This is a working paper that describes two ways that a subject gateway might speed up the cataloguing process:

1. By setting up distributed cataloguing - where librarians can add resources from afar
2. By part automating the creation of cataloguing records by automated metadata entry

Subject gateways are labour intensive to maintain. They require the constant input of staff who hand-select, classify and catalogue each resource. This can mean that gateway collections are small and slow to grow. The Internet offers some solutions to this problem:

There is considerable potential for distributed collaborative cataloguing of networked resources. Information gateways can be built by teams of staff who are geographically dispersed but who can add resources to a database from their desktops via the WWW. DESIRE describes a number of different strategies for distributed cataloguing, many of which involve the library profession, and looks at the issues involved.

The potential for part-automated creation of cataloguing records is growing as more Internet information providers begin to attach metadata to their resources. DESIRE has experimented with automatic metadata entry to create part of a catalogue record. This work is described in the report.