Keynote: Advocating for Technical Services through Assessment

Visualization as Sensemaking, or, Seeing the Forest and the Trees  

Program description: 

Efforts to demonstrate the value of technical services often lead to complicated descriptions of complex workflows and systems. At Gleeson Library, staff used a free online diagramming software to create a visual chart of acquisitions, cataloging, and systems infrastructure. Through this process, staff were able to clarify internal communications, highlight work dependencies, and justify budgetary needs. Creating even simple visualizations of technical services infrastructure can provide opportunities for organizational sensemaking and can be used to illustrate the stories we tell about our work.

Brief bio: 

Gina Solares is currently the Head of Cataloging and Metadata Management and the Interim Head of Library Systems at the University of San Francisco's Gleeson Library|Geschke Center.

We Rate Cats: How and Why We Assess Our Cataloging

Program description: 

This session will review methods and tools catalogers use to assess our work, based on published literature. As part of this, we will discuss how to choose methods or tools appropriate to your goals. We’ll conclude by discussing how our assessment decisions can support our professional and institutional values.

Brief bio: 

Jessica Schomberg became interested in cataloging in high school, after arguing with the public library cataloger about where the science fiction should be shelved. Jessica currently serves as the Media Cataloger and as the Library Services Department Chair at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Jessica’s educational background includes a MA in English: Teaching English as a Second Language from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a MLIS from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Reinventing the Cataloging Hold: Smarter Processing Through Data Integration

Program description: 

The need to address a rapidly growing cataloging backlog caused NYU Libraries to assess long standing workflows based on first in, first out processing queues. An analysis of statistical data within the technical service department identified several inefficiencies in the acquisitions-to- cataloging processing stream. Using the Libraries’ data warehouse to integrate local acquisitions and holdings data with bibliographic data from OCLC, new automated processes have been created to identify full cataloging as it becomes available, automatically overlay brief bibliographic records, and create pull list for items that can be removed from the cataloging hold. By improving the management of the hold, the new processes have increased cataloging resources available to meet the Libraries’ original cataloging needs.

Brief bio: 

Nina Servizzi is currently Associate Dean, Knowledge Access and Resource Management Services for the Division of Libraries, New York University, where she is responsible for technical services and data integration and analysis. She has been deeply involved in defining functional specifications for the Libraries' Data Warehouse since the project’s inception and oversees the team responsible for its design and development.