The catalog is the library: a perspective

Today I found an interesting post via Pubsub, written by an ex-librarian, discussing the role of the online catalog for libraries in the (near) future. Basically he posits that the online catalog IS the library, and goes on to describe ways in which that promise or ideal can be reached. These include combining tags, facets, and flexible hierarchies, as well as combining book lending with book buying. It’s a somewhat provocative proposal but one of the things I find interesting about it is that the writer is obviously not at all in the mainstream of current library discussions; in fact, he seems to be in an entirely different arena. Yet his proposals are akin to what others have already been proposing in the library world. E.g. Paul Miller of Talis just wrote the other day about the idea of bookstores combining with libraries.