Special Editorial Introduction, by Jane Greenberg

Metadata Questions in Evolving Internet-based Educational Terrain, by Jane Greenberg 
Summary. This introduction begins by defining the evolving Internet-based educational terrain.  Questions about cataloging tools and the development of metadata standards are presented, followed by questions about the creation of metadata.  The final section introduces the articles contained in this special volume of JIC.

The School Library Media Center In The Digital Age:  Issues In The Cataloging Of Electronic Resources, by  Karen Letarte
Summary. In May 1999 a survey was distributed to 214 school library media specialists to explore the ways in which school library media centers provide access to electronic resources such as educational software, interactive multimedia, and Internet resources.  The survey also addressed the use of curriculum enhancements to the MARC format, including fields 856, 658, 526, and 521 in school library catalogs. Results show that while direct-access electronic resources are being fully integrated into collections and services in the library media center, Internet resources are not yet at that point and most library media center catalogs do not reflect the use of curriculum-enhanced MARC for electronic or other materials.  The need to develop cooperative cataloging ventures to create curriculum linkages for electronic educational resources is identified.  

Aladin: An Example Of Integrating Traditional And Electronic Services In The Digital Environment, by Ursula Giere and Eva Kupidura
Summary. This article provides an overview of ALADIN (Adult Learning Documentation and Information Network) and reports on a worldwide survey carried out by the Documentation Centre of the UNESCO Institute for Education and co-financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Technology.  The survey served as a first step towards implementing international co-operation and cross-border networking between adult education documentation and information services as part of ALADIN’s activities. The survey helped to identify a variety of networking procedures and important components of organizing and cataloguing traditional as well as electronic formats on the global scale.  Overall, the survey helped to provide data so that adult education can benefit from worldwide exchange of information and bring about the democratic globalization of knowledge.  (Full report and information on ALADIN members are available at:  http://www.unesco.org/education/aladin).

Cataloging K-12 Math and Science Curriculum Resources on the Internet:  A Non-Traditional Approach, by Karen A. Plummer
Summary. The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (ENC), a project funded through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education, was created to collect and describe K-12 math and science curriculum resources and provide online access to the descriptive cataloging records (http://www.enc.org/rf/nf_index.htm).  This article discusses methods of identification and selection of WWW sites for ENC, and addresses the cataloging and abstracting of these WWW sites utilizing non-standard cataloging guidelines.  This article also discusses ENC’s efforts to add value information through the identification of state frameworks or national standards appropriate to the resource, awards or third party reviews, and by linking to related collection items or Web sites that support, enhance, or are required for use of the resource described.

Dewey Applications for the Simple Arrangement of a Link Library : the Case of Science Net, by Cheryl Martin and Wayne Daniels
Summary. This article focuses on Science Net, a project that uses the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) for ordering a set of large files of links for K-12 science curriculum resources for Canadian schools.  The project aims to provide an alternative to the rigours of sorting through search engine results by providing what are in effect virtual library shelves, which support online browsing that is similar to conventional browsing of library shelves. The article also discusses the adaptation of the Dublin Core data elements to fashion a template for cataloguing not simply the records that will appear in Science Net, but those that will also comprise the Virtual Reference Library project. The cataloguing and indexing procedures developed for both projects are described.

Straining The Standards: How Cataloging Web Sites For Curriculum Support Poses Fresh Problems For The Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, by  D. Grant Campbell
Summary. This paper discusses two primary issues that arose from cataloging educational sites as part of the Cataloguing Internet Resources Project in Canada.  First, the complex hierarchies in which many education-related resources are found is discussed--along with the need for new policies to determine “extent” for documents embedded in the interlinked bibliographic universe.  Second, the concept of and the need to re-evaluate the definition of the “edition statement” in the Web environment are discussed.  Overall, further communication is needed between the educational and cataloguing community to provide access to educational resources in the electronic environment.

Democratizing Education At The Schomburg: Catalog Development And The Internet, by James Briggs Murray 
Summary. This article documents the development of the catalog at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (NYPL), from its early beginnings up through digital access as is now evident in its Internet presentation, The Digital Schomburg.  The role of this unique library as educator and producer is discussed, as well as the cataloging decisions and processes required in mounting The Digital Schomburg.  Links to a number of Digital Schomburg resources are provided.