2010 North Carolina Serials Conference

2010 North Carolina Serials Conference

Blythe / Serials Review 36 (2010) 181–198 Keynote publishers, and 15 percent by university presses. Worldwide, 655 libraries are Portico participant...

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Blythe / Serials Review 36 (2010) 181–198

Keynote

publishers, and 15 percent by university presses. Worldwide, 655 libraries are Portico participants, just over half of which are in the United States. After explaining Portico's efforts in journal preservation, DiFiore addressed the expansion in mid-2008 of Portico to include the long-term preservation of e-books and digitized historical collections. Portico realizes that the uptake of e-books and d-collections is growing rapidly, yet the publishing market is volatile and postcancellation mechanisms for these resources are uncertain. Portico is starting to preserve these materials now with a desire to avoid the lag between uptake and reliable preservation that was experienced with the adoption of e-journals. Since e-book formats are similar to those of e-journals, existing staff and content management systems can be readily adapted to non-journal material. Further, the inclusion of non-journal scholarly material in Portico is consistent with Ithaka's organizational mission to “preserve the scholarly record and to advance research and teaching in sustainable ways.” DiFiore explained that Portico's e-book and d-collection preservation model is almost identical to the e-journal model. Library access is governed by the same trigger event scenarios and post-cancellation options, content cannot be removed once deposited, and the managed preservation methodologies are the same. The only difference with e-books and d-collections is that instead of paying an annual participation fee, publishers pay a onetime setup fee. For libraries Portico is considering separating the e-journal, e-book, and d-collection archives so that libraries can choose to support the preservation of the material types appropriate to their needs. Thus far, six e-book publishers are participating in Portico with over thirty thousand titles, and Portico is preserving ten d-collections from Gale Cengage. DiFiore concluded by noting that the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) recently conducted a nine-month audit of Portico and certified it a “trustworthy repository” based on metrics developed by CRL. Portico was the first digital preservation service to undergo this independent audit and is the only service to be certified at this time.

In his address, Tim Rogers (executive director of NC Live) used a story of ancient Karelian tribes to show that a great deal can be learned about survival from animals. Like intelligent animals seeking protection and food while attempting to further the species, library consortia have found ways to advance the goals of individual institutions by working together. Rogers referenced findings from the International Coalition of Library Consortia to show the many reasons why libraries work together and referred to NC Live statistics to illustrate the payoff of such collaborations. Institutional cooperation allows individual libraries to conserve resources, promote shared use, and better understand and provide for patron needs. Rogers concluded by stating that partnership and collaboration can create services that will improve future practices, thereby ensuring the success of libraries.

Concurrent Session 1A: Manipulating, Managing, and Making Your Case for Vendor Records Jacquie Samples (continuing and electronic resources librarian at North Carolina State University) and Erin Stalberg (head, metadata and cataloging at North Carolina State University) presented the reasons for and the ways in which the Metadata and Cataloging Department at North Carolina State University (NCSU) uses vendor records. Stalberg offered an overview of the advantages of purchasing vendor records, which included the sheer number of records that vendors can provide and the argument against creating data that already exists. The number of records and the ability to reallocate staff to other projects must be considered alongside the problems of adopting vendor records. Stalberg noted that with vendor records, quantity is often traded for quality. As such, cataloging departments must struggle to redefine quality. Stalberg also pointed to the importance of consulting with collection managers and public services librarians to find out what they expect and need in records. Such collaboration can lead to a collective understanding of what is acceptable in terms of quality. To show the ways in which vendor records can be easily improved when their quality falls below set standards, Samples gave a step-by-step tutorial of the free software program MarcEdit. Samples and others at NCSU use MarcEdit to efficiently and easily improve the quality of vendor products.

Notes 1. Roger C. Schonfeld and Ross Housewright, “Faculty Survey 2009: Key Strategic Insights for Libraries, Publishers, and Societies,” http://www.ithaka.org/ ithaka-s-r/research/faculty-surveys-2000-2009/Faculty%20Study%202009. pdf (accessed May 1, 2010). 2.

Roger C. Schonfeld and Ross Housewright, “What to Withdraw? Print Collections Management in the Wake of Digitization,” http://www.ithaka. org/ithaka-s-r/research/what-to-withdraw/What%20to%20Withdraw%20-% 20Print%20Collections%20Management%20in%20the%20Wake%20of%20Digitization.pdf (accessed May 1, 2010).

Concurrent Session 1B: Helpful Hints to Successful Project Management Bud Benscoter (lecturer, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University and principal associate for Quanovia) led a session that outlined the basics of project management. He discussed what factors make projects successful or unsuccessful. Benscoter unsuccessful and then introduced terminology typically used in project management, with particular focus on the scope of the project. He emphasized the problem of “scope creep,” which occurs when the client repeatedly adds tasks that increase the project's scope. Another area underscored by Benscoter was leadership on the part of the project manager. The project manager should communicate clearly and frequently throughout the project. Communication is also important at the end of the project; the team should discuss what worked and what did not over the course of the project. While a team leader should have good people skills, he or she should be firm when required. Planning was another key point of Benscoter's presentation. He said that the amount and type of planning can vary with each

doi:10.1016/j.serrev.2010.05.010

2010 North Carolina Serials Conference Sara Newell and Kate Silton The nineteenth North Carolina Serials Conference took place on April 15, 2010, at the William and Ida Friday Continuing Education Center in Chapel Hill, NC. Irene Owens (dean of the School of Library and Information Science at North Carolina Central University) introduced the theme of the conference, “New Tricks for Old Dogs: Control and Access.” Following Owens' welcome, Maria Collins (associate head of acquisitions at North Carolina State University) introduced the keynote speaker Tim Rogers.

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client. Effective planning can help combat the problem of scope creep if the project team creates a mechanism for changing the project's scope. He addressed the role of project management software in the planning and execution progress, which can be useful but is not necessary. He provided an example of a simple table that can be used to track the progress of different tasks associated with a project. He pointed out some useful elements to track, including both planned and actual end dates for tasks, as well as dependencies for each task.

focused on using wiki software to document workflows in her department. She stated that using a wiki allows their department to document very specific workflows in a standard format that is both easy to maintain and searchable. The final presentation by RaShauna Brannon (university library technician, North Carolina State University) explained how her department adopted a remedy ticket system. This system, which was developed at the university level, helps with prioritizing work, streamlining workflows, and with maintaining accountability when solving problems.

Today's Technology Trends or “What Do I Do With That?”

Concurrent Session 2C: Professional Development for the Paraprofessional Staff

Lauren Pressley (instructional design librarian, Wake Forest University) introduced members of the conference to new technologies in the information environment. Pressley began with e-mail options and explained how conference participants could use Outlook to filter their messages and set up various notification systems. Other helpful tools for the office which Pressley presented included Doodle, a Web site for scheduling appointments; Google Voice, a single number phone option which allows users to streamline communication, and Yammer, which allows for discussions to occur at user convenience rather than through scheduled meetings. Evernote is an online note-taking and collecting space which is free and offered also as a mobile application. Users can add content from different places and tag items so that a simple search can pull up all things pertaining to a single topic. Other topics introduced included Remember the Milk, a task management system; Dropbox, which provides storage for music, pictures, and other files locally and on a server; and statistics tools, such as Google Forms. PREZI, an example of a tool for interactive presentations, was the last technology trend Pressley presented. Not only can the adoption of such tools allow librarians and library staff to complete tasks at a faster pace, they also allow for the networked creation of knowledge. In the environment in which libraries operate, the use of such tools is essential to the work done by information specialists as today's users expect search results with speed, ease, and transparency.

Tiffany Allen (personnel librarian, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) began this paraprofessional-centered session by exploring the definition of professional development. Education that enhances an employee's skills and knowledge to advance one's long-term career goals is beneficial to many in the library setting. Professional development provides opportunities to look for progress toward long-term career goals and engagement with one's work. Supervisors can use professional development to help staff better meet the needs of the organization today and in the future. Professional development enhances work, builds goals, develops libraries, and recruits others to the profession. As such, professional development is important to staff, supervisors, and the organization as a whole. When asked how to get more staff involved in professional development, Allen suggested adding a requirement to employees' job duties and advocated for helping staff find the right opportunities. Allen ended her presentation by challenging those in attendance. Allen asked supervisors to look at their staff and identify strengths, talents, interests and potential so that those in managerial positions can help their employees find the best professional development opportunities for them. Allen challenged employees to think about short- and long-term goals and what skills and experiences one will need to accomplish those objectives.

Round-table Discussions: Redesigning Job Descriptions and Workflows

Concurrent Session 2A: Through New Eyes: Old Dogs…New Tricks

Library staff from various universities including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, East Carolina University, North Carolina A&T State University, and North Carolina State University discussed the challenges of career banding in libraries. Eleanor Cook (assistant director for collections and technical services, East Carolina University (ECU)) noted some of the banding disparities among different libraries across the state. Cook is in the process of collecting data regarding banding variations for the University Library Advisory Council. During this session, the banding conversation evolved from discussing problems with banding to developing strategies to communicate with human resources the proficiency required by current technical service positions. Erin Stalberg shared that the metadata and cataloging department at North Carolina State University Libraries has had banding success as a result of closely mirroring the language established in the descriptions for the bands.

This session featured four recent or upcoming graduates from the School of Library and Information Science at North Carolina Central University. The first presentation by Laura Williams (head of order management, Duke University) was about the implementation of a Kindle lending program. The objectives of the Kindle program were to introduce users to new technology and to increase the availability of popular reading titles. While this program is wildly successful among library users, it presents some challenges for technical services. Williams discussed how purchasing titles for the Kindle cannot be accomplished using typical processes and described how workflows were modified to accommodate this new technology. In the next presentation Jason Alston (diversity resident, University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG)) discussed using Open Journal Systems to publish an open access journal. UNCG is currently using Open Journal Systems to publish the Journal of Black Masculinity with C.P. Gause, a professor in the School of Education. Gause hopes that peer-reviewed open access journals like the Journal of Black Masculinity will help open up publication opportunities for faculty seeking tenure and will provide a home for more radical scholarship. The third presentation by Keisha Poole (university library technician, North Carolina State University)

Round-table Discussions: Electronic Resources Management This discussion, led by Beth Bernhardt from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, included library staff from Duke

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University, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, North Carolina A&T State University, and North Carolina State University. Topics covered included workflow issues, vendor/publisher access, licenses, and electronic resource management system product selection. In terms of workflow, the group discussed communication between departments responsible for different steps in the electronic resources management process. One attendee mentioned using chat as a tool for effective communication between departments. When discussing licenses, the group talked about approaches to entering license data in electronic resource management systems. Representatives from NCSU reported that they focus on entering license terms that are actionable, such as interlibrary loan permission. A representative from the Duke University Medical Center Library said that they created a standard template and added extra clauses as needed. The group also talked about SERU (Shared E-Resource Understanding) as a way to simplify the licensing process.

After the four presentations, the moderator posed some questions to the panel. The first question addressed the impact of consortia, and all panelists agreed that consortia are very important to both libraries and publishers. Another question involved the changing importance of subscription agents in an increasingly electronic environment. Both publisher representatives indicated that subscription agents help them keep up with invoicing, while Thomas mentioned that agents are adding new services, such as tracking license terms and other electronic resources management tools. A third question addressed the impact of print-on-demand services. Hoskins said that while there is some fear that this model will be financially detrimental to publishers, there is also a need to move to more creative models to help absorb the high cost of printing. Lao said that Springer already has a print-on-demand service for e-books and that they have not seen abuse of the service in the year since they implemented it. Winslow said that while students often want their materials in print, they might complain if they had to pay for printing. Another question covered the pay-per-view model. Lao said that Springer has seen some interest in this model from smaller schools, but not from ARL (Association of Research Libraries) members. He stated that Springer does not currently have a pay-per-view model. Hoskins said that Duke University Press has seen a lot of demand. She noted that their usage statistics indicate that users of pay-per-view are usually students who already have access through their institution's library. The final question asked panelists how they make use of e-resource collection development tools. Thompson mentioned that looking at title overlap is important, as well as turnaway statistics. Lao mentioned that Springer works with Coremetrics, a web analytics company that can track usage in a variety of methods, such as by IP and portal. This information is available to Springer but is not available to library administrators. North Carolina Central University plans to host the twentieth North Carolina Serials Conference at the Friday Center on March 10 or 11, 2011.

Evolving Collection Development Strategies for Electronic and Serials Resources This panel discussion, moderated by Patrick Carr (head of electronic and continuing resources acquisitions, East Carolina University (ECU)), featured Kathy Winslow (library director, North Carolina Wesleyan College), Joseph Thomas (head of collection development, East Carolina University (ECU)), Beth Hoskins (library relations specialist, Duke University Press), and Victor Lao (academic licensing manager, Springer). Winslow's presentation represented the viewpoint of a small but growing college. She discussed how North Carolina Wesleyan has changed its approach to purchasing materials by adding electronic content and cutting print. In addition to saving money and space, this approach helps their students, many of whom attend classes at satellite campuses in other cities, find and access materials. Joseph Thomas, while representing a much larger institution, mentioned a similar focus on cutting print and increasing electronic access. He described how ECU made aggressive changes when their budget was cut, which included cancelling standing orders, cancelling databases, and reevaluating publisher packages. Thomas also addressed further changes that ECU may make, such as integrating e-books into approval plans and patron-driven acquisition, and listed some requested changes from publishers, such as streamlining licensing and exploring more acquisition options. Beth Hoskins spoke from the perspective of a small university press. She discussed the ways in which Duke University Press has changed to accommodate patron and library needs. Since users expect online availability, immediate access, and the ability to access these resources on a variety of devices, Duke is working to make content available for e-readers and mobile devices. Hoskins also mentioned they are considering consolidating their journals to one platform in the future and are currently working to improve linking between the three existing platforms. On the acquisitions end, Duke addresses librarians' needs by providing format-specific subscription options, working with Portico and LOCKSS to provide archiving options, and exploring site license alternatives for some products. Victor Lao provided a list of ways that libraries can cut costs when involved in big deals. Some strategies that he mentioned included converting print to electronic, taking advantage of cancellation allowances, and using the “flip” licensing model. Lao emphasized the importance of communication between the library and the vendor, and cautioned against dropping out of big deals mid-contract.

doi:10.1016/j.serrev.2010.05.004

2010 New England Technical Services Librarians Spring Conference: Crosswalks to the Future: Library Metadata on the Move Andrée J. Rathemacher, Martha Rice Sanders and Michael A. Cerbo II This report discusses the program of the 2010 New England Technical Services Librarians (NETSL) annual spring conference, held on Thursday, April 15 at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, entitled “Crosswalks to the Future: Library Metadata on the Move.” NETSL is a section of the New England Library Association and a regional group of the American Library Association. In the opening presentation, Barbara Tillett, an internationally known expert on bibliographic and authority standards, spoke on “Building Blocks for the Future: Making Controlled Vocabularies Available for the Semantic Web.” Tillett is chief of the Policy and Standards Division of the Library of Congress and its representative on the Joint Steering Committee for Development of RDA (Resource Description and Access). She previously led IFLA in its work toward a “Statement of International Cataloguing Principles,” helped to develop the FRBR conceptual model, as well as FRAD

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