In this Chapter
- I’m new, how do I do x?
- How can I find the MarcEdit user community in my area?
- How can I give something back to the project?
Getting started using any new piece of software or tool can be somewhat daunting. This can be made even more so if that tool or software is something that may be used for work and isn’t really supported by your information technology (IT) department at work or is supported by a niche community. Well MarcEdit is all of those. Very few people are going to download and use MarcEdit for fun (and if they do, I worry for them) and for those that find the program and decide to make it a part of their tool kit, they will likely find very little support within their organization supporting their use of the application. Its just one of those things that happens. Technical services and metadata creation in general, are niche jobs within the library community. At the same time, they are exceptionally important jobs, as nearly all the technology and innovations currently being developed in the library community today assume good metadata practices (or take advantage of the libraries long history of legacy metadata practice).
As library software goes, MarcEdit is pretty widely used. As a user community, there are tens of thousands of active users located around the globe. However, when compared to mainstream software tools, the MarcEdit user community is pretty small potatoes. For users new to the MarcEdit application, this can make it difficult for them to find support or help using the program. Fortunately, this is changing. Along with myself, a number of individuals within the MarcEdit community are providing workshops and presentations on how to augment workflows and work with more metadata types than ever before. The word is spreading, and I hope that is helping bring the user community closer together. At the same time, a rich user community has grown up around the application, and users looking for help have more options than ever before.
I’m new, how do I do x?
When a user first discovers MarcEdit, it’s usually because they are stuck and looking for a solution to a pretty big problem. Whether this issue is due to shelf ready cataloging, provider neutral records, the need to do a large retrospection, or the desire to do research against a large corpus of MARC data — new users come to MarcEdit with questions. So, where does a new MarcEdit user go to get those questions answered? Well, funny you should ask.
MarcEdit ListServ (https://listserv.gmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=marcedit-l&A=1): The MarcEdit ListServ has become one of the central support hubs for information on MarcEdit. It also is a great example of how a community has developed around the application. The MarcEdit ListServ was a resource that started organically due to an unmet need within the community. Ian Fairclough, from George Mason University, worked with his university to setup a listserv on behalf of the community, and in May 2009, the MarcEdit ListServ was born. George Mason has continued to host and support both the listserv and the community throughout the years, and the MarcEdit community have likewise joined and provided community support and feedback both to users and the author of the application. As of June 2013, the listserv currently has over 1100 subscribers, boasting a searchable archive of questions and answers, as well as an active and knowledgeable community.
MarcEdit Help On install, MarcEdit installs a substantial set of help documentation with the application. Covering close to 400 topics, the off-line help documentation provides information related to functionality, APIs, file formats, and tools. The help file is one of the most comprehensive help documents for MarcEdit. At the same time, the help document is generally a couple versions behind the present application build. At this point, new functionality is being documented on the MarcEdit wiki and being added later to the off-line help files.
Email the Author While I always recommend that users use the MarcEdit ListServ when looking for support, users do have the option of sending queries directly to the author at reeset@gmail.com. I answer every message that I receive about the application — though it can sometimes take a day or so. Likewise, I encourage users with enhancement or bug requests to send those as well. MarcEdit development is largely governed and driven by suggestions from the user community — so if you see something that can be improved, let someone know.