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Join Core Competencies and Education for a Career in Cataloging Interest Group on March 7th at noon for a program on cataloging training and education.
Registration link
Title: Gaining Time, Gaining Knowledge: Reflective Judgment on AI and Cataloging Education
Presenter: Shawne Miksa, Professor, Dept. of IS, University of North Texas
Description: ALA's Core division (formerly ALCTS) has rewritten the core competencies for cataloging and metadata professionals three times-2007, 2017, 2023-at increasingly shorter intervals. This list of skills and knowledge grows with each revision. The 2023 gives 50 sub-competencies, and a further 28 third-level competencies and the appendix lists six (6) data content standards, seven (7) data structure standards, eleven (11) data value encoding schemes, and four (4) data exchange standards as "illustrative examples." In addition, in the section "knowledge practices in the cataloging and metadata profession" it emphasizes incorporating "competencies relating to artificial intelligence and large language models." Number of competencies aside, the issue of acquiring knowledge and skills in AI and LLM in terms of IKO education is critical.
We face many hurdles but the two most crucial are time, or lack thereof, and lack of knowledge. The use of AI and LLM is still very new and how they may be incorporated is still largely unknown and yet the pressure to adopt generative AI steadily rises. At the same time, many IKO educators lack of knowledge of these new technologies-we are not computer scientists. For example, at the University of North Texas we don't yet have courses on this topic in our IKO concentration for our MS in Library Science (LS) or Information Science (IS).
The situation is fluid and calls for a good deal of reflective judgment. There is "potential" of these new technologies, but we have no established practices. We have time limitations in terms of how much can be taught in a 15-week or 10-week semester and with mostly elective coursework. How much of it is acquired on the job and/or through continuing education (CE) and, knowing that how does it affect the IKO workforce in terms of having a competitive edge in the marketplace?
Title: Fostering Future Catalogers: Providing Experiential Learning Opportunities Through Remote Internships
Presenter: Yoko Ferguson, Cataloging & Metadata Librarian, University of the District of Columbia
Description: While hands-on experience is crucial for cataloging and technical services jobs even at entry level positions, it is challenging for library schools to provide courses to gain such levels of experience in the classroom. Having the skills as well as the access to cataloging tools that often have paywalls, cataloging librarians are positioned in a perfect place to offer experiential learning opportunities to library school students. In this presentation, a mid-career metadata librarian discusses how she crafted remote cataloging projects that enabled students to gain hands-on experience with major cataloging systems and tools. The presentation will share best practices for remote internships including project design, recruitment/selection, experiential learning, mentorship/supervision, assessment/evaluation, and lessons learned. While it takes time and planning to establish a remote internship program from scratch, it can be beneficial not only to the students but also to the librarians. It provides a rewarding professional development opportunity where librarians can mentor and collaborate with the future catalogers while contributing to the field at large.
Title: Beyond Rules and Tools: Imagining a Design Approach to Metadata Management Training
Presenter: Rebecca B. French, Head of Metadata Analysis & Operations, James Madison University
Description: Professional development offerings for cataloging and metadata practitioners primarily focus on "rules and tools" - the standards, guidelines, and software applications commonly used in the field. These areas of knowledge are important and foundational, but professionals also need competence in synthesizing this information to solve metadata problems. In this presentation, I will explore design epistemology as a way of understanding metadata management. I will apply design concepts and methods to reimagine metadata training and provide suggestions for on-the-job training approaches that support the development of these harder-to-teach skills.
Registration link
The program is free and ALA or Core membership is not required.
Marina Morgan and Sofia Slutskaya
IG co-chairs
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Sofia Slutskaya
Head, Resource Description
Emory University Library
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