| Abstract: | ABSTRACTSince its advent more than 15 years ago, the knowledgebase has quietly deposed the catalog as the center of the library management and discovery universe. Knowledgebases provide libraries with an inventory of their e-resources holdings and describe the materials that a library has purchased at a more granular level than the traditional bibliographic record. Knowledgebases power key tools such as link resolvers and unified search platforms, support management needs across the e-resources lifecycle, and more recently have evolved to intersect with areas such as linked open data, community contribution models, and next-generation library management platforms. They have truly become the hub from which our most vital services operate. This report will provide an overview of “The Knowledgebase at the Center of the Universe,” an American Library Association Technology Report assessing the state of knowledgebase technology. Topics covered will include an overview of the current product landscape, an exploration of new directions, and case studies from libraries and vendors using knowledgebases in innovative ways. |
