I was the editor of my state library association journal and recently moved to another state. Not all that bad except as the editor I did the layout and sent to the printer, etc. Problem - the software belonged to the association not to me and I was moving! I couldn't take it with me. Tine to the rescue - she volunteered to lay it out for me. I couldn't have been more grateful. With the exception of one meeting before I actually left town (at a Pizza Inn, no less) we've collaborated on this issue using Yahoo! IM and e-mail. Yes, we've done it virtually and have what I think is a pretty good product to boot. I've coordinated many items with the Associate Editor via e-mail, but I believe chat improved this a great deal, including walking me through changing the page numbers, as it is "real time." There is no delay. And, in many ways it's better than the phone, because conversations usually remain on "target." Not to mention the multi-tasking that can be done while chatting.
We wound up using different software, Microsoft Publisher, rather than Adobe InDesign, but in the end it worked out. I actually have Publisher at my new job, which made it possible for me to do some of the edits. Publisher has presented a couple of challenges with the printer, but we're on the downswing now. The important thing was getting it laid out and ready for the printer. Tine and I have always done professional collaboration using chat, but I'm a little impressed that we managed to put together an issue of a state library journal virtually.
January 25, 2007
Academic Library Makeover - Part 2
Volunteers were solicited for participation on the Mission and Vision team. This group spent some time this fall semester synthesizing and refining the work that was started in the one day retreat in August. At each revision the drafts were reviewed by not only the Dean and the Provost but also our retreat leader. (Our end product can be found at: http://library.ualr.edu/whatsnew/missionvision.htm.)
Once a consistent message was crafted, the Dean took us on our next level of organization building - Goals and Objectives. The nine vision points were consolidated into six major themes - Assessment, Collections & Access, Collaboration & Outreach, Excellence through Staff Development, Physical Environment, and Fundraising. Six work groups were established with volunteer participation to develop one goal and three to five objectives to be attained in the next one to three years.
Each work group met and strived to stay focused on the goal and objective level of the assignment. It was obvious how passionate some participants were for their theme as they seemed to jump right into troubleshooting/task mode. Some groups, including ours, had to continually remember that we were not at the "tasks or strategies" level. In the end, each group was successful and submitted their completed pieces of the plan.
The Mission and Vision team was reconstituted as the Goals and Objectives team (GOT) to pull a cohesive document together. This document was then again submitted to the Dean, Provost, and retreat leader. Our Provost offered several suggestions which were easily incorporated and one that took some detailed effort. This one observation was to the whole document being too inward focused. The GOT chair was charged with further refining the document with special attention for connecting the Library's Strategic Plan directly to the University's Strategic Plan.
At the chair's request, I was involved in this process. We sat with the document and made two major enhancements - links to the University Strategic Plan at both the theme and goal levels AND adjusting goals to directly address students, faculty, and staff where possible. With these adjustments in place, the Dean approved the GOT's presentation of the plan to the Dean's Council meeting in December 2006. (Feel free to email for copies of resulting document or presentation.)
Our next steps are to form new task forces to develop strategies, prioritize those tasks, and begin our work with a new purpose.
Once a consistent message was crafted, the Dean took us on our next level of organization building - Goals and Objectives. The nine vision points were consolidated into six major themes - Assessment, Collections & Access, Collaboration & Outreach, Excellence through Staff Development, Physical Environment, and Fundraising. Six work groups were established with volunteer participation to develop one goal and three to five objectives to be attained in the next one to three years.
Each work group met and strived to stay focused on the goal and objective level of the assignment. It was obvious how passionate some participants were for their theme as they seemed to jump right into troubleshooting/task mode. Some groups, including ours, had to continually remember that we were not at the "tasks or strategies" level. In the end, each group was successful and submitted their completed pieces of the plan.
The Mission and Vision team was reconstituted as the Goals and Objectives team (GOT) to pull a cohesive document together. This document was then again submitted to the Dean, Provost, and retreat leader. Our Provost offered several suggestions which were easily incorporated and one that took some detailed effort. This one observation was to the whole document being too inward focused. The GOT chair was charged with further refining the document with special attention for connecting the Library's Strategic Plan directly to the University's Strategic Plan.
At the chair's request, I was involved in this process. We sat with the document and made two major enhancements - links to the University Strategic Plan at both the theme and goal levels AND adjusting goals to directly address students, faculty, and staff where possible. With these adjustments in place, the Dean approved the GOT's presentation of the plan to the Dean's Council meeting in December 2006. (Feel free to email for copies of resulting document or presentation.)
Our next steps are to form new task forces to develop strategies, prioritize those tasks, and begin our work with a new purpose.
January 23, 2007
Another First - ALA Midwinter
I was fortunate enough to attend ALA Midwinter this year. In my 13 years in the profession, this was the first time I had attended. Normally, I have participated on a local level and have been recently encouraged to broaden my scope.
For those that do not know, ALA Midwinter is the place where much of the "business" of the organization takes place. Meetings are held for just about every entity related to ALA. I found it quite difficult to decide which meetings should take priority as I was new to ALA, ACRL, LAMA, and LITA all at the same time.
In the end, I found myself attending few actual meetings and spending the bulk of my time in the exhibit hall. The IT girl in me marvelled at a first hand view of ContentDM, investigating RFID options for our Media Center, and setting up trials for Central Search (SerialsSolutions) and WebFeat for testing in our upcoming book project.
Those meetings I did end up attending were Heads of Library Information Technology (LITA), Hot Topics (ACRL/CJCLS), and a new Taskforce on Recruitment and Retention of New Library Professionals from the incoming ACRL President, Julie Todaro.
For those that do not know, ALA Midwinter is the place where much of the "business" of the organization takes place. Meetings are held for just about every entity related to ALA. I found it quite difficult to decide which meetings should take priority as I was new to ALA, ACRL, LAMA, and LITA all at the same time.
In the end, I found myself attending few actual meetings and spending the bulk of my time in the exhibit hall. The IT girl in me marvelled at a first hand view of ContentDM, investigating RFID options for our Media Center, and setting up trials for Central Search (SerialsSolutions) and WebFeat for testing in our upcoming book project.
Those meetings I did end up attending were Heads of Library Information Technology (LITA), Hot Topics (ACRL/CJCLS), and a new Taskforce on Recruitment and Retention of New Library Professionals from the incoming ACRL President, Julie Todaro.
- The Heads of Library Information Technology meeting addressed budgeting, organizational structure, and collaborative opportunities. They are currently looking for a Vice-Chair, which I said I would consider.
- The Hot Topics meeting focused on Distance Education Collection Development needs and challenges - eBooks, pay-per-use plan for NetLibrary, media at a distance, a need for vocational collections, and inserting library instruction throughout the curriculum.
- Finally, I was invited to participate in the incoming ACRL president's new Taskforce to increase recruitment into the profession and retain newer librarians. A broad cross-section of ALA's Emerging Leaders, those who've been in the profession a while, and others interested in succession planning were brought together for this discussion. As a goal, the discussion will spawn Focus Groups to be conducted at ACRL, ALA Annual 2007, and ALA Midwinter 2008.
December 07, 2006
Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara - courtesy of ALA
Every year, the Spanish speaking world descends on Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico for the FIL - Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara. For the past 9 years, the American Library Association has worked with the FIL to provide scholarships to US librarians to attend. This year, I was one of the lucky ones.
My dean prompted my colleagues and I to apply this summer. Being as how, I enjoy traveling and learning new things about library world, I decided to apply. Much to my surprise, I was selected to attend. The scholarship included registration for the FIL, 3 to 6 nights in a hotel (depending on whether you were willing to have a roommate), 3 breakfast coupons, and $100 towards airfare.
As the dates approached, the listserv setup for participants began to spring to life. Librarians from all over introduced themselves and questions regarding vendors and what to expect began to fly. Personally, I learned of a handful of people that were going to be on the same flight as I and even someone that was willing to assist with my virtually non-existent Spanish skills.
After various travel woes, I arrived in Guadalajara the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I ended up with a wonderful roommate who not only had been to the FIL before and could give me tips and hints, but also knew how to make a telephone call state side. She made me feel at home and gave me a preliminary scouting report.
Most of the people that I met at the FIL were selectors and purchasers of Spanish language materials for their libraries. The areas of the US I found represented were Virginia, all of California, Arizona, Maryland, Illinois, Texas and then me from Arkansas. Although I am sure there were more, I was amazed by the thought of the increasing need for Spanish materials throughout the country.
My 1st day at the fair (Sunday) was OVERWHELMING. I was in a foreign country and completely out my normal library element. As I ended up explaining several times over the course of 5 days, I am a systems librarian. I neither knew Spanish nor had any collection development duties. My charge was to be a scout and to determine how and with whom to establish vendor relationships. Boy, did I have a lot to learn.
My first impressions of the fair were awe and dismay. I was struck by how many people were interested in attending a BOOK FAIR. Here in the US, I can’t imagine anything short of a Rock Concert attracting this many people. None of the vendors were interested in speaking with me. I began to wonder why I had come all this distance for something that wasn’t even really my job. Thankfully, there was an orientation session on Sunday evening which put things in perspective.
I learned several things in that session. First, Monday – Wednesday 8-5p is reserved for professionals. All other times the general public is permitted entrance. So that morning, I had been amongst the masses and seen firsthand that the Spanish speaking countries tend to be highly literate or at least have a literary awareness that is unheard of in Arkansas, if not the whole US. Second, regulars had spent the weekend scoping out the fair to give us hints, tips, tidbits, and finds at various booths. I took notes as one gentleman rattled off all of the big name players in field and explained that most of their items would be available from book jobbers. Thus, it was advisable to go by their booths and make laundry lists of those titles we were interested in. Third, another woman gave advice as to how to approach the fair in general. She encouraged us to focus our search on the population we were purchasing for, to work with a jobber, to use the Salon del Libros for suggested titles since they were picked by collection specialists by public, school, and academic librarians, and finally, to pace ourselves and stave off overwhelm in any possible fashion. Finally, the session broke into library types. I attended the academic session and was amazed. The two speakers had scouted the fair for specific kinds from small publishing houses and authors. They gave a list of booths to not miss, a breakdown of who accepted credit and who didn’t, specific titles that were key in the various disciplines, and again, be focused in your search. After this session, I felt much more grounded and was able to proceed with my scouting tasks the remainder of the week.
Many of my fellow librarians were of assistance throughout the week. The experience and interaction with colleagues actively involved in this area gave me many new concepts to be understood when dealing with collection development. They included dialectal differences in Spanish, why come to the fair at all (very limited book runs, amongst other things), how selective book jobbers can be about their vendors, what questions to ask a vendor (fill rate, shipping, publishing houses worked with, timeline for order completion, and more), and a fraction of the political/social dance that is done in maintaining vendor relations.
In addition to the intensity of the work at the fair, ALA strove to ensure that we took time to socialize and network. Two major events were held, the Grand Gala on Sunday night and the reception hosted by the US Consulate on Monday night. Both events allowed for decompression and exchange of those rare finds found during the course of the day. I am truly grateful that ALA-FIL took as much time as they did to intentionally orient and organize us. I feel that my perspective on the world of librarianship has grown tenfold through this experience. I know in college, they always wanted to graduate “well-rounded” individuals. I believe that this experience has gone one more step towards making me a “well-rounded” librarian. So, although I am merely a systems librarian, I hope that ALA-FIL allows my attendance in the future and continues this program so that I may encourage others to participate.
My dean prompted my colleagues and I to apply this summer. Being as how, I enjoy traveling and learning new things about library world, I decided to apply. Much to my surprise, I was selected to attend. The scholarship included registration for the FIL, 3 to 6 nights in a hotel (depending on whether you were willing to have a roommate), 3 breakfast coupons, and $100 towards airfare.
As the dates approached, the listserv setup for participants began to spring to life. Librarians from all over introduced themselves and questions regarding vendors and what to expect began to fly. Personally, I learned of a handful of people that were going to be on the same flight as I and even someone that was willing to assist with my virtually non-existent Spanish skills.
After various travel woes, I arrived in Guadalajara the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I ended up with a wonderful roommate who not only had been to the FIL before and could give me tips and hints, but also knew how to make a telephone call state side. She made me feel at home and gave me a preliminary scouting report.
Most of the people that I met at the FIL were selectors and purchasers of Spanish language materials for their libraries. The areas of the US I found represented were Virginia, all of California, Arizona, Maryland, Illinois, Texas and then me from Arkansas. Although I am sure there were more, I was amazed by the thought of the increasing need for Spanish materials throughout the country.
My 1st day at the fair (Sunday) was OVERWHELMING. I was in a foreign country and completely out my normal library element. As I ended up explaining several times over the course of 5 days, I am a systems librarian. I neither knew Spanish nor had any collection development duties. My charge was to be a scout and to determine how and with whom to establish vendor relationships. Boy, did I have a lot to learn.
My first impressions of the fair were awe and dismay. I was struck by how many people were interested in attending a BOOK FAIR. Here in the US, I can’t imagine anything short of a Rock Concert attracting this many people. None of the vendors were interested in speaking with me. I began to wonder why I had come all this distance for something that wasn’t even really my job. Thankfully, there was an orientation session on Sunday evening which put things in perspective.
I learned several things in that session. First, Monday – Wednesday 8-5p is reserved for professionals. All other times the general public is permitted entrance. So that morning, I had been amongst the masses and seen firsthand that the Spanish speaking countries tend to be highly literate or at least have a literary awareness that is unheard of in Arkansas, if not the whole US. Second, regulars had spent the weekend scoping out the fair to give us hints, tips, tidbits, and finds at various booths. I took notes as one gentleman rattled off all of the big name players in field and explained that most of their items would be available from book jobbers. Thus, it was advisable to go by their booths and make laundry lists of those titles we were interested in. Third, another woman gave advice as to how to approach the fair in general. She encouraged us to focus our search on the population we were purchasing for, to work with a jobber, to use the Salon del Libros for suggested titles since they were picked by collection specialists by public, school, and academic librarians, and finally, to pace ourselves and stave off overwhelm in any possible fashion. Finally, the session broke into library types. I attended the academic session and was amazed. The two speakers had scouted the fair for specific kinds from small publishing houses and authors. They gave a list of booths to not miss, a breakdown of who accepted credit and who didn’t, specific titles that were key in the various disciplines, and again, be focused in your search. After this session, I felt much more grounded and was able to proceed with my scouting tasks the remainder of the week.
Many of my fellow librarians were of assistance throughout the week. The experience and interaction with colleagues actively involved in this area gave me many new concepts to be understood when dealing with collection development. They included dialectal differences in Spanish, why come to the fair at all (very limited book runs, amongst other things), how selective book jobbers can be about their vendors, what questions to ask a vendor (fill rate, shipping, publishing houses worked with, timeline for order completion, and more), and a fraction of the political/social dance that is done in maintaining vendor relations.
In addition to the intensity of the work at the fair, ALA strove to ensure that we took time to socialize and network. Two major events were held, the Grand Gala on Sunday night and the reception hosted by the US Consulate on Monday night. Both events allowed for decompression and exchange of those rare finds found during the course of the day. I am truly grateful that ALA-FIL took as much time as they did to intentionally orient and organize us. I feel that my perspective on the world of librarianship has grown tenfold through this experience. I know in college, they always wanted to graduate “well-rounded” individuals. I believe that this experience has gone one more step towards making me a “well-rounded” librarian. So, although I am merely a systems librarian, I hope that ALA-FIL allows my attendance in the future and continues this program so that I may encourage others to participate.
November 02, 2006
Weeding
We have moved forward with our weeding/deselection project. This project is being done working with the departments. We are using WorldCat Collection Analysis to identify titles held in the areas we are weeding. While I think this is a good tool for collection analysis (with lots of patience as it's still not intuitive), I'm not sure if it's good for weeding. I'm not sure it's bad, either.
You can only search by broad subject area, i.e. Sociology. From the matches you can drill down even further. It is easier than building a query in Millenium (III); the problem is there are subjects that may actually fall under a different program area, which means that each "sub" subject area must be exported separately. For example, I limited my query to Sociology and the 1960's (1960-1969). Not all areas were appropriate for my project. I wound up with 10 different spreadsheets since you can only either export at the top level or at each individual level. And, speaking of export, you can only export from WorldCat itself after viewing the list and it only does it in batches of 500. I find this a bit inconvenient. You also can't identify which fields you want to export.
My only other option at this point is to identify the call number areas and build the query in Millenium and then export from Millenium. However, query building in Millenium can be tedious itself and it does have some quirks. Plus, I believe the output in Excel from WorldCat Coll Analysis is cleaner. And, limiting by publication date is easier in WorldCat Coll Analysis.
I had a chance to chat with Bowker about their upcoming product while at the Charleston Conference. I think it will be better at identifying missing recommended titles, but I'm not sure it would be anymore useful for weeding.
Bottom line, this is my first major weeding project. I've had to review the titles pulled from our first round because they overlapped with other departments or we felt they should remain in the collection. I'm limiting areas to consider more, but winding up with a LOT of spreadsheets in the process. WorldCat Coll Analysis makes running the report easier, but it doesn't take all of the work out of the whole project. However, there probably isn't any tool that would do that. After about a month of this, I've decided that WorldCat Coll Analysis provides a good starting point for the weeding projects.
technorati tags: collection analysis weeding deselection
You can only search by broad subject area, i.e. Sociology. From the matches you can drill down even further. It is easier than building a query in Millenium (III); the problem is there are subjects that may actually fall under a different program area, which means that each "sub" subject area must be exported separately. For example, I limited my query to Sociology and the 1960's (1960-1969). Not all areas were appropriate for my project. I wound up with 10 different spreadsheets since you can only either export at the top level or at each individual level. And, speaking of export, you can only export from WorldCat itself after viewing the list and it only does it in batches of 500. I find this a bit inconvenient. You also can't identify which fields you want to export.
My only other option at this point is to identify the call number areas and build the query in Millenium and then export from Millenium. However, query building in Millenium can be tedious itself and it does have some quirks. Plus, I believe the output in Excel from WorldCat Coll Analysis is cleaner. And, limiting by publication date is easier in WorldCat Coll Analysis.
I had a chance to chat with Bowker about their upcoming product while at the Charleston Conference. I think it will be better at identifying missing recommended titles, but I'm not sure it would be anymore useful for weeding.
Bottom line, this is my first major weeding project. I've had to review the titles pulled from our first round because they overlapped with other departments or we felt they should remain in the collection. I'm limiting areas to consider more, but winding up with a LOT of spreadsheets in the process. WorldCat Coll Analysis makes running the report easier, but it doesn't take all of the work out of the whole project. However, there probably isn't any tool that would do that. After about a month of this, I've decided that WorldCat Coll Analysis provides a good starting point for the weeding projects.
technorati tags: collection analysis weeding deselection
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