Demise of the Local Catalog

Roy Tennant writes "Demise of the Local Catalog" for Library Journal.  In it, he talks about how the ILS will lose its finding-aid (web catalog) component, and become what it once was: an acquisitions and cataloging system, with a patron database on the side.  Finding aids will become more universal, no longer requiring users to search a dozen library catalogs to find a rare item.  It's an excellent article to read if you're curious about the status of the catalog.

Tennant also alludes to WorldCat Local as a potential solution to the library world's need for a universal catalog.  I have been thinking about WorldCat Local a lot lately.  Why?  My library is one of the libraries participating in the beta project, though our site hasn't launched live for the public yet.  While I think that the idea of a universal catalog is wonderful, and one to be pursued wholeheartedly, so far I see two small potential problems with WorldCat Local working as a universal finding aid.  These are problems that any other group thinking of developing a similar system would need to consider.

One issue I've found using WorldCat.org is that many small libraries, and poorer libraries, have not uploaded their records into WorldCat because of the cost.  Therefore, if I live in an economically disadvantaged area (often rural areas), then WorldCat.org will tell me to drive 50 miles for a title even though my local library does indeed own it.   The library divide grows deeper...

The second issue I'm seeing is WorldCat's difficulty in dealing with multi-branch systems.  WorldCat only recognizes zipcodes for the central location of that system.  So, if I live in City B, and think of my library as the City B Library, and enter my zip code as the starting place, WorldCat may tell me to go to a library many miles away, in a neighboring system, instead of to City B Library.  Why?  Because it only recognizes the location for my system's City A, not B, C, D, E, F, G, and so on.  This is not as big a problem for college libraries, where all the branches are confined within one small geographic space.  But for large city libraries or county libraries, with multiple branches scattered dozens of miles apart, it becomes a serious problem. 

I am sure that the second problem is not insurmountable--after all, some thoughtful programming could settle that, I'm sure.  I am not so sure about the first problem though.  Until there exists a world catalog in which the inclusion of records is free, I cannot see WorldCat truly functioning as a full World Catalog...only a catalog of the advantaged, unfortunately.