***Please excuse cross-posting***

The ALCTS CaMMS Cataloging Norms Interest Group is pleased to announce its program for the ALCTS Virtual IG Week 2020, 2:pm CDT / 3:00pm EDT / Noon PDT, Tuesday, June 9, 2020.

There will be three presentations that are relevant to what catalogers are dealing with today.  The presentations will be 10-15 minutes long, and there will be time for Q&A and possibly some relevant, related discussion at the end of the session.

Presenters: Bela Gupta, Cataloging & Metadata Librarian, Claire T. Carney Library, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Topic: How end users’ expectations and behaviors affect cataloging norms.

Summary: Cataloging norms at our library in UMass Dartmouth library help to provide easy and direct access to library resources that represent and disseminate users’ needs online. In a rapidly changing environment users expect accessibility to not only physical resources but to a large number of electronic resources. To fulfil this need we provide access to new electronic books by ensuring their activation and representation through bibliographic records in the library catalog. Recently, I worked on the JSTOR Discovery eBooks (JSTOR eBooks EBA Pilot) Project. I  activated 42,033 ebooks in this CZ (Community Zone) collection and deactivated the electronic portfolios for which we already had access through other eBook collections (around 711 portfolios were deactivated). I did this in the cloud based Integrated Library System and Excel. Similarly, I examined and deleted duplicate electronic portfolios in the DOAB (Directory of Open Access Books). Another project was to move 4000 physical books from the basement to the library shelves to ensure their discoverability and access by our patrons. I did this virtually by moving thousands of them as a batch job in ExLibris Alma working with staff in Circulation and Access Services who moved these books physically. Users expect the latest technology so we withdrew VHS Tapes after reviewing their usage statistics and cataloged DVD formats of those tapes as those are in demand. I also created a new National Gallery of Art electronic books collection for the College of Visual and Performing Arts students. I was also involved in several clean-up projects to ensure that each resource whether electronic or physical is attached to a compatible bibliographic record in the catalog for access and discoverability. Keeping our users’ expectations in mind we also added several local MARC fields in MARCEdit and created normalization rules in Exlibris Alma for our physical resources.

Presenters: 

Jessica L. Serrao, Metadata Librarian for Digital Collections, Clemson University; Scott Dutkiewicz, Metadata and Monographic Resources Team Lead, Clemson University; Charlotte Grubbs, Library Specialist, Clemson University

Title: Metadata-from-Home: A Digital Collections Project During COVID-19

Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting shift to working from home (WFH) and online education proved a boon for digital collections. Not only can digital collections provide researchers remote access to rare and unique archival materials, but the metadata work that facilitates its discovery can be adapted to a WFH environment. At Clemson University Libraries, the metadata team facilitated a WFH project where 15 Libraries employees across two units are helping to describe a collection of over 2400 photographs. This project rose to the challenges of providing meaningful work to colleagues while working from home, empowering them to learn new skills and gain stronger understanding of metadata work, all while speeding up the timeframe for making this collection accessible online. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the project workflow, including how training, communication, and quality control were managed remotely.

Presenters: Graeme Williams

Title:  Why is language coding so bad?

Summary:

Language information can be included in the MARC record in at least six places (008, 041, 240, 250, 546, 650) as well as the call number.  Inconsistent coding is exacerbated by quirks of the OPAC (e.g., the language facet uses the 008 but the language term in advanced search uses the 041).

In theory, a single library could apply consistent rules for language coding which would limit these possibilities.  In practice, records vary wildly.  As a result, there is no way for a patron to obtain good search results.  This causes particular challenges to patrons looking for bilingual materials.

I will present results from different searches (of the Palo Alto City Library) to show that it is unlikely that any plausible search will return correct and complete results for bilingual materials.

Please register at the ALCTS Virtual Interest Group Week site: http://www.ala.org/alcts/events/virtualigweek or directly to the CNIG session: Sign up to Attend

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in the session!

ALCTS CaMMS Cataloging Norms Interest Group (CNIG)

Liz Bodian (lizbodian@brandeis.edu) and Keiko Suzuki (suzukik@newschool.edu), Co-Chairs