The meeting of the Catalog Management Interest Group at ALA’s 2012 Annual Conference featured five presentations on vendor provided MARC records for titles acquired via Patron Driven Acquisitions (PDA) or Data/ Demand Driven Acquisitions (DDA) programs and the impact of these records on the catalog.
The speakers and their topics were:
Sadie Williams, Vice President, Business Development, Ebook Library (EBL)
Tom Larsen, Head of Monographic Cataloging, Portland State University Library
Building and Evaluating a Collaborative Consortial Demand-Driven Cataloging Workflow”
In January 2011, the 36-member Orbis Cascade Alliance, in partnership with EBL and Yankee Book Peddler (YBP) Library Services, announced a pioneering new collaboration in consortial e-book acquisitions. This presentation discussed the cataloging workflow to support that program, the decisions and collaborative effort across member institutions and vendors to develop the workflow, and the successes, issues, and lessons learned along the way. During the course of the planning period and the first year of the pilot, changes to the workflow were made as various difficulties were encountered. The presenters looked at the role of vendors in the creation of the cataloging records and discussed the importance of the maintenance of DDA cataloging records as they affect DDA expenditure and usage – especially as pertaining to managing the budget. The speakers also provided a case study and examples for planning long-term maintenance of a DDA program as it relates to the catalog.
Mary Gilbertson, Cataloging and Acquisitions, Head of Monographs, University of Arkansas Libraries
“DDA Using YBP”
The University of Arkansas Libraries began providing access to Data Driven Acquisitions records in December of 2011, using the criteria from a past book approval plan from Yankee Book Peddler. Their e-book vendor is ebrary. The approval plan criteria filter the records that are loaded, and a load table adds various fields to the cataloging records. As a trial, only those records that match the approval criteria are being loaded, but there is a function available so that other titles can be loaded.
Roman Panchyshyn, Assistant Professor, Catalog Librarian, Kent State University Libraries
“At the Table: Developing a Cataloging Workflow for a Successful Demand-Driven Acquisitions Project”
In the fall of 2011, Kent State University Libraries (KSUL) began negotiations with Yankee Book Peddler to implement a Demand Driven Acquisitions pilot for selected subjects. From the beginning of the contract process, cataloging staff were present at the table, providing their input on MARC record preparation and specifications, record delivery, and workflow processes. The pilot was implemented in early January 2012. KSUL is currently evaluating the pilot and contemplating plans to implement DDA on a full-time basis. This presentation covered the role cataloging staff played in developing and implementing a successful DDA pilot project; discussed how the bibliographic records are loaded, overlaid, and maintained; and pointed out any problems or issues that were discovered while working with these sets of records and how they were addressed.
Elyssa M. Sanner, Metadata & Cataloging Services Librarian, Northern Michigan University
“Patron-Driven E-book Acquisitions at NMU: Worth the Effort?”
Northern Michigan University’s Olson Library recently implemented a patron-driven e-book acquisitions program through the vendor YBP/EBL. During this presentation, attendees learned what to expect when implementing a patron-driven acquisitions program as well as practical solutions for managing imprecise data. As a part of this patron-driven acquisitions program, “enhanced” discovery records (defined as MARC records that include basic descriptive fields, as well as table of contents for improved discovery in the library catalog) were purchased. NMU’s PDA program began with the receipt of a large retroactive load, totaling approximately 15,000 e-book records. An initial analysis revealed several problems with the records. Through trial-and-error, solutions were found that simultaneously maintain the integrity of the catalog and manage resources by editing the elements that pose the greatest barriers to patron discovery.
Wen-ying Lu, Continuing Resources Catalog Librarian, University of Colorado Boulder
“PDA Consortium Style: The CU MyiLibrary Cataloging Experience”
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) Libraries implemented a patron-driven acquisitions program through MyiLibrary in 2010. In December 2011, CU-Boulder's MyiLibrary program was expanded to include all campuses within the University of Colorado System, launching a collaborative pilot project for shared purchasing and shared cataloging of e-books among five separate CU libraries. This presentation covered the workflow used to share MARC records among these libraries, both before and after titles are purchased. The presenters discussed factors affecting editing and customization of the records, including quality of records, local needs, and best practices for Prospector, a regional unified catalog. They also shared their strategies for detecting and resolving errors that may occur and for handling PDA "discovery" records for titles duplicated in other e-book packages available at the respective libraries.