WOLFcon 2024

The library community is still exploring what will replace MARC-based copy cataloging as the metadata paradigm of the future. FOLIO’s bibliographic data model is intended to lend itself well to this exploration, and we have already seen multiple models developed and in production. While BIBFRAME is the most likely replacement for MARC today, this change challenges many existing library practices and working relationships with vendors, etc. Lehigh University, the Share-VDE (SVDE) technical team, and Index Data have embarked on a project to bridge the gap between traditional cataloging workflows and emerging collaborative entity management practices by integrating FOLIO and SVDE. This initiative aims to facilitate a hybrid cataloging environment that retains support for existing MARC-based integrations while developing the flexibility and interconnectedness offered by BIBFRAME.

Meanwhile, the Library of Congress, in a transition process for its library management system, is also exploring new approaches. Working with a vendor capable of supplying shelf-ready metadata in BIBFRAME, the Library is exploring both how crosswalking to MARC aligns with current processing pipelines and data flows and, ultimately, how this metadata fits within the Library’s FOLIO deployment.

In this shared discussion, we hope to spark conversations and reflections about the larger implications of the move from MARC to BIBFRAME, what emergent best practices might look like; systems integration patterns, staff workflows, and more.