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Technically Speaking...

...a technical services newsletter for Nebraska libraries

Volume 1 number 2/3 Winter 1995/Spring 1996



THE CHAIR SPEAKS

Margaret Mering

It's official! The Technical Services Round Table is on the road to success. In October, it became
part of the Nebraska Library Association (NLA). In January, it became affiliated with the
American Library Association's Association for Library Collections & Technical Services.

Currently, the Round Table's Executive Board is in the middle of planning some exciting
programs for the upcoming year. A workshop on HTML is being planned for June in cooperation
with ITART. In October, at NLA's annual conference, Gene Kinnaly, of the Library of
Congress, will be the featured speaker at a program sponsored by both the Round Table and the
Paraprofessional Section. Telecommuting will the topic of the other program sponsored by the
Round Table. We hope to see you at all of these programs. Thanks for your continue support of
the Technical Services Round Table.

The TSRT board and membership would like to say good-bye and thanks to Dean Corwin.
Dean was involved with the formation of TSRT from the very beginning and served as its first
secretary. Dean is leaving Nebraska to take a new position in Topeka, Kansas at Washburn
University. We will miss Dean, but we wish him well. Corinne Jacox, Assistant Professor in
Serials Cataloging at UNL, has agreed to fill out the remainder of Dean's term as secretary.
Some of you may recognize Corinne as one of the presenters at the Internet workshop, Exploring
the Information Jungle, held last fall. We welcome Corinne to the TSRT Executive Board and
look forward to working with her.

If you would like to be more involved in TSRT, please consider running for an office.
Nominations are being sought for offices for the next election. If you would like to run for office,
or know someone whowould make a good candidate, please contact Margaret Mering
402-472-2517 by April 15.

COPYRIGHT RESOURCES ON THE INTERNET

Ellen Van Waart

Berne Convention, As Revised
http://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/overview.html
The text of International copyright to protect literary and artistic works (Paris, 1971).

Copyright Act of 1976, As Amended
http://www.law.cornell.edu:80/usc/17/overview.html
Full text of Title 17 of the U.S. Code.

Copyright Clearance Center Online
http://www.copyright.com/
Not-for-profit organization providing collective copyright licensing services to help organizations
comply with the U.S. Copyright Law and ease permissions burdens and consolidate payments
for rightsholders.

Copyright Directory
http://www.mmwire.com/copyright/cresc.html
A short list of resources on the Internet that address issues of copyright.

Copyright, Fair Use and other Legal Matters
http://astro.temple.edu/~pryluck/copyright.html
Film/Television/Video topics as well as what's available from the U.S. Copyright Office.

Copyright Guide
http://www.sils.umich.edu/~nancylin/copyright.html
Helps writers, editors, publishers and educators learn about copyright. Includes the basics of
copyright, how to register a work, how to find a copyright lawyer, electronic publishing, fair use,
international copyright, patents, trademarks, and software.

Copyright Information Page
http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/copyright/index.html
General copyright information plus determining the need for permission to use a work, obtaining
permission, sources for licensed, public domain, and royalty free materials.

The Copyright Website
http://www.benedict.com/
One of the best. Provides information about copyright fundamentals, copyright registration,
famous copyright infringements, bleedin edge Internet issues, fair use, and public domain with a
sense of humor.

10 Big Copyright Myths
http://www.clarinet.com/brad/copymyths.html
An attempt to answer common myths about copyright seen on the net and cover issues related to
copyright and USENET posting.

U.S. Copyright Office Home Page
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/copy1.html
From the Library of Congress, includes copyright information Circulars, how to search Copyright
Office records, Copyright/Intellectual Property related organizations such as Broadcast Music
Incorporated, Business Software Alliance, Software Publishers Association, or CNI-Copyright
(Copyright & Intellectual Property Forum).

Yahoo - Govt.: Law: Intellectual Property
http://www.yahoo.com/government/law/intellectual_property/
Search for intellectual property information as it applies to companies, firms, information law,
institutes, magazines, patents,technology, trademarks.

MINUTES OF TSRT BUSINESS MEETING 10/26/95

Dean Corwin

The first business meeting of the NLA Technical Services Round Table was held on Thursday,
October 26, 1995, at the NLA Annual Conference in Kearney. Eighteen people attended.

I. Chair Margaret Mering welcomed the attendees to the meeting.

II. Round Table officers were introduced.

III. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect Sara Martin recapped the programs that TSRT has sponsored or
co-sponsored:
Demystifying Format Integration co-sponsored by NLC - held at NLC, 8/22/94
Changing Face of Resource Sharing co-sponsored by NLC - Platte River State Park, 5/10/95
Exploring the Information Jungle and Fishing for New Ideas Metro CC and Henry Doorly Zoo,
9/29/95
Creative Ideas in Nebraska Technical Services program at NLA Annual Conference, Kearney,
10/26/95
Sara solicited ideas for topics for future programs. Some suggestions were: Acquisitions,
Preservation, Book Repair, Training in Original Cataloging or Subject Analysis. It was suggested
that the next program be geared toward a hands-on format, with the Internet or some other new
technology. Elaine Franco (UC-Davis, formerly UNL) and Thomas Mann (LC) were suggested
as possible trainers or keynote speakers. Please contact Sara with other ideas: 402-472-2485 or
saram@unllib.unl.edu

IV. Sara reminded us of the raffle. Tickets are available at the TSRT booth for $2.00. The prize
is free training; suggested topics were: Cataloging, Internet basics, Netscape, Setting up a
homepage. Proceeds will be used to pay for the next newsletter.

V. Dean Corwin, Secretary, asked about distribution of TSRT Board and Business Meeting
minutes. The consensus was that minutes should be distributed both electronically on the
NLATSRT list and in print in the newsletter.

VI. Kay Hershey, Treasurer, reported a balance of $485.00 in TSRT's Norwest account.
Expenses for the Internet workshop have not been paid yet. People who are interested in joining
TSRT should complete the green NLA membership form, marking the appropriate line for
TSRT, and return it with a check to Burns Davis. If you use a form which does not list an option
for TSRT, simply write on the form "TSRT member-$5.00 added." TSRT will continue to accept
donations until dues are transferred from NLA.

VII. Sharon McCaslin presented the proposed TSRT bylaws. Judy Winkler made a motion to
approve the bylaws, contingent on approval of TSRT by the NLA membership; Corinne Jacox
seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Sharon urged everyone to attend the Friday NLA
business meeting.

VIII. Sharon Mason, Liaison Officer, has been in touch with the ALA/ALCTS Council of
Regional Groups. TSRT can apply for CRG affiliation after we are approved by NLA. We
should be able to submit our application to CRG in time for approval at Midwinter in San
Antonio.

IX. Sara reported on the NLATSRT web homepage. The URL is: http://www.peru.edu/~nlatsrt/
Currently the homepage contains info about the Round Table's programs, photographs of the
officers, and the bylaws. It has been accessed fairly frequently over the past couple of months.
Corinne has made a list of technical services web sites which will be added (with links) to the
homepage. Any problems with the NLATSRT listserv should be reported to Sharon McCaslin.

X. Newsletter Editor Judy Winkler unveiled the first issue of the Round Table's newsletter,
Technically Speaking ...a technical services newsletter for Nebraska libraries. The title was based
on suggestions by Judellen Thornton-Jaringe (UNL) and Brian Striman (UNL Law). Judy
expressed appreciation to NLA for funding the first issue of the newsletter.

A WEALTH OF INFORMATION FROM ERIC

Ellen Van Waart

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a nationwide information network
designed to provide users with access to education literature. Established in 1966, ERIC collects,
analyzes, and distributes information from local, state, federal, and international sources. ERIC is
the largest educational database in the world with over 800,000 bibliographic records of
documents and journal articles. ERIC indexes and abstracts papers, conference proceedings,
literature reviews, curriculum reviews, and over 800 education-related journals. The ERIC online
database is available from many vendors including FirstSearch. The database is made up of two
parts. Resources in Education (RIE) contains the documents, papers, curriculum reviews, and
proceedings while Current Journals in Education (CJIE) indexes and abstracts journal articles
only. When searching ERIC, you may limit your search to just RIE or CJIE or the default is both.

After executing a successful search and finding relevant citations, always check the ERIC NO: for
each entry to establish whether the item is a document or journal article. If the ERIC NO: begins
with EJ, you can assume the item is a journal article and proceed to find the material in your own
library or through interlibrary loan. The SOURCE line will provide you with the journal title. Look
for an ISSN in the entry as that is the most efficient way to search in OCLC's online union
catalog. If no ISSN is given, use a title search with the qualifiers /ser /nm /dlc. These qualifiers
narrow your search to a serial record, a Library of Congress record, but not a microform record.

If the ERIC NO: begins with ED, the item is an ERIC document available through Interlibrary
loan from University of Nebraska at Kearney (KRS), University of Nebraska at Lincoln (LDL),
University of Nebraska At Omaha (NBU), and Wayne State College (WAY). The collection of
ERIC microfiche is arranged by ED number so the lending library needs to know the ED number
as well as the title and author. Most lending libraries will photocopy up to a certain number of
pages or make a microfiche to microfiche copy of the entire card if the document is lengthy.
Keep this in mind if you don't have access to a microfiche reader. Some libraries will loan the
microfiche which then needs to be returned to the lending institution.

In order to initiate an Interlibrary loan request on OCLC for an ERIC document, retrieve a blank
workform by typing wf at the home position. With the blank workform on the screen, fill out the
following fields. Place the four lenders mentioned above in the :lender: field remembering not to
place the same lender first in the string even if they are your preferred lender. Type the ED
number in the :title: field and the name and author of the document in the :article: field. Make sure
all the required fields are filled in which include :lender:, :title:, :verified:, and :shipped to:. In the
:verified: field, type ERIC search. You need not fill in the copyright compliance since ERIC
documents are government publications and not protected by copyright. Reformat the workform
before producing it. If you attempt to produce a workform and have not completed a required
field, you will receive an error message. The key to obtaining ERIC documents is knowing who
owns the collections and providing the ED number to the lending library. Without the ED number,
the lending library may think the item is a book and never find it. ERIC documents contain
original and valuable information not available from any other source.

CREATIVE IDEAS IN NEBRASKA'S TECHNICAL SERVICES

Margaret Mering

At NLA's annual conference in October, the Technical Services Round Table sponsored a table
talk session entitled "Creative Ideas in Nebraska'sTechnical Services". It was modeled after an
American Library Association's Discussion Group. Three topics were discussed at the NLA
table talk session. They were Changing Roles in Technical Services, facilitated by Georgene
Fawcett (UNO) and Susan Sievers (UNO); Working in Smaller Technical Services Units,
facilitated by Sally Wagner (OrdTechnically Speaking... a technical services newsletter for
Nebraska libraries is published 3 times a year by Public Library) and Carol Mahar (Lakeview
High School (Columbus)); and Working Smart with Dwindling Resources, facilitated by Sharon
McCaslin (Peru State College) and Sally Zahn (Chadron State College). Below are highlights of
two of these tables written by the facilitators.

Changing Roles in Technical Services - by Georgene E. Fawcett and Susan Sievers

A good cross-section of libraries in Nebraska were represented at this table. The people
included the Director of Holdrege Public Library; a cataloger and a cataloging assistant from
Hastings Public Library; a staff member from UNK's Acquisitions Department, and two
catalogers from UNL's Catalog Department.

Discussion started quickly with emphasis on technology, inspired by the provocative Alan
November keynote address. All of the libraries represented at this table had online catalogs and
were using OCLC to catalog their materials. All of them were providing some sort of information
via CD-ROM. UNL is leading the way in providing access to electronic resources, as they are
cataloging information accessable through the Internet.

UNL is using the MARC 856 field to list the Internet location in the bibliographic records of
IANR and other electronic publications they are cataloging. The information in this field will be
maintained by their Automated Service staff.

The public libraries of Holdrege and Hastings are beginning to explore access to information via
the Internet. The cost of gaining access to the Internet for small libraries and their communities is
an issue.

Library workers are using different kinds of skills (perhaps higher levels) as new technologies
have been introduced. They seem to enjoy learning these new skills. However, monetary
compensation has not kept pace with the increase in skills. Other items mentioned were that staff
need to think differently in working with new technology (i.e. saving files on the computer rather
than making a paper copy, filing it and deleting the information in the computer) and supervisors
do not always have sufficient skills to train others to use the new technology.

Working Smart with Dwindling Resources - by Sharon McCaslin and Sally Zahn

This group skipped around its discussion questions, offering the following experience in finding
corners to cut: 1) stop shelf list filing after automation; 2) abandon the accession numbers after
barcoding; 3) reduce or abandon possession stamps; 4) shared databases; 5) modify gift policies;
6) booksales for additional revenue; 7) staff share program, to formalize a process for flexing
people across campus where temporary needs arise.

One of the issues which received attention was problems created by automation, which was often
intended to provide more efficient service. However, the increased replacement and maintenance
costs for computer equipment also needs to be accounted for. Increased training costs due to
automation and additional flexibility for staff were other issues emphasized as jobs and priorities
change. In addition to the dwindling resources problem, the group pointed out that expectations
are also increasing.

In discussing diplomatic ways to tell staff and patrons that traditional services are being changed
and/or cut, it was emphasized that patrons go away but staff does not: staff "ownership" of the
new policies is very important. One method for easing the stress of these changes is to make it
clear how the change is derived from accreditation or self-study analyses. Communication skills
are also very important, letting staff know that their work is valued, making changing workloads
clear,and showing the jobs which still need to be done.

The group spent a some time discussing the problems encountered when a two-year institution is
changing to a four-year institution.

TREASURER'S REPORT OCT-DEC 1995

Kay Hershey

Balance Sept. 13, 1995                   $295.00
Expenses                        $484.10
Workshop               $473.10
Checking acct.          $11.00
Income                          $422.22
Workshop reg.          $422.22
Balance Dec. 31, 1995                    $233.32

LOGO CONTEST!

Crank up your creative juices and help us design a logo for the Technical Services Roundtable.
We are soliciting submissions for a TSRT logo and slogan. The creator of the winning design will
receive a nice prize (to be announced). If you would like to submit a design and/or slogan for
consideration, please send it to Judy Winkler at the Nebraska Library Commission. The deadline
is May 30.

CHECK IT OUT!

Judy Winkler

If you discover interesting or informative sites on the Internet or the World Wide Web, send them
to Technically Speaking and we'll include them in future issues.

ELEC-TECH: ELECtronic Documentation of Central TECHnical Services is a new website for
cataloging and acquisitions staff at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
http://wings.buffalo.edu/librarie/units/cts

CUTTER TABLES: Cutter-Sanborn three-figure author table can be found at:
http://buddy.library.mun/ca/techserv/qtechweb.html

Library of Congres cutter table can be found at:
http://stauffer.queensu.ca/techserv/qtechweb.html

TSRT Affiliates with ALCTS/CRG

Sharon Mason

During the formative meetings of the Technical Services Round Table it was agreed that the
group would eventually seek affiliation with the ALCTS/CRG (Association for Library
Collections and Technical Services - a division of the American Library Association, Council of
Regional Groups). This affiliation was made a part of TSRT's by-laws. After formal recognition
of TSRT by NLA at its annual membership meeting in October, a letter was submitted to
Kathleen Schweitzberger, Chair of CRG, requesting affiliation. The request was acted on
favorably in January at ALA Midwinter in San Antonio. TSRT becomes the 48th regional group
affiliated wtih ALCTS.

Among the advantages of being affiliated with ALCTS/CRG are: recognition by the national
organization, participation in the national organization, possible appointment as a CRG
representative to other ALCTS committees, and access to the CRG Speaker's Bureau, access to
program ideas reported by other affiliates. TSRT looks forward to being part of ALCTS/CRG

TELECOMMUTERS!

Do you telecommute, work at home or at an alternate worksite? Do you supervise anyone who
does? If so, TSRT would like your input and help in planning a Table Talk for the fall
NLA/NEMA convention. If you have practical knowledge or hands-on experience you'd like to
share, please contact Margaret Mering 402-472-2517 or Sara Martin 402-472-2485.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Corinne Jacox, serials cataloging librarian AT UNL, is the 1996 recipient of the First Step
Award-Wiley Professional Development Grant presented by ALCTS. The grant of $1,500
provides librarians new to the serials field an opportunity for professional development.

NOTICE!

To continue receiving this newsletter, you must be a member of TSRT. Please join today!

Published three times a year by the Nebraska Library Association Technical Services Round
Table. Issues are published in Fall, Winter and Spring.

NEWSLETTER EDITOR:
 

Judy Winkler, Nebraska Library Commission
402-471-4335
Internet: jwinkler@neon.nlc.state.ne.us

TSRT homepage: http://www.peru.edu/~nlatsrt

TSRT listserv: nlatsrt@pscvax.peru.edu

This publication is free to current and prospective members of the Round Table. It is not available
by subscription.