MLA Handouts!

For those of you who just attended the preconference: Cataloging Streaming Media, I've posted the following:

Slides (with images - not included on conference cd)

Handout

And if you're planning to attend the TSS Business Meeting, here are the slides for the RDA update portion of the session:

RDA Update Slides

All of the TSS sponsored session handouts will be posted after the conference here.

Join Us at MLA Annual Conference 2009

This year, we are trying something new. On Thursday, Oct. 15, from 10:00 - 11:15, we'll have a combined program of a cataloging/technical services update on trends and changes in the profession and the last half of the session will be a business meeting of the Technical Services Section.

Click here to access the agenda for our business meeting.

Copies will be provided at the meeting, but note that we would like to vote on a change to the MLA Procedures Manual.

In the manual on page 42, you will find the following information:

5.4 TECHNICAL SERVICES SECTION

Immediate Past Chairperson

Section 13. The immediate past Chairperson shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee.

We would like to define further the role of the past chairperson of the Technical Services Section. The executive committee of the Technical Services Section recommend the following addition to this section:

Section 14 The past Chairperson shall coordinate submission of TSS content on the MLA website and the blog of the Technical Services Section.

We hope to see you at MLA!

Sara Ring
TSS Chair

TSS MLA 2009 Sessions

If you’re attending the MLA Annual Conference on October 14-16 in St. Cloud, MN, be sure to check out the upcoming sessions:

WEDNESDAY

Preconference: Cataloging Streaming Media Wednesday, Oct. 14, 8:00 -11:30 a.m.

Confused about cataloging streaming media? Join us for a workshop that will cover basic descriptive cataloging for streaming audio and visual materials, based on AACR2 and "Best Practices for Cataloging Streaming Media," published by the Online Audiovisual Catalogers. There will be an opportunity for hands-on practice!

Presenter: Mary Huismann, Music/Media Cataloging Coordinator, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

The Effect of Controlled Vocabulary on Keyword Searching Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2:00 - 3:15 p.m.

Tina Gross will present preliminary results from an ongoing study being conducted with Arlene Taylor and Daniel Joudrey. The study is a follow-up to Gross and Taylor’s 2005 study, "What have we got to lose? The effect of controlled vocabulary on keyword searching results," which found that more than a third of records retrieved by keyword searches would be lost if subject headings were not present in the records. The initial study was performed in the online catalog of the University of Pittsburgh library system before that institution began utilizing a vendor service to enhance its bibliographic records with tables of contents and summaries. The new study repeats the search process utilized in the 2005 study in the University of Pittsburgh’s now TOC-enriched online catalog to discover what proportion of results retrieved by keyword searches would continue to be lost if subject headings were not present, even with the addition automated enriched metadata.

Presenter: Tina Gross, Catalog Librarian, St. Cloud State University

Shared Authority Control 101: Hints, Tips, and Tricks Wednesday, Oct. 14, 4:00 - 5:15 p.m.

Even if you’re not part of a consortium, there are ways of sharing authority that work within a library or among like-minded catalogers. A panel of cataloging staff from the CLIC Authority Control group will present what they have learned by working together over the years. They will discuss how they help and mentor each other, how they set priorities, what special projects they have collaborated on, what tools they use for authority maintenance, and what tips they have to offer on saving time and improving efficiency. As time permits, the presentation will include advice on music and other specialized topics of authority work.

Presenters: Barbara Brooks, Cataloger/Metadata Librarian, St. Catherine University; Pam Jervis, Catalog Librarian, Bethel Seminary Library, Bethel University; Betty Joyce, Cataloging Coordinator, Augsburg College; Cathy Lutz, Cataloging Librarian, University of St. Thomas; Amy Reinhold, Technical Services Librarian, Bethel University Library

THURSDAY

PALS Innovations: Budget Friendly Open Source Solutions Thursday, Oct. 15, 8:00 - 9:15 a.m.

Learn about PALS’ open source R&D efforts, product offerings, and future directions. PALS’ goal is to become a full-service, open-source solutions provider. This session will highlight innovative services such as:

• MnPALS Plus–An affordable next-generation discovery experience for patrons
  
• OpenURL Link Resolver–Speeds delivery of full-text resources to your patrons
  Electronic Resource Management (ERM)–Streamlines management of your digital subscriptions
  
• Open Source Integrated Library System–Lower cost and increased flexibility means that an OS/ILS may be in your future
  
• Proxy Services–Provides off-site access to licensed digital resources

Presenters: Mary Ann Greewald, Support & Training, PALS; Stephen F. Elfstrand, PALS Executive Director, PALS; Jennifer Turner, Support & Training Specialist, PALS

Trends in Techinical Services / Technical Services Section (TSS) Business Meeting Thursday, Oct. 15, 10:00 - 11:15 a.m.

This will be a combined program of a cataloging/technical services update on trends and changes in the profession and a business meeting of the Technical Services Section.

Presenters: Emily Asch, Head of Technical Services, St. Catherine Univesrity; Mary Huismann, Music/Media Cataloging Coordinator, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Sara Ring, Coordinator, Bibliographic and Technical Services, MINITEX

Workflows for Outsourced Techincal Services Thursday, Oct. 15, 1:30 - 2:45 p.m.

This panel discussion on workflows for outsourced technical services work will include benefits and problems encountered by libraries, vendor-supplied or purchased MARC records, WorldCat Cataloging Partners, and ILS limitations. The discussion will also include what questions need to be asked when considering vendor records. For example, what does the library need? What can the vendor provide? Is there a workable middle ground?

Presenters: Dianne Narum, Catalog/Electronic Resources Librarian, Bemidji State Univesrity; Robert Bothmann, Electronic Access/Catalog Librarian, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Christopher Getz, Technical Services Specialist, Great River Regional Library; Mic Golden, Collection Development Coordinator, Great River Regional Libraryl Paddy Satzer, Associate Director for Technical Services, University of St. Thomas

FRIDAY

MINITEX/OCLC Update Friday, Oct. 16, 8:00 - 9:15 a.m.

The session will include a short update on Minitex budget, interlibrary loan, delivery, and other services Minitex provides to Minnesota libraries. The remainder of the session will include important developments in OCLC’s products and services and a discussion of changes in OCLC’s relationship with member institutions.

Presenter: Carla Dewey Urban, Bibliographic & Technical Services, MINITEX

Another announcement with details about the TSS Business Meeting will be sent out very soon.
For a list of other TSS sponsored sessions, see the MLA Annual Conference Program online: http://mnlibraryassociation.org/uploads/conf09/MLA_AnnualConf09_Agenda.pdf

MLA 2009 Call for Proposals

It’s time to really start planning MLA 2009. The Technical Services Section would like to sponsor several sessions at MLA. If you have an idea please do not hesitate to put forward your proposal using the form at MLA’s website. http://mnlibraryassociation.org/2008-mla-conference/

The deadline is March 20 but the next planning meeting is March 13 so time is of the essence.

If you need help coming up with some ideas listed below are some that we brainstormed at the business meeting last year. Also, if you have an idea that you want to talk over with someone, help develop, or if you want to find a co-presenter please contact me and we can work on finding someone or something to help make your idea a reality!

Emily Asch, TSS Chair-elect ejasch@stkate.edu, 651-690-6653
Head of Technical Services, College of St. Catherine

· RDA update
· Outsourcing, what’s available and using vendors (possibly a panel opportunity)
· Authority Work – why is it still important – compare with tagging (has potential pre-conference)
· E-resources, streaming videos: what are folks doing, how are folks cataloging these, etc. (has potential for a pre-conference)
· Discovery layers and catalogs
· Open source ILS systems (Open source discovery layers – anyone from MnPALS?)
· Federated search engines, WorldCAT as a pseudo federated search engine
· Overview of Technical Services, workflow comparisons, etc.

New TSS Chair Elect/Vice Chair and Secretary

At our last business meeting at the 2008 MLA Annual Conference we elected a new Chair Elect/Vice Chair and Secretary for the MLA Technical Services Section.

I would like to take a moment to formally introduce and welcome both of them to our section!

The new Chair Elect/Vice Chair is Emily Asch. Emily is the head of Technical Services at the College of St. Catherine. Our new secretary is Stephanie Quinn, MLIS student at the College of St. Catherine.