Building Bridges: Advocacy as a Tool for the Technical Services Professional

ABSTRACT

“The Sharpest Tool in the Shed” column seeks to introduce new systems and tools relating to scholarly publishing, serials, electronic resources, and more. This issue's column will focus on an important but often overlooked tool for anyone engaged in the work traditionally housed in technical services (TS)—advocacy for the work of technical services. This would include both advocacy regarding how technical services work supports the library's mission and the work in other divisions. How to make that work accessible for the novice to facilitate collaboration with other library departments is also discussed. As a serials catalog librarian at Michigan State University Libraries, I have worked to make advocacy a part of what I do and how I think about my work and the work of my colleagues. Locally, this has meant the development of a series of talks around TS expertise and projects to reach out to our colleagues about our work.     

Exploring Linked Data Through the Lens of Technical Services

ABSTRACT

Linked data has swept across the library community, making its way into special collections and catalog data. What would linked data look like in a technical services environment? This article will look at the intersection of linked data and technical services. The article will begin with an introduction to linked data concepts. This will be followed by a look at linked data technologies and publishing strategies. The article will close with a discussion of potential and real applications of linked data in technical services, benefits and challenges of linked data, and thoughts on how the library community can contribute to the linked data effort.     

A New Direction for Library Technical Services: Using Metadata Skills to Improve User Accessibility

Abstract

An increased awareness about the importance of resource accessibility for all library users has set the stage for transforming traditional cataloger roles into a new realm of possibility. The Acquisitions & Discovery (A&D) and the User Experience (UX) departments of North Carolina State University Libraries have formed a partnership to explore the benefits of working together amidst this climate of innovation and change. A pilot project was created to develop a workflow through which technical services staff can use their metadata skills to help resolve accessibility issues found on the Libraries’ main website. By performing this work, staff can grow in technical expertise, enhance the quality of metadata in web content, and build mutually beneficial partnerships within the library community.     

More Than Things

Abstract

The often invisible labor of serials, technical services, metadata, and electronic resources workers sits in the space between required and preferred, assessment and surveillance. Although libraries and information workers did not explicitly create the systems many of us live in, we are responsible for their everyday functioning. In many ways the narratives from technical services to the library are centered in objects: item counts, COUNTER stats, door counts, discovery, and other transactional data. And yet, we are stewards and maintainers, innovators and storytellers of the countless ways these objects are experienced. How can we help our colleagues understand the outreach component of this work? How do we responsibly confront power in our systems—which often miscalculates the necessity of care in favor of the shiny? What does it mean to honor expertise behind the scenes, and how might we gain agency in our systems once more?     

2011 Texas Library Association Conference

Abstract

The 2011 Texas Library Association Conference (TLA) was held in Austin, Texas, on April 12–15. Conference planners this year focused on offering more academic library sessions than in the past, particularly sessions on topics of interest to technical services librarians. Following are reports of five sessions.     

Marriage and Family Periodical Indexes

Abstract

Auburn University Libraries wanted to reduce the amount of work devoted to current print issues in a manner acceptable to public service librarians and patrons. The Current Periodicals collection in the Ralph Brown Draughon (RBD) Library, the main library, has been reduced to only those periodical issues for which reliable online access is not available. Current issues that have online access are kept in the Acquisitions Department in a “closed stacks” arrangement. “Closed stacks” issues are available to patrons upon request. The experience at Auburn University demonstrates that reconfiguring processes for Current Periodicals involves collaboration between technical and public services with minimal difficulties and introduces new efficiencies. The librarians hope to save time and resources and reduce missing issues and claims. They are monitoring patron reaction to the change.     

Developing a Crystal Clear Future for the Serials Unit in an Electronic Environment: Results of a Workflow Analysis

Abstract

The University of South Florida Tampa Library discontinued checking in print journals and periodicals for a trial period of one year from July 2005 to June 2006. This article discusses the reasons behind such a decision, the challenges, and final results. Though the trial proved inconvenient for public and technical services alike, few specific problems were reported via e-mail, online forms or in person. The library derived several benefits from this project, particularly in terms of the timing, since it happened just as the library moved to a new integrated library system, from NOTIS to Aleph.     

Serials Staffing for the Twenty-First Century and Beyond

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the technical services issues relating to the future of serials staffing, particularly for serials catalogers. Trends in cataloging procedures, technical services reorganizations, and the changing roles of professional and paraprofessional employees affect present and future responsibilities of serials work. The author also examines major technological innovations that have affected staffing needs, including journals in electronic format, vendor-supplied holdings data, automatic generation of bibliographic records, and the potential implications of proposed serials cataloging rule changes on the way in which serials will be managed in libraries. Serials Review 2002; 28:195–200.     

Management of Electronic Serials in Academic Libraries: The Results of an Online Survey

Abstract

This article presents the results of an online survey of academic librarians conducted in 2011 on the topic of electronic serials management. Since online journals had by 2011 become a major part of academic library serials collections, a central objective of this survey was to explore whether this had led to any degree of standardization in online serials management procedures across academic libraries. The focus of the survey was generally on issues affecting technical services, specifically exploring the impact of electronic serials on collection development, library staffing, and serials management tools. The responses to the survey did not reflect any significant level of uniformity among these libraries in any of these areas, suggesting that libraries primarily take into account the needs of their own institutions when formulating procedures for managing online serials.     

Communicating E-resource Management Needs to Library Stakeholders: Theory and Praxis

Abstract

Conflict management studies and the communication needs addressed by the NASIG Core Competencies standards will be the framework for how to communicate electronic resource management to library stakeholders. This article provides both theory and praxis as it is applied at Kansas State (K-State) Libraries for electronic resource access ticket resolution. The librarians responding to these tickets at K-State Libraries assessed their communications and workflows in the past year to provide a more effective customer service model. This provides evidence of technical services having public-facing elements in its core activity.     

Implementing New Bibliometric Services at EPA-RTP Library

Abstract

The EPA-RTP Library is a federal research library established on the campus of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Historically, one of the ways the library has supported the information needs of researchers on campus is through the provision of basic bibliometric-related reference support. As these requests evolved in complexity due to the nature of organizational and scientific research impact demands, library staff recognized an opportunity to expand the library’s offerings to form two distinct services with product deliverables. The resulting services analyze and package metrics at the author, article, and journal levels with graphical data visualizations to provide researchers with a portfolio-style product they can use to demonstrate their individual scholarly output and research value. Development of Research Impact Reports and Article Impact Reports is explained in detail along with reflections on implementation processes and prospects for future expansion in bibliometric analysis services.     

Serials and the OCLC Acquisitions Subsystem

Abstract

Academic library consortia, faced with requirements of assessment and accountability, are increasingly pressured to measure the impact of their networked electronic services. Studies on usage of electronic library resources and electronic journals, in particular, proliferate; relatively few focus on the academic library consortium. This paper gives an overview of one assessment tool, MINES for Libraries®, as implemented in the Scholars Portal service of the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL). The novel contributions of this study are twofold: firstly, the creation of peer groups within an academic consortium for comparison purposes, and secondly, the use of regression analysis to explore the correlation between usage and three separate variables outside the MINES survey — library print holdings, library acquisitions budget, and sponsored research revenue.     

Textbook Affordability in the Time of COVID-19

Abstract

This article provides a background of the textbook affordability problem affecting students attending United States higher education institutions, both prior to and during the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as potential solutions to the problem. Solutions discussed include the availability of open materials in online repositories, publisher responses like inclusive access, institutional incentive programs, and initiatives by library consortia or other statewide programs. The responses of various stakeholders to make textbooks accessible to students during the pandemic are also covered.     

SR visits: bringing electronic access to the census bureau library

Abstract

The United States Census Bureau Library, acting on a study commissioned in 2002, has undertaken to improve electronic access for their patrons. The library provides e-journal and database access. The staff relies on usage statistics from these resources to sharpen the focus of the collection. Through an aggressive outreach program Census Bureau employees learn about these new products and services. Future plans include adding more e-journals, an open OPAC, and a new library building.     

Serials Spoken Here - Reports of Conferences,Institutes, and Seminars

Abstract

This column includes reports on sessions from the American Library Association Midwinter Conference 2019, with a report on how libraries can be part of a shared community with developers and users through the use of future of libraries, is open (FOLIO) library services platform and a report reflecting on future technological developments. Additionally, conference reports from the 14th Annual Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference, which includes reports on implementing troubleshooting training programs for public services staff and using budget cuts as an opportunity to generate goodwill. The remaining reports are from American Library Association Annual Conference 2019, which includes a report about the parallels between managing campaigns and managing an integrated library system (ILS) migration, how to improve a collection development plan with resources about Cheyenne and Arapaho people, and an exploration of the challenges of hosting student and faculty journals.     

How Much Do Print Backfiles Matter?

Abstract

As physical collections are increasingly pressed for space, libraries continue to look at practices such as weeding and off-site storage, coupled with services like on-demand article-level document delivery, as potential space solutions. As libraries discard long runs of print journals, though, what role do journal backfiles play going forward? When many see backfiles as space hogs, is there data that provides a compelling argument for keeping backfiles of journals, and, if so, how should those backfiles be handled and by whom? Incorporating information from an interview with Glenn Jaeger, owner of Absolute Backorder Service, interlibrary loan data from the University of Prince Edward Island, and examples from the literature, this Balance Point column looks at the role that print journal backfiles play in the library landscape.