Becoming a Center of Excellence* for the Panama Canal Chelsea Dinsmore University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries
The phrase Center of Excellence is used here as it is used within the U.S. FDLP to identify a library establishing a collection and related services focused on a specific Federal agency or subject area represented by Federal documents. This is distinct from, and unrelated to, the Florida program of the same name that is intended to bridge the gap between academia and industry.
Identify publications of the Panama Canal Commission and preceding agencies Find and catalog (if needed) our holdings Obtain and catalog what we don’t have Develop “expertise” on the collection Digitize everything Simple, right? What to do
W Isthmian Canal Commission W Canal Zone M (National Military Establishment) D Panama Canal (DoD) PaC (not apparently used) CZ Panama Canal Zone Company Y 3.P 19/ Panama Canal Commission Identify publications
Some items inevitably needed to be cataloged Some catalog records needed additional information added to create valuable metadata. The CFDP committee is creating a master database and setting minimum requirements for records. Data will need to be regularized Catalog holdings
Find missing titles Needs & Offers lists Appeals on document social network sites Gifts & Exchange Other collections
Develop expertise o Latin American Collection o Access to PCM alumni o Catalog access o Documentation Expertise at the Center of Excellence (COE) will be created by the gathering of a complete collection, accessibility to that collection, and the service provided to the collection by the staff of the library.
Create accurate lists Develop meta data protocol Pre-quality control Post quality control Add links to catalog records Digitize materials Available at: Search UFPANCAN
Latin American Collection Health Science Library Marston Science Library Gifts and Exchange Development Law Library Documents Assistance provided by: IT Maps Storage Cataloging Preservation Digital Library Center
Questions? Chelsea Dinsmore, Documents Department George A. Smathers Libraries University of Florida (352) Comments?