Technically Speaking
A Technical Services Newsletter for Nebraska Libraries

ISSN 1085-3448

TSRT Spring Meeting set for March 31
Please mark your calendar for the TSRT Spring Meeting, which is scheduled for Friday, March 31, in the Peter Kiewit Lodge at Mahoney State Park. Margaret Mering, a TSRT member and colleague from UNL Libraries, will serve as trainer for a workshop on cataloging electronic serials. The Serials Cataloging Cooperative Training Program (SCCTP) of the Library of Congress developed the curriculum for the workshop, which expert trainers take into the field in cooperation with library associations and networks.

You can find more information about the SCCTP at its website: http://www.loc.gov/acq/conser/scctp/home.html and a description of the workshop at: http://www.loc.gov/acq/conser/scctp/courdesc.html

Registration for the TSRT Spring meeting is limited to 30 people, so do not delay in completing the registration form (which is in the newsletter and on the TSRT website http://www.nebraskalibraries.org/TSRT/) and sending it to Casey Kralik, our Treasurer and gracious registration coordinator.

The TSRT Board extends its appreciation to Stephen Shorb, Dean of the UNO Library, for providing financial support by paying for photocopies of the curriculum materials and binders which each participant will receive at the workshop.

Don't look back, something might be gaining on you
This admonition to keep looking ahead and moving forward is attributed to Satchel Paige, the remarkable baseball pitcher. His words have been close to my heart in recent weeks, because a reorganization of the UNO Library expanded my responsibilities from Government Documents to include supervision of University Archives/Special Collections and the Afghanistan Collection. As usual in these cases, we have to refocus attention, set new priorities and targets, and move forward into territory which appears somewhat familiar, but also rather different. As always, I rely every day on the experience and goodwill of colleagues who make sure that balls do not get dropped and that runners advance around the bases.

In particular, I must thank Jan Boyer, the TSRT Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect, for working so diligently to organize the logistics for our Spring Meeting. She negotiated the day and room reservation at Mahoney State Park with an eye toward matching Margaret's schedule. We are very fortunate to have TSRT members and colleagues who so ably work on our behalf.

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Hasting Public Library/ Hasting Public Schools Merger Experience
Cecilia Slingsby

In response to a request from the Hastings Public Schools to consolidate library resources, the Hastings Public Library and Hastings Public Schools entered into an interlocal agreement. All Hastings Public School records were loaded onto the Hastings Public Library server on July 4, 2005. Some expected benefits from the combined database of bibliographic materials included the sharing of maintenance costs, the sharing of bibliographic records and a reduction in staff time. Both library systems agreed to make an effort to maintain the integrity of the database and to participate in a process of continual evaluation.

Preliminary planning included bringing the school from Dynix software version 182 to the public library Horizon version 7.3.2. Library meetings and conference calls with Dynix system analyst Michele Maenpaa and profiler Steve Kenworthy answered basic questions about joining two software versions. Joint library bibliographic record decisions included using the ISBN or LC number as the merge criteria for bibliographic records, retaining the public library records while adding school items (the public library uses OCLC records), not merging records with ISSN’s (the public library uses the Serial module of Horizon), adding “z” to the beginning of school codes so that the codes would group together, and producing a test database of records to check how records merged or did not merge.

The test database allowed analysis of different cataloging practices before the actual merge. \Most database clean-up problems were identified before the load. \Some changes were made by Dynix before the production load such as changing “x” subfield delimiters to “v” in appropriate subject headings, stripping or flipping uniform title series tags to other tags. Hastings Public Library performed regular clean-up chores such as clearing the new authority files, deleting Bibs without barcodes and correcting duplicate headings before the load. The public schools, consisting of six elementary, one middle, and one senior high school, had 54,421 Bibs, 86,878 Holdings, 4,185 Patrons and a Circ of 281 loaded onto the public library server which had 132,690 Bibs, 185,966 Items, 25,782 Patrons, and 10,801 Circ at the time of the load. Even with the planning and preparation, out of 54,421 school Bibs loaded, 16,464 Bibs merged and 37,957 did not. The load created 16,877 new authors, 15,327 new subjects and 2,840 new series. Most of the new authorities were unavoidably created due to years of non-standard cataloging practices used by both libraries. For instance, the schools didn’t add years to authors and the public library changed children’s nonfiction headings from “Juvenile literature” to “Juvenile.” The Hastings Public Library circulation staff and volunteers checked authority lists for duplicates, spelling errors and such. The public library catalogers first cleaned up the load errors, some obvious heading differences, and followed up with corrections to the identified problems in the lists. The shorter list of series authorities was functional by the end of August, the authors will probably take until the end of the year and the subjects close to one year.

Teachers went back to school in July and August visiting the public library for first hand experience at the circulation desk, refreshing Window software skills and attending classes to learn about Horizon software. Suzann Christensen, Hastings Public Middle School librarian, coordinated the effort. Pam Bohmfalk, Assistant Director at the Hastings Public Library, taught the circulation skills classes and Cecilia Slingsby, Cataloger, the bibliographic records aspect.

Both libraries have had to get used to seeing mixed codes, title lists and authorities. School capitalization of patrons and magazines helped clarify some of the confusion. Software restriction capability for locations and collections became essential. More transit check-ins, reserve issues and patron search problems challenged the circulation workflow. Some Hastings Public Library staff thought that Dynix must call the Hastings Public Library the “stump Dynix library” as Dynix initial contact personnel sent questions up the ladder to engineers. Most problems have now been resolved.

The merger has compelled the libraries to find flexible solutions. After the Hastings Public Library downloads a record from OCLC, the school items and bib record, if present, are then merged into the new Hastings Public Library record. The Hastings Public Library deletes items from OCLC when its last item is deleted. The library that deletes the last item deletes the Bib. The merger has promoted flexibility and compromise as cataloging practices are analyzed. More “see” references have been added also.

It is much too early to determine if staff time will eventually decrease, but other benefits become more apparent each day. The schools have a more stable server, have made a huge jump in a software upgrade, enjoy more search methods, and find the Windows applications such as copying Bibs and Items fast to use. The public library has honed its problem solving skills, set up Web Reporter, and developed more automated database clean-up processes. Working closely with school personnel has definitely been a plus not only joining the data and dividing the cost, but also promoting library use as students who are also public library patrons see similar screens when they search for items. Librarians continue to meet together and have set up e-mail addresses to quickly communicate. When the libraries first entered into merger discussions, they knew that they had to take the approach suggested by Alvin Toffler, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” After this experience, we can’t say that we are among the illiterate.

Cecilia Slingsby is the Technical Services Librarian at Hastings Public Library

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University Libraries’ Library Depository/Retrieval Facility (LDRF)
Carol Lechner

The Problem:
Like many libraries, the stacks space in Love Library at the University is at a premium where shelves are 85% filled which is considered “full.” The result is that Love is experiencing a bona fide quandary. To complicate the already overcrowding in Love Library, three of the smaller branch libraries were slated to be closed as a cost-savings measure by the University. The Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Physics collections were to be moved to Love, other branches or into storage.

The library administration had begun to plan for a non-browsing depository facility which would alleviate the serious space crunch. For several years, lesser-used material was being stored off-site in two leased storage buildings. These warehouse facilities were not environmentally sound for long-term stored paper monographs and serials. Library items had been shelved in these warehouses in call number order. For the most part requested titles were easily retrieved. The University Library was anxious to have a permanent secure facility that minimized the adverse affect of temperature and humidity and maximized preservation.

The Plan:
In the Fall of 2003, the University Board of Regents approved building a depository/retrieval library facility, and a steering committee was assembled with the charge: “To plan and coordinate, and communicate about, the activities needed to ensure that the Libraries collections are moved into the Storage Facility by August 2005 and that the three science branches … are closed by fall semester, 2005.” Time lines for constructing the building were established and contractors were selected. An East Campus site was chosen where ground was broken in late spring, 2004.

Within the UNL libraries, selection of material to be moved into storage was the first priority. Liaison librarians worked with teaching faculty and the Collection Development Committee to decide what titles, both monograph and serial, were less used and could be easily stored and recalled as needed. Each subject liaison was directed to select a percentage of shelf space in their disciplines to be removed from the Love stacks and to submit those lists to the steering committee by a pre-determined date.

Several teams were set up to handle various aspects of the project. We worked under tight deadlines: the closing of the three branches before the 2005 fall semester, minimizing disruption for faculty and students, vacating the leased warehouse space by summer 2005, and insuring that selected material was ready to move as soon as the facility was finished, or shelf space available. The deadlines drove staff to complete the preparation work in a relatively short period of time.

The Action:
Taking top priority, LDRF work meant many other technical work duties were slowed or put on hiatus.

In Technical Services, TS Team 1 was established to sort and prepare the material in the two storage facilities. Team co-leaders were selected, procedures written and re-written, discussed and tested until a logical plan was in place. Since all materials designated for the new Library Depository/Retrieval Facility (LDRF) had to be accurately entered online, the challenge was to check every title in IRIS, our online system. (Retrospective conversion some years earlier had insured that most monographs were already online; however, most serials issues were accessed by title only, not by individual number.) New machine-readable barcodes had to be attached to the front cover of each piece and the online record changed. TS Team 1 called for volunteers from existing staff plus several temporary employees were hired and trained. Wireless computer connections were established at the storage sites, furniture and equipment moved in. Staff was divided into two groups – those who checked and edited titles online, and those who annexed serials. Special annex sheets were created so that staff could use duplicate barcodes, putting one copy on the piece, the other on the annex sheet. The sheets were then brought back to Love and given to other staff to enter online. Because the storage units were warehouse type buildings with poor lighting and lots of dust, and because staff had to provide their own transportation, those who could not work at the warehouses worked from Love and did fill-in work for others. Preservation was a huge consideration. Many of the stored items needed repair or needed micro-climate boxes. Duplicates were weeded.

The TS 1 Team worked continually for approximately 18 months, and when finished, over 200,000 items had been prepared to move to LDRF. TS 2 team was established in April, 2004. The co-leaders were given the task to take the lists of titles submitted from the liaison librarians and prepare that material for LDRF. Not only were Love titles to be selected for transfer, the team also had to ensure space to receive several thousand items from the closing branch libraries. A decision was made to shelve science titles in the south side of Love, and the humanity/social sciences titles in Love North.

Working from priority call number lists, the team of volunteers, temporary staff, and student assistants took their laptops into Love stacks to check and code online records for easy moving to the LDRF. Because a library moving company had been contracted to do the move into LDRF, all of the material to be taken was marked with a strip of white label tape and left on the shelves to insure continued accessibility. Special codes were added to the online records. Simultaneous sub-projects were also underway, including preparing some archival material and government documents for LDRF. Preservation staff was heavily affected and the established criteria for what qualified for mending was strictly followed. Many of the work procedures were the same as those used at the warehouses – checking and editing individual items and placing new barcodes as needed. Decisions were made on nearly every contingency – problem records, no online records, items not on the shelves and so on. Again duplicates were weeded which created a mountain-sized holding problem within the Technical Services offices until they could be withdrawn.

A third TS team was set up to plan the smooth re-distribution and checking of material in the closing branches. Many titles were designated for transfer to Love or to one of the other branch libraries but much of the material was slated for LDRF. Many duplicates were encountered especially runs of some popular science serials. The goal in most instances was to ensure that a complete set existed somewhere, and often time sets were merged and duplicate issues weeded.

The Result:
By June 2005 the bulk of the preparation work was finished, which neatly coincided with the completion of the new LDRF building on East Campus. In July the physical move was under way.

The depository portion of LDRF is climate controlled, the shelving units extend up 35 feet, and items are accessed by a fork-lift type “cherry picker.” Each shelf is designed to hold four times as many items as a standard library shelf.

The office portion of the building has several workstations to process and size items and to fill retrieval requests. Although all material has been initially stored in call number order, ultimately material at LDRF will be stored strictly by size to ensure maximum use of space. “Locator” codes are added to each piece and each online record so that staff can easily determine in which range, section, shelf, and box the item is stored.

For the next several months the staff working at LDRF will be measuring and re-shelving individual pieces by size. Each year, approximately 40,000 other items will be selected to be stored at the depository, hopefully insuring that new current and highly-used monographs and journals will be available and shelve easily into our browse-able collections.

A monumental task in itself, the LDRF project resulted in some very positive side benefits. Much of the libraries’ collections were inventoried, duplicates were weeded, and shelf reading accomplished. Online records were checked, corrected, or created. A major benefit was the opportunity for staff to step into leadership roles and help manage a momentous project.

Overall, successfully planning for and completing the Library Depository/Retrieval Facility was a win-win situation for the University and everyone involved.

Carol Lechner is a cataloger at UNL’s Love Library

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SCCTP ELECTRONIC SERIALS CATALOGING WORKSHOP
sponsored by the
NEBRASKA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
TECHNICAL SERVICES ROUND TABLE

March 31, 2006 8:30-4:30
Mahoney State Park - Peter Kiewit Lodge - Abel Nebraska Room
28500 West Park Hwy, Ashland NE 68005-3508

Trainer: Margaret Mering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
This workshop is based on Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR), 2nd edition, including the 2001 amendments and the revised edition published in 2002. It incorporates key revisions of chapter 9, "Electronic resources" and chapter 12 "Continuing resources" that apply to electronic serials, but is not a comprehensive course on serials cataloging. The course is also based on Library of Congress Rule Interpretations, the MARC 21 format, and CONSER specific policies and practices set forth in the CONSER Cataloging Manual and CONSER Editing Guide.

8:00-8:30 Registration (Refreshments will be provided)
8:30-11:30 Morning Session
11:30-1:00 Lunch and TSRT Business Meeting
1:00-4:30 Afternoon Session

THE WORKSHOP IS LIMITED TO 30 PARTICIPANTS. This workshop is also being offered to librarians in states surrounding Nebraska. Nebraska participants will be given a priority if their registration is received by March 1st. Nebraska participants can still register after March 1st, but may not be assured a seat in the workshop.

Registration Deadline:
March 1st for Nebraska library participants to be assured a seat in the workshop
March 15th for all participants (registrations accepted in the order received until the workshop is full)

TSRT Electronic Serials Cataloging Workshop Registration Form
(Please Print)

Name: _________________________________________________________________________________________

Institution: ______________________________________________________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________________________________________________

Phone: ______________________ E-Mail for confirmation:____________________________________________

I will be attending (check one): Workshop (includes buffet lunch)
Students in Library Science programs ____ ($40)
Nebraska Library Association member ____ ($50)
Non-Nebraska Library Association member ____ ($60)
Lunch/Business Meeting Only ____ ($10)

Make checks payable to: Technical Services Round Table
Send registration to: Casey Kralik, Bellevue University Library, 1000 Galvin Road South, Bellevue, NE 68005
Phone: 402-293-3786 E-mail: kralik@bellevue.edu
Park Entry Fee: $3 per day per car. Registration does not cover this fee. Carpooling is encouraged. Cars with tax exempt status do not pay the entry fee. Lodging is available at the Peter Kiewit Lodge or in park cabins. Reservations can be made through the Call Center 402-944-2703 or by calling Mahoney State Park at 402-944-2523, ext. 7330 or online: www.outdoornebraska.org

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Sharon Mason: We Have Come Full Circle
reflections by Ella Jane Bailey

If this seems like a strange title, it isn't. Sharon Mason and I first met at the University of Denver, Graduate School of Librarianship in 1963. We marched down the aisle at graduation ready to face the challenge of library services. Sharon and I did not cross paths again until 1980, when she accepted the position of Head of Technical Services at Kearney State College. From then on the "Road of Automation" was well traveled. Heads of Technical Services were the first automation librarians. When the University of Nebraska selected Innovative Interfaces (III) in 1990, a new group was formed. Sharon, Sandy Hertzinger, and I traveled to the III User Group meetings and we survived system upgrades and patches. Did I mention that Sharon was responsible for the loading of software of the Rosi System? It is those little tasks that take nights and weekends. I believe in most job descriptions it is described as "other duties as assigned."

Before returning to Nebraska in 1980, Sharon took a position at Ohio State University Library where she asked to be head of the Quick Editing Department. This was her introduction to a new organization called OCLC. She had connections with Frederick Kilgore, the first OCLC president. As Sharon stated in her interview at UNK, "This was the beginning of a 33-year association." As you all are very aware, OCLC has had a greater impact on libraries than the Dewey Decimal System.

While Sharon was doing retrospective conversion plus writing and reading RFPs, she became very professionally active. She served Nebraska as ALA Councilor from 1999-2002. She held many offices and worked on many committees for the Nebraska Library Association including being elected President in 1997, Chair of the College and University Section, 2005-2006, and Representative to ACRL for 2005-2006, to name just a few.

Sharon retired from University of Nebraska at Kearney in January 2006, but she is still very active in ALA. She will be attending meetings to keep up on the changes for cataloging including metadata and the educational opportunities for paraprofessionals. Sharon is a lifetime ALA member. She will continue to teach cataloging for the Nebraska Library Commission and for the Nebraska Library Systems.

Even with all Sharon's responsibilities, she has always been a willing listener and friend. There are days when life is not perfect in "library land." I could always call Sharon and ask her advice. Just to have someone to listen who understood the ways of the library work was a real gift. Her advice on library cataloging, personnel, as well as tips on raising a daughter, has been wonderful. Sharon has been an outstanding leader in the library profession. But most of all, she is an outstanding friend to many and to me.

There are those memorable moments that will always stay with you. On one occasion I was a bridal consultant in Chicago for the mother of the bride. It is a great story for another time. And then there was the magnificent production at NLA of the "Ninety Years of Cataloging in the Trenches in Nebraska" in 2001. The best memory is just being together.

So I propose a toast to Sharon Mason: “May good health and happiness be with you always. May your treasury of happy memories include your library colleagues. And may your retirement be a reward for all you have given to others in the library profession.”
Ella Jane Bailey is the Chair of Bibliographic Access at UNO’s Library.

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Technically Speaking...is published 3 times a year by the Nebraska Library Association,
Technical Services Round Table.

NEWSLETTER EDITOR:
Deirdre Routt , Omaha Public Library, 215 S 15 St, Omaha, NE 68102
(402) 444-4997 or droutt@omahapubliclibrary.org

WEBPAGE COORDINATOR:
Casey Kralik, Bellevue University,1000 Galvin Rd, Bellevue, NE 68005
(402) 293-3786 or kralik@bellevue.edu

TSRT homepage: http://www.nebraskalibraries.org/TSRT/

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