Technical Services Efficiencies at Wesleyan University

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Technical Services Efficiencies at Wesleyan
University

• Sally Grucan, Head of Cataloging
• Cohabiting and Colliding Print and Electronic
  Resources
• NETSL Spring Conference, April 4, 2008

2
Overview

• Wesleyan
• Guiding principles
• Workflow evaluation/redesign
• Efficiencies
• Cataloging issues

3
Wesleyan overview

• 2,700 undergraduates
• 200 graduate students in the natural sciences,
  mathematics, and ethnomusicology
• 400 students in the Graduate Liberal Studies
  Program
• 300 faculty
• 3 libraries with 39 FTE staff 15 FTE
  professional, 24 FTE paraprofessional

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Library overview

• 1 million titles CTW Library Consortium 2
  million
• 400,000 nonbook items
• 110,000 cataloged internet resources
• Subscriptions 1,400 paper and 7,000 e-journal
  35,000 if you include aggregator access
• 19,000 titles and 22,000 volumes added in FY07
• 56 PromptCat and YBP shelfready
• 38 inhouse copy cataloging
• 4 inhouse original
• 1 TechPro
• 1 e-journals added to print record
• GPO depository 30 selection
• Voyager ILS

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Lecture 1 Use staff appropriately

• No librarian should do a job that a
  paraprofessional can do
• No paraprofessional should do a job that a
  clerical staff member can do
• No clerical staff member should do a job that a
  student or volunteer can do
• No human being should do a job that a machine can
  do Michael Gormans drift down
  theory

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Professional work

• Production--difficult work only
• Performance evaluation, supervision
• Policies and procedures
• Problem solving, workflow revision
• Planning, budgeting
• Project design, maybe management
• Picture, Big

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Lecture 2 Big picture

• Plan and set goals top-down institution,
  library, units/departments, individual staff
• Users (including other staff) are central
• Budget, costs
• Know what others are doing
• The Web is our technology platform

Get to work. You arent being paid to believe in
the power of your dreams. http//www.despair.
com
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Lecture 3 Just say no

• There is nothing as useless as doing efficiently
  
• that which should not be done at all. Peter
  Drucker
• Staff cannot absorb new work indefinitely, no
  matter how efficient they are
• Make a serious effort to stop doing or postpone
  some current tasks

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Examples of no -- Stop

• Inserting routine slips and flags
• Making printouts, photocopies, paper records
• Periodical checkin, binding, and claims
• Manual tallies
• Upgrading copy cataloging
• Applying bookplates
• New Book shelf
• Ruth Fischer and Rick Lugg. Just Say
  No
• Eliminating Low-Value Tasks.
  Against the Grain,
• v.16, no. 6 (Jan. 2004), p. 84.

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Wesleyan nos -- Stop

• Using overly complex fund structures and small
  itemized endowments
• Item-by-item book selection where appropriate
  move from slip approval plan to book approval
  plan
• Item-by-item receipt/payment in favor of EDI
• Accepting gifts which we cannot catalog/preserve,
  especially in Special Collections/Archives and
  World Music Archives
• Having vendor bind paperbacks or pulling thick
  paperbacks from the shelves send for binding
  only after the first circulation
• Unnecessary US government document selection and
  cataloging

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Workflow evaluation/redesign

• Create an environment conducive to change
• Identify problems/opportunities
• Make a game plan, implement, revise as needed

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Create an environmentconducive to change

• Institution/library priorities drive decisions
  (its not about job elimination)
• Change is inevitable and desirable were all in
  this together
• Structure for communicating, sharing ideas,
  decision-making, measuring results
• No bad ideas, mistakes expected/accepted
• Outside help
• Build enthusiasm

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The six stages of an integrated online system
project (Bad Old Days, ca. 1985)

• Elation and exuberance
• Confusion
• Disaster
• Search for the guilty
• Punishment of the innocent
• Distinction for the uninvolved

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2a. Identify problems

• Priorities not well defined
• Difficulty meeting priorities
• Backlogs
• Bottlenecks, hubs
• Disparities in workload and production
• Redundancies, handoffs and multiple stages
• Insufficient data for making decisions and
  evaluating effectiveness
• Complaints, negative survey feedback

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2b. Identify opportunities

• Flexibility to address priorities
• Optimal use of staff and budget
• Apply expertise in new ways
• Increased opportunities for learning
• An exciting place to work good people stay,
  attract best candidates for jobs

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3. Plan, implement, revise

• Someone(s) need(s) to be in charge
• Involve all stakeholders including your
  organizations administration
• Formal or informal as suits your organization
• Share planning documents/meeting notes with
  entire staff get feedback
• Implement, revisit as needed

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1. Create an environment conducive to
changeWesleyan environment

• Even a few cheerleaders build enthusiasm
• Director/AUL support change, provide training
  funds, reward those who facilitate change
• Consultants reviewed Tech Servicestask-based
  approachand we decided to implement almost
  everything in their report
• Important to involve university administration
• Allocated Tech Services staff to align more
  closely with how funds are actually spent
• Will apply consultant techniques to review Public
  Services

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2. Identify problems/opportunities Wesleyan
problems (1)

• Out of space in all libraries
• Collection development focused on print,
  insufficient cooperation among CTW Consortium
  libraries
• Never had a designated systems librarian
• Loss of foreign language expertise in Cataloging
• Online catalog incomplete insufficient
  cataloging support for rare/unique materials

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2. Identify problems/opportunities Wesleyan
problems (2)

• Several information silos, no unified retrieval
  mechanism
• Sub-par relationship w/ ITS
• E-resources management too centralized,
  understaffed
• Insufficient groupthink in Tech Services
• Preservation challenges
• Collections need inventory

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3. Plan, implement, revise Wesleyan changes (1)

• Space Create better spaces by reducing/storing
  some of the print collection
• Collection development All librarians select,
  Mellon grant for CTW cooperation, continuous
  review of e-resources, new budgeting model
• Systems librarian Used retiree funds to hire a
  Systems/Discovery Librarian
• Cataloging expertise Paraprofessional
  cataloging vacancy upgraded to entry-level
  cataloging librarian position

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3. Plan, implement, revise Wesleyan changes (2)

• Recon/hidden Formal commitment to recon,
  priority recon trumps some new acquisitions,
  paraprofessionals trained. New cataloging
  librarian part-time in Special Collections.
• Better user interfaces New Systems/Discovery
  Librarian focusing on web-based services and
  providing staff support

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3. Plan, implement, revise Wesleyan changes (3)

• ITS cooperation Academic Technology Round
  Table lunches, Media Database, Departmental
  Collections Catalog, digital repository,
  sound/video streaming, datasets
• Tech Services Reorganized under two heads
  Acquisitions Electronic Resources and
  Cataloging. Better communication. Will revamp
  physical space.
• Preservation Preservation Librarian supervises
  physical processing, trained catalogers to spot
  potential problems, is involved in gift review
  and weeding projects

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3. Plan, implement, revise Wesleyan changes (4)

• E-resources Acquisitions Electronic Resources
  head delegates work among 5.5 FTE
  paraprofessionals including 2 high-level
  administrative staff planning ERMS
• Statistics Better understand and meet user needs
  through usage statistics/logs, focus groups,
  anthropological studies, etc.
• Not yet addressed inventory, digitization funds,
  campus metadata standards

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Tech Services overview

• Two departments
• Acquisitions Electronic Resources (6.5 FTE)
• Acquisitions Electronic Resources Librarian (1
  FTE)
• Monographic Acquisitions (2 FTE)
• Serials/Electronic Resources/Binding (3.5 FTE)
• Cataloging (4.3 FTE)
• Head of Cataloging (1 FTE)
• Cataloging Librarian (1 FTE)
• Paraprofessional catalogers (2.3 FTE)
• The professionals do collection development but
  not reference/liaison

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Efficiencies in Selection

• New approach to selection incorporating faculty
  liaison structure
• Collaborative collection development (and
  weeding) within CTW Consortium
• 3-year Mellon grant to assess CTW collections and
  establish consortial collection development
• Move away from title-by-title selection using
  GOBI slips and publisher catalogs in favor of
  online selection and approval plans
• Will better utilize technology, statistics and
  cost figures
• Did not replace retiring Collection
  Development Librarian in favor of a
  Systems/Discovery Librarian, etc. will
  re-examine in 3 years

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Efficiencies in Acquisitions Electronic
Resources (1)

• Consolidated Monographic Acquisitions with
  Serials/Electronic Resources
• Have used YBP GOBI for monographs for many years
• Will eliminate some title-by-title ordering
  initially and implement EDI
• Access over ownership more collaborative
  collection development, more e-resources, more
  and more efficient ILL, monographic funds cover
  access-related costs (cataloging, shelving,
  circulation, preservation)
• But, cheaper to purchase than do ILL sometimes

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Efficiencies in Acquisitions Electronic
Resources (2)

• Ongoing serials review avoid multiple formats
• SFX for linking, will replace
• current Serials Solutions A-Z
• list that populates Journal Locator
• (few e-journals in catalog)
• EDI for Ebsco, add Harrassowitz
• Reduced serials binding (but monographic binding
  is growing due to preservation efforts)
• Paraprofessionals catalog most e-resources
• Significant student help
• All staff contribute to wiki-based manual

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Efficiencies in Cataloging Staffing

• Paraprofessionals do most of
• the cataloging, including original
• uploaded to OCLC
• Cataloging activity and database management
  occurs in other library departments Head of
  Cataloging creates record templates as needed.
  Special Collections employs students and Scores
  Recordings has graduate students
• Head of Cataloging free to concentrate on
  problems, policy, planning (all those P things)

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Efficiencies in Cataloging Outsourcing

• PromptCat for more than half of acquisitions
• TechPro for non-roman scripts (for now)
• Daily electronic batchloading of holding symbols
  to OCLC
• Daily Bib Notification updates book records and
  TOCs, no review, nonoverlays reported
• Acquire records sets WorldCat Collection Sets,
  EEBO, NAXOS, etc.
• Authority work done by LTI no cleanup from
  reports

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Efficiencies in Cataloging PromptCat and YBP
shelfready

• Long-time users
• Acquisitions receives, then
• goes to lower-level Cataloging staff member
• Full/Core-level records not checked volumes
  eyeballed for problems which are referred to
  higher-level Cataloging staff
• Items out of Tech Services in 1-2 days
• OPAC tracks On Order, Received, In Process, etc.
  including date

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Efficiencies in Cataloging Inhouse current
cataloging

• Streamlined copy cataloging checklist, reviewed
  regularly
• Full/Core-level almost never edited
• Sampling vs. checking most records?
• Reduce US gov docs receipts, cataloging
• Tiny backlog

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Efficiencies in Cataloging Recon and hidden
collections

• Recon done at the title level from shelflist with
  little running into the stacks future inventory
  must address discrepancies
• Items barcoded/circulated on-the-fly
  automatically come to Cataloging for followup
• 40 of new Cataloging Librarian devoted to
  Special Collections
• Cataloging Librarian working with Scores and
  Recordings/World Music Archives on cataloging
  workflow

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Efficiencies in Cataloging Other

• Follow national standards and LC practice
  including series
• Searchable Web-based Wesleyan Cataloging Manual
  http//www.wesleyan.edu/libr/cataloging/CAT_MANUAL
  / and tools like Classification Web and
  Catalogers Desktop
• Macro Express macros insert codes in bib records
  system pulls records for updating OCLC holdings
  and LTI processing, also provides stats for
  tracking productivity and making decisions
• Database cleanup timesavers Access reports,
  batch location changer, etc.
• Automatic record enrichment, e.g. Amazon links,
  Google Book Search

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Cataloging issues (1)

• What belongs in local library catalogs?
• How to better share cataloging? How much
  updating of copy can/should we do in OCLC?
  Should we catalog in OCLC and import into the
  local system instead of the other way around?
  What is the future of authority control?
• Can/should we further streamline copy cataloging?
  Utilize sampling? Do more access- or
  collection-level cataloging?

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Cataloging issues (2)

• How might our next-gen catalog affect how we
  catalog now?
• When do non-MARC metadata/ databases work better
  than MARC?
• How can we engage authors/creators in providing
  metadata?
• We are metadata experts and savvy about
  databaseshow can we insert ourselves more into
  ITS and other campus efforts?

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Suggested resources (1)

• Against the Grain. Charleston SC, Katina Strauch.
  Links publishers, vendors, and librarians. Six
  theme issues a year, paper format. TOCs at
  http//www.against-the-grain.com/d/TableOfContents
  
• Banush, David and Jim LeBlanc, "Utility, Library
  Priorities, and Cataloging Policies," Library
  Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical
  Services, v. 31, issue 2 (2007), pp. 96-109.
  Pre-pub at http//ecommons.library.cornell.edu/bit
  stream/1813/8424/2/UtilitarianCatalogingLCATSFinal
  forpublication.doc. Provides a philosophical
  framework for choices made about library
  priorities and cataloging policy, the contexts in
  which they are made, and the consequences they
  have for users
• Buschman, John and F. William Chickering. A
  Rough Measure of Copy Cataloging Productivity in
  the Academic Library. Library Philosophy and
  Practice, 2007 http//libr.unl.edu2000/LPP/buschm
  an-chickering.htm

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Suggested resources (2)

• Grucan, Sally. Catalog of the Future, Apr. 3,
  2007. PowerPoint presentation to CTW of ideas
  for making library catalogs and library webpages
  more like Web 2.0 and for doing cataloging of the
  future http//www.slideshare.net/sgrucan/catalog-o
  f-the-future/
• Hillmann, Diane I. Adding New Skills to Our
  Skillset, July 2007. The thinking behind her
  Metadata Standards and Applications workshops
  http//ecommons.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813
  /7900/1/AddingNewSkillstoOurSkillset.pdf
• Liu, Shu. Engaging Users The Future of Academic
  Library Websites. College Research Libraries,
  v.69, no. 1 (Jan 2008), p. 6-27. Argues against
  simply recreating library functions online.
• R2 Consulting homepage, with links to articles by
  Ruth Fischer and Rick Lugg http//www.ebookmap.net
  /

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Q and A