Libraries Unlimited, 2004), and is the author of four other issues of Library Technology Reports including, “Metadata and Its Applications: New Directions and Updates” (41:6); “Innovative Digital Projects in the Humanities” (41:4); “3D Visualization Techniques: 2D and 3D Information Visualization Resources, Application, and Future” (41:1); and “Metadata and Its Applications” (38:5).”