From OPAC to library linked data: giving new answers to users' needs

Abstract

Being a portal onto the majority of library services, the catalogue is an indispensable tool for the modern library. Nevertheless, many people (85%) start their research from search engines, even if everybody knows that information on the web is not completely reliable. Which kind of tools are available for our users today? How do Opacs answer to their queries? How will libraries face the future?
In the first part the paper describes the online catalogue evolution from traditional Opacs to next generation catalogues and discovery tools. In the second part, it discusses the attempts to overcome the limits of MARC format and to create FRBR-ized catalogues. Finally, it introduces Library Linked Data: a great chance for the libraries and for the web, and a challenge for the future of cataloguing – and of libraries in general.