Core Creative Ideas in Technical Services Interest Group

Featured discussion topics:

As libraries strive to represent diverse points of view in their collections, we need to have an accurate picture of where we are now. By looking at metadata and assessing which aspects of the collection are the strongest we can then decide whether to build on existing strengths or spend money and time on less robust subject areas.

We decided what aspects of the collection we wanted to view (age of material, place of publication, format, gender (for smaller groups)). Using this data we experimented with visualizations to convey information on the collections' age/format/place of publication.

It is important to remember that there is a difference between difference in the creators and publishers and differences in thought. Also analysis depends on reliable metadata. Incomplete or erroneous metadata will impact findings.

Presenters: Sarah Theimer, Catalog and Metadata Librarian, University of New Hampshire; Jay Colbert, Metadata and Discovery Librarian, University of New Hampshire

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It's no secret that technical services and librarianship in general is in flux with many long-term employees departing their institutions due to retirement, furloughs, or layoffs. Meanwhile, critical technical services positions are lost through attrition, departmental procedures remain in binders and the information that they contain are lost, and few new technical services experts are brought in to keep departments afloat. Supervisors may be unaware of the consequences of loss without rehiring, and should they rehire into these positions, how do they know what to look for?

Contingency planning, succession planning, and bench strength may be the answer to this conundrum. While not new to the business world, this growing trend in librarianship can help properly organize essential documents, start new hires on the right path, allow retiring professionals to advocate for experts "from the grave", so to speak, or even advocate for refilling vacant positions.

The introductory presentation for this discussion will include key definitions, examples of what technical services planning may look like, and provide a brief example of a technical services contingency plan in action. This presentation is appropriate for all librarianship types, all technical services specializations, and all employee levels within a technical services team.

Presenter: Elizabeth Szkirpan, Director of Bibliographic Services, McFarlin Library, University of Tulsa

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