This conference was held in Denver, CO from January 23-28, 2009

 

Table of Contents

IUG Users Group Meeting AWE User Group meeting RFID Interest Group ALCTS Automated Acquisitions/In-Process Control Systems Interest Group Acquisition Managers and Vendors Interest Group Liblime Presentation Acquisitions Workflow Efficiencies Group (Patron-Driven Acquisitions) OCLC Worldcat Selection and Product Services Update GLBT Round Table Steering Committee II

 

 

IUG Users Group Meeting

     I had another committment, so I was only able to attend the beginning and the end of this meeting. 

     The 2009 Millennium ILS Enhancement Cycle was discussed in great depth.  The ballot will be published on the users group website beginning March 30.  Balloting will close May 1.  The ballot process will use SurveyMonkey for data collection and analysis.

     The 2009 conference will be held in Anaheim, CA from May 17 - 20.  Early bird registration will be $220.

     The 2010 conference will be held in Chicago, IL from April 18-21 at the Sheraton

     The 2011 conference will be held in San Francisco, CA from April 13-16 at the Hilton.

 

The later half of the program focused on libraries implementation of their catalogs on small interfaces such as the IPhones and smartphones.  The techniques described seemed to be crafted with common tools.  The techniques used were based on modifying the Encore product.

 

I missed much of the presentation on how Auraria Library (University of Colorado, Denver) provided access to digital books (both those in the public domain and those to which they have subscription access).  Here's the program description:

 

Free Books!  How Libraries Can Take Advantage of Open-Access, Digitized Books (Jeffrey Beall, Metadata Librarian / Assistant Professor, Auraria Library, University of Colorado Denver)  VIEW SLIDES - MyIUG login required (PDF)

Mbooks are open-access, digitized books freely available on the Internet.  This presentation will describe one library's experience of loading brief MARC records for Mbooks into its Millennium-based online public access catalog and will look at some of the issues that arose from the record-loading project.  Despite the low quality of the records, loading them into the catalog was advantageous because of the rich content in the collection and because many of the records could be improved using the global update functionality in the online catalog.  Making the records available through the catalog, as opposed to merely linking to the entire collection from the Library's web page, proved valuable because of the aggregation a catalog provides and because the Mbooks collection helped fill gaps in the Library's physical collections.  The presentation will also describe how Millennium's global update functionality proved valuable in adding missing data to the records. As more open-access, digitized books become available, libraries will need to plan and manage how best to provide access to them.

 

AWE User Group meeting

 

At Colleen's request I attended the AWE user group meeting, although my knowledge and use of these systems is very limited.  There is local concern whether the systems collect statistics (Yes) and how does one access the stats (via a portal which goes live the week after the conference).  The representatives of AWE demoed the portal and the kind of information which will be available via the portal.  In addition to statistics, program updates will be made accessible for download via the portal, there will also be forums for users to share their experiences implementing and using these computers.

 

Afterwards, there was general discussion amongst the librarians using the system about their implementations.  Some libraries have formed partnerships with child supportive community organizations to help them find funding to acquire these machines which they consider to be very useful tools with preschool children.

 

RFID Interest Group

 

This program turned out to be a planning program for ALA/Chicago this summer.  There were 4 librarians (and the group leader who is the director of the UCLA libraries) and 4 vendors.  Everyone at the meeting was able to express their concerns regarding RFID and its implementation by libraries.  Concerns expressed included:

 

Harvard Univerisity libraries:  Archival aspects of the tags, including glues and how long the technology is expected to last.  After the meeting, I asked this librarian how he expected to attach the tags when defacing the item is not an option.  He thought the library would attach the tags to a slip of paper that is inserted and raised above the top of the book.  The call number is at the top of this sheet.

 

Appleton Public Library:  I expressed 3 concerns:  1. The necessity to have tags from different vendors be readable by scanners from different vendors and it all has to talk to our ILS.  It's not expected that every library will have all their needs met by the same vendor's options.  The tags need to follow standards and the data contained in the tags must have their data standardized so the data is legible by the different systems.  2. All of the current options for tagging media with RFID tags seem to be workarounds.  What is the industry doing to resolve the problems caused by the metal embedded in DVDs and CDs?  3.  How do we sell RFID when funding agencies are not interested in financing circulation backroom resolutions.

 

Other libraries expressed problems with systems not living up to the vendor's sales pitch... e.g. the readers broadcast reach being too broad, or not broad enough to read the tags properly.  Lots of problems with media tagging.  One librarian expressed their problems with poorly managed demos giving justification to those having to sign off on the project to refuse to endorse it.  Those libraries who have successfully implemented an RFID project have found an improvement in the self-esteem of the shelvers as the collection is more easiliy maintained.

 

In addition, the vendors recommended subscribing to RFID Journal's RSS feed.  They expressed interest in the trends with SIP and NSIP, open-source RFID and the real costs behind open-sourced ILSes.

 

ALCTS Automated Acquisitions/In-Process Control Systems Interest Group

 

This was a panel discussion of workflow in Technical Services.  Presenters were Fred Ziglar of University of Alberta and Julie Gammon of the University of Akron.  The workflow for cataloging at the University of Akron is very similar to our, they outsource physical processing and label creation by their vendor.  At the University of Alberta, they stopped using Sirsi's Acquisitions module for ordering finding the vendor's cart/ordering system much easier to use.  They use their vendor's grid ordering system to manage fund management, etc.

 

Acquisition Managers and Vendors Interest Group

 

This was a panel discussion.  There were several presenters in the room and one (Dorothea Salo from UW-Madison) who participated via phone.  The first persenter was from an agency called Portico.  Portico is a non-profit organization whose main purpose is to provide a permanent archive for digital media even after the publisher has folded or decided to no longer provide access to media.  The academic library world is moving very quickly to all digital.  Continued access to data you've acquired is important even if the publisher is no longer maintaining it.  Thus Portico is attempting to fulfill a very important spot in helping libraries manage continued access.

 

The rest of the program was about IR (Institutional Repositories).  IR is just a quick way of talking about digital archives in a very broad sense.  Most of the people on the panel and in the audience were using ContentDM to manage their IRs, but there were other products mentioned.

 

First on the list of developing an IR is to plan!  It's important to establish a mission statement for how you plan to use the IR.  For some (perhaps most) libraries, they'll want the mission statement to read like:  To Collection, Maintain, Preserve, Record and Provide Access to... , and to share such information with others.  You'll need to develop a Collection Development Plan next... define the users of the collection, determine formats, how to clear copyright if or when it's needed, and manage a workflow.  Then once you've got a project defined, workflow and implementation become important.  You'll also need to have an idea of how you want to market and promote the IR.  And you'll want to collect statistics to demonstrate usefulness.  Define ahead of time what success is and how it will be measured.  The goals must be quantifiable.  Then, write up the specific steps required to meet those goals and who is responsible for each step.  This will help you understand what's happened and how to fix things should the project break down.  As always, you can't manage what you don't know.

 

Liblime Presentation

 

Liblime is an open-source ILS Koha project.

 

The presentation I attended was focused on Liblime's Biblios.net Cataloging Productivity Suite (https://biblios.net/).  Biblios.net was created out of a project sponsored by Google's Summer of Code.  Biblios.net is a very cool cataloging tool, like the Millennium cataloging client, but web-based.  There's a database of 31 million shared bib records behind the tool.  And, of course, Liblime hopes librarians will use this tool to create more bib records and opt to add them to the shared database in addition to adding them to your ILS.  Obviously Biblios.net will integrate directly with the Liblime ILS, but you can use it as a cataloging tool for any ILS.  There are options that can be put into place in order to export bib records to your local ILS.  The database where shared bib records live is housed on the servers of www.archive.org (Same place that houses the Way Back Machine!)

 

 

 

Acquisitions Workflow Efficiencies Group (Patron-Driven Acquisitions)

 

Another panel discussion with lots of interaction with the audience.  This program focused on techniques on managing patron-driven selection specifically for the purchase of e-books.  With cuts to acquisition budgets, academic librarians are becoming very interested in making sure the materials they purchase will be of immediate use to their users.  And as noted above, there's becoming a very real preference for digitized materials.  The goal of these librarians is to have 100% of the e-books purchased circulate.  They need to meet their patron's needs, often Just-In-Time.  The methods used expands upon the suggestion box.  You can read a lot more about this on the blog: No Shelf Required. 

 

One of the more creative ideas used is to download the bib records for a publisher's entire catalog of e-books into the database.  Cost: $0  (vendors don't charge for their records).  The bib records contain links to the e-book itself.  Most vendors have a preview option, so the user can see the abstract of the book, the table of contents, and likely some of the text.  The librarian monitors the access of these databases and if something is access twice, the item is either purchased or the user is pointed to the print version (should the library already own it).  If the bib records are not access (or the relevent item purchased) within a specified period of time, the bibs are removed from the database.

 

The librarians involved in the study found that patrons perfer unmediated transactions, which shifts the librarian's role from one of pre-vetting to acquisitions.  There is concern about controlling expenditures when patrons can see what's available and get whatever they ask for.  One method was to establish a budget for this process and once those funds were spent, the entire program was turned off.  There is also some concern regarding the impact on ILL.  It seems some publishers won't allow the library to fulfill an ILL request if the library owns the e-book edition.  But so far, the selections acquired during the study found that patron-selected e-books were 4 to 5 times more popular with their user base than the e-books being selected by the librarians.  And the librarians in the study determined that about 10% of the vendor's catalog (made accessible through the catalog) were turned into actual purchases.

 

Some in the audience wanted to analyze the continued patron use of patron-selected items versus those selected by librarians.

 

OCLC Worldcat Selection and Product Services Update

 

Several presenters (all academic libraries) described their use of the relatively new Worldcat Selection program.  After the program concluded, I asked about the status of the updates to OCLC's Bib Note program which was supposed to have been updated/upgraded over a year ago.  I was informed that in creating Worldcat Selection and some of the newer tools, the entire database was migrated from a flat file database to a relational one.  The chances desired to be made in Bib Note were postponed in order to give the programmers time to transition the database and develop the newer tools.  Bib Note is scheduled to begin its rewrite in 2009.  We should hear more at ALA Annual.

 

GLBT Round Table Steering Committee II

 

There are two steering committees each conference.  One at the beginning of the conference to review and delegate tasks to be accomplished during the conference and a membership meeting.  I had conflicts during the first two meetings, so attended the final meeting of the steering committee.  All meetings are open, 'cept for the award review committees.  I also did not stay to the end of the meeting as it didn't end until after the two hours that had been dedicated to it.

 

The liason to Counsel expressed that there are concerns regarding electronic participation in the ALA conferences.  There's a fear that libraries won't help fund staff attendance to the conferences if more programs are offered live over the Internet.  There is also the concern over lead-based inks used to color children's books.  ALA has requested further study and an exemption of older books, out of fear that libraries across the country would have to either close down their Children's collections or dump their collections due to the new limits of exposure to lead.  ALA has a new website (www.privacyrevolution.org) where privacy issues can be discussed in the open.  There are real concerns regarding privacy and privacy online for gay & lesbian kids growing up in hostile home environments.  ALA Membership Committee is working with the GLBTRT to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.  This summer will be the 39th anniversary of the Round Table.

 

Needless to say, the Round Table's endowments have lost value.  There will be a fundraiser program later this spring to help raise funds for the development of a children's and youth book awards.  YALSA is looking to expand the age definition of a young adult to incorporate undergrad years.  They are also looking forward to the development of the Youth Book Award and would like to own a seat on that committee.

 

The Federal Supreme Court refused to hold a hearing on COPA (Children's Online Protection Act), and so the ruling of the 2nd District Court stands and the Act is dead.  It cannot be enforced.

 

Local Arrangements has set the GLBTRT social to be held at Sidetracks on Halstead in Chicao on Saturday, July 11 from 6-8p.

 

Rainbow Project update.  The Rainbow Project is now a joint venture of SRRT and GLBTRT.  Reviewers will be members of both round tables.  The Rainbow Project reviews and creates a recommended reading list of books with GLBT issues and themes for older children and young adults.  Here's a link to a SLJ article announcing the inaugural list (2008).