The values of the library catalog lay in its ability to help the user not only find relevant information but also provide him/her with knowledge about the bibliographic universe (a network of works, related works and works about a work). The library catalog should represent an integrated picture of bibliographic families (entities and their relationships) understandable to the user. The approach by which a bibliographic family is organized and represented provides an ontological context for a better understanding of the bibliographic universe. However, the linear structure of current online catalogs lacks such an approach. This paper describes how the catalog and the bibliographic record can be re-structured and redesigned to facilitate the process of turning information into knowledge. This process is highly contextual in which the user can acquire knowledge not only through finding, identifying, selecting and obtaining but also through learning, distinguishing, integrating, and understanding the information presented to him/her. This paper also suggests a conceptual model, i.e., the SuperWork record which merges and integrates bibliographic data to transfer knowledge rather than information. The SuperWork Record is a meta-record covering and integrating all records representing all the instances of a work and works about a work. As a knowledge tool the SuperWork record incorporates elements necessary for the better understanding, differentiating, relating, organizing and synthesizing information about bibliographic families. It illustrates: a) how big a bibliographic family is (the size), b) what types of entities are related to a work (the categories), c) what types of relationships exist between and among works (the association), and d) how related works are arranged (the organization). These elements help the user cognitively process the information and get more knowledge about the bibliographic universe. Rethinking about the theoretical basis for the functions of the library catalog makes it possible to develop catalogs representing knowledge rather than information. More user tasks and more advanced objectives and functions can be developed for the library catalog to serve as a gateway to knowledge.

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