Annual Report 2003-2004: Cataloging Department: NCSU Libraries

With integrated library system implementation safely behind us, and temporary relocation yet ahead, Cataloging was able to return to the business of cataloging current materials for much of this year. Increases were seen in the number of new books and videos passing through Cataloging, as well as in the quantity of e-resources handled. In preparation for construction scheduled to begin this fall, significant numbers of books were transferred between collections or into the Satellite Shelving Facility. Finally, three staff members were the recipients of competitive national awards this year, including the prestigious ACRL Samuel Lazerow Fellowship, presented to Karen Letarte and Jacquie Samples at the ALA Annual Meetings in Orlando.

Departmental activities

Cataloging productivity

2003-2004 saw a continued rise in both the number of titles and volumes processed through the Department, although this was in large measure the result of a continuing rise in electronic resources added to the catalog. Nearly 28% of the total number of titles added to the catalog during the past year were e-books/e-texts, including both commercial (netLibrary) and federal document titles. Perhaps even more indicative of the direction publishing is heading, e-journals and databases comprised over 70% of new serial titles added to the catalog. It should be noted that while e-text records are often loaded in bulk with little immediate Cataloging intervention, ETD, database and e-journal records require a high level of attention at the outset and on a continuing basis, particularly for URL maintenance, holdings adjustment, and the addition of MyLibrary subject terms. The Serials and Electronic Resources Section continues to perform a high quantity of time-sensitive work on these titles, often revisiting hundreds or even thousands of titles that demand additional work due to changes in the proxy server, to subject terminology, or holdings availability.

Serials and Electronic Resources also worked throughout the latter half of the year to incorporate the first 620 of 2500 bound serial volumes from the recently closed Institute for Textile Technology Library in Charlottesville, Virginia into the Textiles Library. In addition to these serials and another 350 theses and dissertations, 150 ITT monographs were cataloged in the Database Development Section.

While the percentage of e-resources continues to rise relative to print, the latter category continues to consume the greater amount of the Department's time. This year almost 36,000 titles were added to the book collection, a rise of 2,500 from last year. 920 video titles were added this year, twice as many as the average for the last several years. Cataloging of the Textiles teaching video collection was finally completed by Monographs Section staff this year. Much of the seemingly large volume total this year can be explained by the processing of 100,000 sheets of NASA microfiche.

With the D.H. Hill Library construction project looming, a lot of Database Development attention went into the bulk movement of print volumes, both into the Satellite Shelving Facility and between collections within D.H. Hill. This year, more than 200,000 volumes were transferred to Satellite Shelving. To enable this to happen with the least staff intervention possible, Assistant Department Head Karen Letarte worked with barcode manufacturer Watson Label Products to generate smart barcodes based on a Unicorn extract. Clean-up from this project is expected to consume considerable staff time over the summer. While this project was going on, movement of materials between a necessarily shrinking Reference collection and the book-stacks, and also between stacks and the Special Collections Research Center, was begun with the hopes of completing the work by October.

The Integrated library system

Now that we are into our second year of Unicorn implementation, we are in a better position to document both the positive changes it has brought about and some of our frustrations. On the positive side, the department has more control over the loading and extracting of records, a greater ability to accomplish global changes to records within the database, more flexibility in record retrieval, and a welcome ability to affect circulation and acquisitions data that previously meant routing titles to those departments. The ease of training new staff in the WorkFlows client has given Cataloging the ability to put students to use on database cleanup projects literally within an hour of their hire. Having been provided with Sirsi API training this year, our Computing Consultant/Technical Support Analyst began effecting global changes to item records for the first time, working with the ILS Librarian to test the logic of changes on the test server before committing them to live data.

Naturally, there are dangers in providing staff with the power to make numerous changes to the database quickly. At least one API job had to be reversed when it was discovered that it had affected records other than those targeted. Similarly, on more than one occasion students and staff had to go back in and re-edit scores of item records that had volume and date information entered incorrectly by student workers.

One of the frustrations with Unicorn has been SmartPort, the built-in Z39.50 client that is supposed to enable staff to search remote catalogs and to import bibliographic records into the local file. Many staff members were unable to use this tool to access the Library of Congress authority and bibliographic files through SmartSource, the database known within DRA as DRANet, although they could search the LC bibliographic database directly. Staff members were also frustrated at the time-out feature in SmartPort, which disconnects the remote host without informing the user until after a two-minute-long failed search. Catalogers look forward to forthcoming changes in SmartPort, along with other improvements offered with the Unicorn 2004 Java client. Many of the frustrations with WorkFlows have to do with the clunky staff client and its lack of Windows functionality. New larger LCD monitors in Technical Services have ameliorated this problem somewhat, but not to the level desired.

For most of the first year of Unicorn use at the NCSU Libraries, SmartPort was directed only at DRANet, LC, OCLC, and NCSU's DRA and Unicorn databases. Because of some of the frustrations with this tool noted above, staff began to perform a higher percentage of their record downloading in OCLC directly than they had in the DRA environment. This resulted in a significant rise in the utility bill that was not noticed at first because of a several month delay in SOLINET billing. When these higher bills finally did arrive in Cataloging, a number of changes in practice were implemented immediately to reduce costs. Several new Z39.50 targets were added to SmartPort, including Penn State, Melvyl (University of California), Duke, and the Universities of Michigan, Virginia, and North Carolina. Staff were instructed to search one or more of these sites, or LC, for trade titles before going to OCLC, and to be more cognizant of the type of search conducted on the utility. General searching in OCLC, particularly for titles with a low probability for retrieval, was to be done in WorldCat through NCLIVE. Finally, all original cataloging was to be done directly on OCLC, to take advantage of the four-dollar credit for this activity and to ensure timely availability of our original cataloging in the OLUC. By November, utility costs had dropped by over $2000 per month, a trend which continued through fiscal year end.

NCSU Authors Database

While the NCSU Authors database did increase in size this year, it also shrank in some respects through the removal of duplicate citations and the names of unpublished authors. This cleanup should reduce the appearance of duplicate and sometimes conflicting citations in the Web product and speed input as staff members choose names from a shorter list of "live" authors. Under Jacquie Samples' leadership, citation entry was distributed among the four Library Assistants in DDS, thus enabling greater flexibility during staff absences or after resignations. The long anticipated Web searchable database moved one step closer to reality as this project was assigned to Digital Library Initiatives for further development after discussion in the Information Technology Advisory Committee.

Other metadata initiatives

Besides continuing efforts with the NCSU Authors Database, the Metadata Librarian, Jacquie Samples, spent considerable time in training and implementing Luna Insight for description and access to the Libraries' archival photograph collections, working with Robert Burton and Jackie Dean in Special Collections to create a serviceable data structure and workflow for these materials. Jackie and Robert continue to describe archival photos within this new framework.

Jamie Vermillion continues to work half time in the Design Library, describing slides for the Design Library Image Collection. This year Jamie created metadata for over 5,000 slides now fully indexed on the Web.

Facilities planning

Planning for both permanent facility needs in a reconfigured D.H. Hill and temporary swing space at Brickhaven Avenue consumed a high amount of cerebral energy this year. Staff members were kept apprised of progress on planning by means of floor charts, discussions in monthly department meetings, and even a visit to the undeveloped swing space. Concerns on access, parking, office hours, seating, and security were voiced to the Department Head and brought to facility planners. Workflow issues, both between Brickhaven and the branches and within the swing space itself, were discussed at meetings with Acquisitions and Preservation. We all look forward to seeing both the Brickhaven Library and reconfigured East Wing in their finished state.

Personnel

2003-2004 provided a respite from the previous year's relatively high turnover rate. Three new staff members were hired, led by a new Head for the Monographs Section, Veronica Walker, previously a cataloger at the University of Kentucky. During a nearly 18-month period since the previous Section Head had vacated the position, supervisory duties had been assumed by the Department Head. This placed the Department Head in the slightly awkward position of having to effectively advocate for one unit while not appearing to use his role to exercise advantage over the other two. The appointment of Ms. Walker in November has restored balance among the three Sections and resulted in a renewal of pride within the Monographs staff.

Other new hires this year include Stacey Orcutt, who accepted a Library Assistant position in Database Development, and Jackie Dean, who is currently working with Robert Burton in the Special Collections Research Center as an image cataloger.

Leaving the Department this year were Karen Williams-Brown, Serials and Electronic Resources Cataloger, who moved to Columbia, S.C. to join her husband, and Kathy Brignole, Library Technical Assistant I in Database Development and a key participant in the Libraries' effort to catalog U.S. federal documents.

It should also be noted that two staff members, Stacey Orcutt and Flora Blackley, were seconded to Preservation half time for several months to maintain production in Marking while that unit was short-staffed. These two used their cataloging expertise to identify some longstanding problems in the workflow between the two departments and to suggest changes that should improve the Marking operation in general.

Award-winning catalogers

Database Development staff were the recipients of several awards and fellowships this year, including the prestigious ACRL Samuel Lazerow Fellowship, awarded to Karen Letarte and Jacquie Samples at ALA Annual for their research project entitled "Looking at FRBR through users' eyes: toward improved catalog displays for electronic serials". Letarte and Samples will be working on this research over the next two years. Ms. Samples was also the recipient of a Digital Library Federation Forum Fellowship for Librarians New to the Profession, sponsoring her attendance at the Spring Forum of that group in New Orleans. Eve Mitt, a Library Assistant in DDS who completed her M.L.S. this year at North Carolina Central University, was awarded a fellowship to attend the annual meetings of the North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) in June.

The year ahead

The next year will finally see construction beginning on shared facilities for Acquisitions, Cataloging and Preservation on the ground floor of the D.H. Hill Library. While this work goes on, these three departments will move operations "beyond the Beltline", though just barely, beginning in November. While this facility will undoubtedly be pleasant to work in, it will create some logistical problems, both in terms of the movement of materials, and, perhaps as importantly, in the recruitment of student workers, particularly those with work/study grants covering all or part of their salary. Brickhaven also has space limitations when compared to present quarters, particularly for backlogging as a means of evening out workflow. Accepting shelf-ready materials from Yankee Book Peddler may reduce the quantity of materials flowing through the swing space by 20%, but the logistical problems will remain for the other 80%, plus much of the regular collection maintenance work that defines Database Development's workload. In the meantime, the weeding of files and surplus equipment, plus packing, will consume a growing quantity of staff time leading up to the actual move.

Besides the move, the Lazerow Fellowship may also be a factor in departmental productivity over the next year or two, with research activity absorbing a considerable amount of EPA energy. The outcome of this project, on the other hand, should add considerably to the profession's understanding of the IFLA FRBR model and to the Department's and Libraries' reputation.

Once staff are settled in to the temporary facility, I expect to see a much closer working relationship with our colleagues in Acquisitions, and to a lesser extent, in Preservation. The proximity of these groups should enable a greater degree of cross-training and integration of workflow than is possible with the present physical separation that marks our working relationships.

Goals for 2004-2005

1. Expedite the physical and psychological transition for staff, furniture and equipment, from D.H. Hill Library to off-campus swing space:

this is obviously the most important event in the coming year for all Cataloging, Acquisitions, and Preservation staff. A smooth move is key to making this a productive year.

2. Work with Acquisitions, Preservation, and OCLC PromptCat to implement shelf-ready processing of approval materials:

this endeavor should see about 20% of new monograph titles processed through Yankee Book Peddler and sent shelf-ready directly to D.H. Hill, thus reducing the likelihood of backlogs accumulating at Brickhaven while awaiting receipt, cataloging or marking there. This experience will provide a laboratory for testing the outsourcing model as a means for reducing workflow stress at the swing space.

3. Work with the division's Technology Support Analyst to effect needed changes to the Libraries' catalog requiring API reports and/or SQL queries:

Much database cleanup related to the original DRA migration and to a desire to utilize Unicorn's increased catalog functionality requires system-level tools such as API or SQL. Among the projects where these tools will be required is enhancement of subject access for various projects related to the Web redesign and MyLibrary upgrade. This work can commence once the Unicorn test server has been rebuilt.

4. Greatly reduce current backlogs, completing the integration of large gifts and purchases, including the ITT collection and Special Collections materials prior to the move:

moving the ITT collection or Special Collections transfers to Brickhaven is to be avoided at all costs. These materials need to be processed prior to November and shipped to their end destination. This may require additional student hours through the budgeting process.

5. Complete the transfer of materials within D.H. Hill necessitated by the East Wing renovation project:

this includes federal documents, reference materials, maps, and materials slated for transfer to stacks, Satellite Shelving, and the Duke storage facility. Over 9,000 volumes are scheduled to be moved from Reference to Stacks alone before the end of October.

6. Work with Digital Library Initiatives to move the NCSU Authors Database into the Oracle/D-Space environment:

data modeling has already begun on this project, which has been contemplated for three years.

Personnel changes in the Cataloging Department 2003-2004

Date	Personnel change
20 Oct.	Stacey Orcutt (SPA, 59, Database Development) starts
29 Dec.	Veronica Walker (EPA, Head, Monographs) starts
15 Jan.	Jackie Dean (EPA, Special Collections Photograph Project) starts
11 Feb.	Karen Williams Brown (EPA, Serials/Electronic Resources) last day
17 May	Kathy Brignole (SPA, 61, Database Development) last day

List of Cataloging Department employees as of 1 July 2004

Staff name	Classification	Supervisor	Start date
Kay Dudley	61	Veronica Walker	27 October 1975
Patrice Daniels	63	Veronica Walker	1 April 1979
Ella Rogers-Jones	63	Bao-Chu Chang	1 September 1980
Bao-Chu Chang	EPA	Charles Pennell	9 February 1981
Shirley Hamlett	63	Karen Letarte	13 April 1984
Anne Navarro	61	Veronica Walker	27 January 1986
Flordeliza Blackley	61	Veronica Walker	1 March 1986
Terri Chance	61	Veronica Walker	12 December 1988
Nancy Mottley	61	Karen Letarte	29 July 1991
Charles Pennell	EPA	Carolyn Argentati	28 November 1997
Holly Chang	61	Bao-Chu Chang	5 January 1998
Barbara Weinberg	59	Karen Letarte	3 January 2000
Karen Letarte	EPA	Charles Pennell	20 August 2001
Eve Mitt	59	Karen Letarte	15 October 2001
Rob Loomis	59	Bao-Chu Chang	2 January 2002
Lynn Ballance	61	Veronica Walker	25 February 2002
Jamie Vermillion	61	Karen Letarte	2 March 2003
Jacqueline Samples	EPA	Karen Letarte	28 April 2003
Patricia Dawn Pearce	70	Charles Pennell	5 May 2003
Jennifer Krause	59	Karen Letarte	5 May 2003
Stacey Orcutt	59	Karen Letarte	10 October 2003
Veronica Walker	EPA	Charles Pennell	29 December 2003
Jackie Dean	EPA	Karen Letarte	15 January 2004

Cataloging Department Annual Report 2003-2004

Summary