Judy Winkler
LC-Easy is a computer-based program designed to help students and other
novice shelvers learn
to shelve using the library of Congress classification system. You
can find an explanation of the
program, along with "program clips" and ordering information at:
http://www.lightlink.com/kish/index.html
THE CHAIR SPEAKS
Sara Martin
It is my pleasure to be able to write the first column for The Chair
Speaks for my term as Chair
of the Technical Services Round Table. We have just completed a very
active and successful
year. Our accomplishments to date have been: becoming a round table
of NLA, holding 4
statewide HTML workshops, becoming affiliated with ALCTS, sponsoring
the Telecommuting
program at NLA/NEAM and co-sponsoring two programs with the Paraprofessional
Section
featuring Gene Kinnally from the Library of Congress. We also presented
the Honorary Charter
Member award to Sandra Herzinger at the NLA conference for her role
in helping to create the
Technical Services Round Table. We have lots of good pictures of the
NLA conference and I'd
like to thank David Harlan for taking those pictures for us.
Many of the TSRT accomplishments are due to the efforts of our TSRT
Past Chair, Margaret
Mering. Margaret has shown a deep interest and commitment to the creation
of TSRT and has
been instrumental in helping the Round Table to become the organization
we have today. On
behalf of the TSRT board and myself, I want to thank Margaret for everything
she's done and we
look forward to her continued involvement with the Technical Services
Round Table in the future.
This coming year promises to be as active and fruitful as the last.
We're starting the year in good
financial shape and we have several workshop ideas that Corinne Jacox,
our new Vice-Chair,
plans to pursue. A few topics being considered are: Dewey 21, book
repair, and disaster
preparation. If you have any program ideas, please contact Corinne
at 402-472-2517 or send
her an e-mail message at: corinnej@unllib.unl.edu. If you have any
ideas or concerns for the
Technical Services Round Table I would sincerely appreciate your thoughts.
I can be reached at:
402-472-2485 or e-mail saram@unllib.unl.edu.
UNL Joins NACO
Sue Ann Lewandowski
Ten catalogers at the University of Nebraska_Lincoln attended a thirty-hour
training session,
September 16-12, 1996, to learn how to create authority records for
the Library of Congress
Name Authority Cooperative Program (NACO). Carole Goebes, David Harlan,
Sandy
Herzinger, Corinne Jacox, Ming Jian, Sue Ann Lewandowski, Margaret
Mering, Larry Mozer,
Julie Swann and Mary Tilley were trained by Sami Kotb of the LC Cooperative
Cataloging
Team. Training was held in the new Love Library ESC Room.
NACO participants are authorized to submit headings for personal authors,
corporate authors,
uniform titles and geographic entities. The headings are added to LC's
authorities database and
are accessible in OCLC's authority file. In the NACO training manual,
it says that NACO "began
in 1977 as a joint project between the Library of Congress and the
U.S. Government Printing
Office (GPO) to use and maintain a common authority file which would
reduce the cost of
authority work, the most expensive aspect of cataloging." NACO is now
a component of the
Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) which was initiated in February
1995. According the
Program for Cooperative Cataloging brochure, the PCC "is an international
cooperative effort
aimed at expanding access to library collections by providing useful,
timely, and cost-effective
cataloging that meets mutually-accepted standards of libraries around
the world."
Shaista Wahab, cataloger at UNO, has been contributing headings through
NACO since March
1995. She submits names in Pushto, Persian and English. She attended
eight days of training in
all, five for names (NACO) and three for series authorities (SACO).
Shaista feels that she got
more out of the training at LC than if someone had gone to Omaha to
train her because she was
able to network with many LC librarians. Because there were so many
at UNL who required
training, it was more feasible for a trainer to come to Lincoln.
The catalogers at UNL are excited to have the opportunity to join with
Shaista in submitting
records that are Nebraska-related. There will be greater access to
Nebraska-related items in
part due to UNL's participation in NACO. Both UNL and UNO catalogers
also contribute
non-Nebraska authorities, as well.
If you are interested in learning more about NACO, SACO or the PCC,
you can access the
PCC Web site at http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/ pcc.html or contact
the Cooperative Cataloging
Team Leader, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-4382, 202-707-7920.
NEBRASKA NEWSPAPER PROJECT IS ON THE WEB
Corrine Jacox
The Nebraska Newspaper Project is a cooperative project between the
University Libraries at
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Nebraska State Historical
Society. It is funded by
the National Endowment for the Humanities and is part of the U.S. Newspaper
Program, which
is managed by the Library of Congress. The U.S. Newspaper Program is
committed to locating,
cataloging, union listing, and preserving every newspaper ever published
in the U.S., including the
U.S. protectorates and newspapers published prior to independence.
In Nebraska, the project is
seeking every issue of every newspaper ever published within Nebraska
from territorial times
through the present.
For more information about the Nebraska Newspaper Project, take a look
at its new web site at
www.unl.edu/nebnews/nnphome.html. In addition to information about
the Project, there is a
history of newspaper publishing in Nebraska, information on what the
Nebraska State Historical
Society is doing to preserve newspapers on microfilm and how the microfilm
can be checked out
through interlibrary loan. There are examples of mastheads from Nebraska
newspapers. Access
is also provided to online newspapers and other state newspaper projects.
NLA/NEMA CONFERENCE SUMMARY
Gene Kinnaly
The Nebraska Library Association/Nebraska Educational Media Association
Annual Convention
was held at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska on October 23-25,
1996. The theme of
the conference was "Success At All Points: Strength Through Interdependence."
I was invited to
speak at the conference, and I was co-sponsored by the NLA Paraprofessional
Section and the
NLA Technical Services Roundtable.
I thought the conference was excellent. The conference site, the Cornhusker
Hotel, was
outstanding. The meeting rooms were plentiful, the right size, always
set up in advance _
everything was just right. The food was *very* good, both at the conference
and at the hotel's
restaurants. I also stayed at the Cornhusker, and the rooms were terrific.
The hotel is very
convenient to many of the sights Lincoln has to offer, including the
campus of the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln.
The conference itself was extremely well organized, and very well attended
(I believe I heard the
attendance was over 675!). Probably most of the participants were professionals
from
Nebraska, but there was also a good mix of paraprofessionals and out-of-state
attendees.
There were approximately 60 vendors there, representing a wide range
of library services and
interests. And the conference was structured in a way which allowed
ample time to visit the
vendor booths.
I want to describe for you a few of the sessions I attended at the Nebraska
Library
Association/Nebraska Educational Media Association Annual Convention.
1. Alternative Worksites _ Staff from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Libraries, through a
series of short plays, outlined the pros and cons of alternative worksites.
Acting out roles as
library workers and as supervisors, the presenters gave a lot of very
good information on the
subject in a very entertaining and highly effective way. Some of the
reasons staff were interested
in alternative worksites included: more flexible schedules _ doctor's
appointments, day care, etc.;
fewer distractions; more personalized and thus more adjustable work
environment; easing of
commuting and parking worries. Some of the concerns expressed by management
included:
difficulty in judging accountability _ quantity and quality of work
performed; scheduling staff
meetings; equipment concerns _ installation, maintenance, upgrades;
security/care of materials
removed from the library.
A handout of the alternative worksite program for UN-L library staff
was included as part of the
presentation.
2. Dealing with Difficult People _ Nancy Myers, Director of the Employee
Assistance Program at
the University of Nebraska, conducted this session. The purpose of
the program was to give us
several communication strategies to use with "difficult people" _ supervisors,
co-workers, and
patrons alike. A variety of types of personalities were described,
and possible methods of
communication were offered. For example, one of the types discussed
was the "tank", an
individual who uses in-your-face intimidation to get their way, and
who often present their
opinions as facts. The strategy offered included: stand your ground
_ don't counter-attack, but
don't retreat, either; keep direct eye contact; talk directly to the
person, using the person's name;
focus on the problem and not the person.
Other personalities included: the sniper, the grenade, the know-it-all,
the think-they-know-it-all,
the yes person, the no person, the nothing person, and the whiner.
The descriptions of each type
were very well done, and the strategies offered for each seemed to
make sense. The handouts
included a step-by-step process for dealing with difficult people and
a bibliography of works on
interpersonal communications.
3. The Five New Laws of Librarianship _ Michael Gorman, the Dean of
Library Services,
California State University-Fresno, gave a talk on technology, libraries,
the present and the
future. (One of the sessions I was presenting was scheduled right after
Michael Gorman's talk,
but his plane was delayed in Denver, and I was asked to switch time
slots. This I was only too
happy to do, since the "godfather of AACR2" is an excellent speaker,
and a hard act to follow!)
His five new laws are:
Libraries serve humanity
Respect all forms by which knowledge is communicated
Use technology to enhance service
Protect free access to knowledge
Honor the past and create the future
He also made the point that "knowledge", and NOT information, is power,
and that much of the
technology available to us today makes the acquisition of "information"
very easy, but that isn't the
same thing as knowledge. I think he sees technology as another tool
to be used, but is concerned
that we may be focusing on technology *too* much, and not focusing
enough on what that
technology can do for us.
4. There were also two very good keynote speeches. To open the conference,
Bill Burns,
President of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology,
spoke at length
about technology and libraries, as did Steve Cisler, Senior Scientist
for Apple Computers, for the
closing keynote address. Both talks were very good.
As for me, I gave a talk on netiquette (one of LIBSUP's favorite topics!)
Thursday afternoon,
and a talk on cataloging at LC on Friday morning. Both talks seemed
to go well _ at least, no one
became violently ill! ;-)
On a personal note, I had a wonderful time at this conference. I enjoyed
the talks I gave (and I
hope those in attendance also enjoyed them), I learned quite a bit
in the sessions I attended, and I
really appreciated the opportunity to go someplace I had never been,
and meet for the first time a
good cyber friend, Judy Winkler of the Nebraska Library Commission.
Judy and her colleagues
in NLA did a great job with this conference, and if this year's conference
is an example of a
typical NLA/NEMA conference, then they have a very good thing going
in the great state of
Nebraska!
My most lasting memory of the conference I am sure will be that of the
people I met. Without
exception, and particularly with the Paraprofessional Section and the
Technical Services
Roundtable, the folks I met were among the nicest and friendliest it
has ever been my pleasure to
meet. I had such a positive experience there, due in large part to
the folks involved in the
conference. [Gene Kinnaly is a Senior Technical Advisor - Library Services
at the Library of
Congress in Washington DC. He is currently Secretary of the Council
on Library/Media
Technicians (COLT) and a board member or the Virginia Library Association
Paraprofessional
Forum.]
NEBRASKA STATE DOCUMENTS ELECTRONIC PILOT PROJECT
Vickie Beaver
What is it? The Nebraska State Clearinghouse has been looking into different
methods to make
state government information readily available to the public. Along
with use of our paper copies,
the Clearinghouse is providing state government information to the
public in microfiche format.
Documents are filmed and the resulting microfiche is shipped off to
depository libraries
throughout the state. The next step in public accessibility is to provide
state documents in
electronic format. Electronic documents would be available to anyone
with a computer and
modem. Along with the microfiche, available at your closest depository
library, selected state
documents will be made available online exactly the way you would see
them in paper.
When? The undertaking will begin as a Pilot Project early in 1997. Selected
state documents will
be made available online and updated as new editions become available.
A "documents on
demand" program will be set up. Depending on developing clearinghouse
guidelines and the
document, the public can request accessible state government documents
be made available to
them online. The Pilot Project will be a chance for us to learn and
create a service tailored to the
public's needs. Suggestions and comments from our users will be encouraged
and appreciated!
How? Documents will be scanned into .pdf files. PDF will allow the document
to appear
electronically the same as it appears in paper. Graphs and photos included!
You will need to
have Adobe Acrobat Viewer installed on your computer. The viewer is
shareware, meaning you
can download it at no cost. We will have a connection to a web page
that will have Acrobat
Viewer available to download state documents page of the NLC homepage.
We are excited to be able to offer this service to the libraries and
citizens of Nebraska. Look for
this service to become available early in 1997! Questions? Send us
an email at
vbeaver@neon.nlc.state.ne.us.
NLA ANNUAL CONFERENCE MINUTES (10/26/96)
Corinne Jacox
The NLA Technical Services Round Table met on Oct. 24, 1996, in Lincoln,
at the NLA Annual
Conference. Around 25 people attended.
1.Chair Margaret Mering welcomed the attendees to the meeting.
Mering also thanked Judy
Johnson, Dorothy Otoupal, and Weston Crawford
for their excellent presentation on
telecommuting.
2.Mering introduced the current officers of TSRT.
3.Secretary Corinne Jacox handed out copies of minutes
from the TSRT meeting on June 5,
1996. The minutes were approved as written.
4.Committee Reports
1.Bylaws - Sharon McCaslin
reported that changes will need to be made to the
bylaws to reflect
that we are a chapter of ALCTS. We are waiting for the official
wording from
ALCTS. Voting on these changes will take place at next year's NLA
annual conference.
2.Electronic Resources -
McCaslin invited attendees to visit TSRT's web site at
http://www.peru.edu/~nlatsrt.
She also invited attendees to subscribe to TSRT's
listserv [To
subscribe to the listserv, send the message to listserv@bobcat.peru.edu.
Leave the subject
line blank and in the body of the message type: subscribe nlatsrt
"Your Name"].
3.Liaison - Sharon Mason
reported that we were officially approved as an affiliate of
ALCTS at ALA
Midwinter.
4.Newsletter - Judy Winkler
reported that the next newsletter will be out the end of
November or
early December.
5.Logo Contest - Winkler
reported that Brian Striman won the logo contest. Brian is
a professional
cataloger and the Head of Technical Services at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln
Schmid Law Library. He received a $10 gift certificate to
Douglas Theatres.
5.New Business
1.Mering introduced Sara
Martin as the new Chair of TSRT. Martin then introduced
members of the
board for 1997: Chair - Sara Martin, Vice Chair/Chair-Elect -
Corinne Jacox,
Secretary - Pat Hughes, Treasurer - Kay Hershey, Bylaws -
Sharon McCaslin,
Electronic Resources - Sharon McCaslin, ALCTS Liaison -
Sharon Mason,
Newsletter - Judy Winkler [Margaret Mering will also serve on the
board as past
chair].
2.Martin presented Sandy
Herzinger with an award as the "Honorary Founder" of
TSRT because
she provided the idea and encouragement to start the round table.
3.Martin reported on future
TSRT programs. Nancy Olson will not be able to come
next spring.
We will be looking at a workshop on book repair and Dewey 21.
Martin asked
that anyone who has suggestions for programs to give them to
Corinne Jacox.
CATALOGING FORUM AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Gene Kinnaly
Last week a Cataloging Forum was held at LC entitled "Cataloging Technicians:
Changes,
Challenges, and Opportunities." Bettye Smith, past president of COLT
and ALA's SSIRT, was
the first speaker. She covered a number of topics and she was motivational,
enthusiastic,
entertaining, and very positive. For most of her talk she focused on
change_the inevitability of,
and even the necessity for, change, and how library staff, professional
and paraprofessional alike,
must assume personal responsibility and take steps to position themselves
to take advantage of
change.Her talk was a preview of her session at next May's VLAPF annual
conference. For
those out there thinking about attending, this might be yet another
good reason to do so.
The second speaker was Sue Vita, the Chief of the Special Materials
Cataloging Division here at
LC. Most of her talk dealt with the "Career Enhancement" program within
Library Services. This
program is a means by which paraprofessional staff who might not otherwise
qualify for a
professional position can apply for, and be selected for, such a position.
21 job postings,
reserved for in-house paraprofessionals, were posted this past August
and September, after
more than four years of talking and planning and negotiating. The paraprofessional
staff in Library
Services is very excited about the postings_over 580 applications were
received for the 21
openings!
The next five speakers (yes, that's 5!), were cataloging technicians.
They spoke for just a few
minutes each, and they all did an outstanding job! The topics they
covered were copy cataloging
(LC cataloging technicians are being trained to process copy from other
institutions), attendance
at professional and paraprofessional conferences like COLT and VLAPF,
volunteering for the
OutReach Program (where small teams of catalogers and technicians are
sent to other libraries to
learn of their cataloging operations), and getting involved in various
committees and activities
within the Library of Congress.
Bettye was excellent, and I think the audience appreciated her enthusiasm
and expertise. Sue's
description of the whole Career Enhancement program was very informative,
and I know the
technicians in the audience appreciated getting a status report on
the postings. But to me, and I
think to most folks in attendance (a nice blend of catalogers, cataloging
technicians, and
adminstrative staff), the highlight of the program was hearing from
the cataloging technicians. They
said what they wanted to say in a very impressive, professional manner.
It was a wonderful
opportunity for staff to get up in front of their coworkers and supervisors
and give an honest
assessment, in their own words, on several fronts.
The Cataloging Forum has attracted many speakers from "outside" as well
as high-powered
in-house speakers, but to me, this particular Forum will always be
special, since I saw and heard
some of my fellow cataloging technicians present themselves and their
thoughts in a very effective
way.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to Sara Martin, 1996 Houchen Bindery Beginning Professional
award winner
which was presented at the Fall NLA/NEMA Conference. Congratulations
to Sandy Herzinger.
Sandy was presented with two awards at the Fall NLA/NEMA Conference.
TSRT presented
Sandy with the Honorary Founder Award for her contributions towards
getting TSRT off the
ground. The C&U Section presented Sandy with the Distinguished
Service Award for
contributions to the profession. Congratulations to Brian Striman,
winner of the TSRT Logo
contest. Watch for Brian's award winning logo in the next edition of
Technically Speaking!
Congratulations to Judy Winkler on her new job. Judy is the new Library
Technician II, Slide
Curator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Architecture Library.
NOTE: If you, or someone
you know, has received an award, has a new job, won a contest or otherwise
done something
noteworthy, please send an e-mail to the editor or any TSRT board member
so we can share
that news with everyone!
THIS SPACE RESERVED
This space is reserved for YOUR article. Please consider submitting
an article on any aspect of
Technical Services that might be of interest to our readers. Have you
developed new procedures
for old routines? Have you convinced your management NOT to outsource?
Have you found
creative ways to outsource? Have you read a new book that would be
of interest to techies?
Articles are encouraged from all parts of the library and from all
levels of staff. Please help us
continue to offer an informative and interesting newsletter!
Technically Speaking...
...a technical services newsletter for Nebraska libraries
is published 3 times a year by the Nebraska Library Association Technical
Services Round
Table. Issues are published in Fall, Winter and Spring. NEWSLETTER
EDITOR: Judy Winkler,
University of Nebraska_Lincoln Architecture Library (402) 472-1193
Internet:
judyw@unllib.unl.edu TSRT homepage: http://www.peru.edu/~nlatsrt TSRT
listserv:
nlatsrt@pscvax.peru.edu This publication is free to current members
of the Round Table. It is not
available by subscription.