Technical Services Workflows: trends and good practices David Whitehair Senior Product Manager OCLC OVGTSL 2012 May 3, 2012 Evansville, IN

Who participated?

n = 3,308

Who participated? n = 3,307

The library: Use, shape and format Staying informed Advice for OCLC Priorities

Priorities of public librarians Tops the listMissed the cut Ensuring adequate Internet access 36% Demonstrating value to funders 34% Licensed e-collections/e-books 32% Access to new technology 29% Forming community partnerships 28% Digitization projects 6% Integrating social media 6% Succession plans for library staff 6% Open-source products 4% Cloud computing 2% n=1,161

Priorities of academic librarians Tops the listMissed the cut Licensed e-collections/e-books 51% Future of higher education and the library’s role 42% Facilities issues 39% Visibility of library’s collection 30% Digitization projects 23% Succession plans for library staff 7% Cloud computing 6% Integrating social media 6% Data curation 5% Open access publishing 5% n=1,786

Priorities of community college librarians Tops the listMissed the cut Licensed e-collections/e-books 57% Future of higher education and the library’s role 45% Visibility of library’s collection 43% Facilities issues 35% Access by mobile devices 32% Cloud computing 6% IR discovery and aggregation 2% Deaccessioning print materials 2% Open access publishing 1% Data curation 0% n=161

So many priorities…

Trends Merge acquisitions and cataloging departments Streamline technical services to focus on hidden collections Receive vendor records Implement shelf-ready for print materials Define “good enough” bibliographic records Evaluate patron driven acquisitions

Receiving shelf-ready items Shift print to shelf-ready with vendor records Checklist for acquisitions staff to complete physical check of books and processing Categories: Need additional cataloging Need additional physical processing Bypass cataloging and processing Goal to bypass cataloging as much as possible

E-book cataloging using print book processes

Working with large sets of records Get sets of records from vendors Have a unique way to retrieve records in set Keep timetable for history Keep sample edited record for each file to help remember changes need for next file Create a procedure for editing Be aware of local system capabilities – indexing, # of records that can be loaded, etc. Use MarcEdit

Good enough cataloging Implement a “good enough” record definition Re-evaluate local practices Impact on duplicate call numbers Cross train: cataloging staff help in public services to better understand how the data is used

Follow a good recipe 1. Remove roast from refrigerator. 2. Cut two inches from each side, discard Grandma’s Secret Roast 6

UNC Charlotte at the Charleston Conference Consultants hired; interviewed staff; prepared 100 pg report Consolidated to one vendor with shelf-ready & WCP Eliminated pre-order searching; provided vendor ISBNs Tightened approval plan; eliminated staff review Electronic selection of notification slips Adopted restrictive gift policy Reduced periodical binding, serial check-in/claiming Reduced fund structure from 800 to 200 Fast catalog non-shelf-ready items (copy cataloging without checking all fields) 85% monographs processed without staff intervention

Results… How to digitize and describe over 3100 photographs and postcards… and still do everything else!!!

Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want End-Users expect online catalogs: to look/behave like popular Web sites to have summaries, abstracts, tables of contents to link directly to needed information Librarians expect online catalogs: to help staff carry out work responsibilities to have accurate, structured data to exhibit library principles of organization April 2009

Recommended enhancements to WorldCat Total end-user responses End-User Results: Recommended Enhancements 4 Librarian/Staff Results: Highlighted Differences 9 1 Source: Online Catalogs study, PDF p. 51

Quilts 001 by Lansing Public Library, Lansing Illinois

Warm! by malamantra

Ways to bring change and get buy in Get ideas from all staff Start small, have success, and then do more Agree to address corrections as needed (for example, don’t check all call numbers for uniqueness, but agree to address any duplicates reported) “Pilot” change Get input from external source

How will you react to change? Keep an open mind Assist with organizational change to improve workflows Volunteer Seek professional development to learn new skills

Morag Boyd, Ohio State University “Don’t re-do, – re-use” “They are all special, but in the same ways”

Surfer by casch52 / “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf” --Jon Kabat-Zinn

Thank You! David Whitehair Senior Product Manager OCLC