November 3, 2009 Library of Congress Launches Cataloger's Desktop 3.0, Major Modernization of Subscription Service

The Library of Congress this week launched Cataloger’s Desktop 3.0, a major modernization of its popular web-based subscription service of important cataloging and metadata resources.

Desktop, available from the Cataloging Distribution Service, provides catalogers access to more than 280 electronic manuals, cataloging and classification standards, procedures and resources. The new 3.0 version adds operational enhancements, greatly expanding its search and information-discovery features.

Beacher Wiggins, director of the Library’s Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Directorate, said “Cataloger’s Desktop 3.0 is a good example of the Library’s continuing commitment to catalogers everywhere.”

Subscribers to Desktop have automatically received the new version, and catalogers soon will have an opportunity to see Desktop 3.0 demonstrated at the Library of Congress exhibit booth at the American Library Association midwinter meeting in Boston in January 2010.

Barbara Tillett, chief of the Library’s Policy and Standards Division, said “To help users make the most of the new product enhancements, the Library of Congress staff has been busy creating an array of helpful documentation.” A battery of learning aids and practical tips will be accessible shortly online, to help subscribers optimize their use of Cataloger’s Desktop 3.0. The aids include a series of webinars in both English and Spanish, free online training files, PowerPoint presentations and at-a-glance, how-to handouts.

Desktop 3.0 incorporates cutting-edge searching and navigation techniques, including fuzzy matching; finding/excluding similar resources; dynamic drill-downs; contextual analysis; search relevancy; remembering search histories; query federation; faceted search drill-downs; and a search engine that adapts to a user’s search behavior.

Bruce Johnson, Cataloger’s Desktop product manager, said “Desktop 3.0 takes advantage of state-of-the-art search and navigation techniques which help users find exactly what they need faster and easier than ever before.”

InfoSolutions, the Kentucky web-product developer that has supported Cataloger’s Desktop for the past six years, worked with the Library staff on the modernization.

Desktop is updated quarterly by the Library’s Policy and Standards Division and is available to users 24/7 through the Cataloging Distribution Service. For further information on Cataloger’s Desktop, visit www.loc.gov/cds/desktop.

The Cataloging Distribution Service of the Library of Congress packages, distributes and markets the Library’s cataloging records and cataloging-related publications, tools and resources. Catalogers within the Library of Congress and in libraries around the world rely on the standards and technical publications distributed by CDS to organize their collections for effective access.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, with nearly 142 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats. The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site, in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill, and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov. Many of the Library’s rich resources and treasures may also be accessed via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.