1. ALCTS Cataloging Norms Interest Group June 27, 2015 San Francisco, CA by Roman S. Panchyshyn Catalog Librarian, Assistant Professor Kent State University Libraries

2. 21 st Century Academic Library –Libraries continuously transform themselves, change never stops Focus on future of technical services in academic libraries –In particular, consider the future of technical services staff

3. Provocative Taiga Forum question “Within five years, libraries will have undergone skills inventories and begun addressing identified gaps. Successful libraries will have developed rolling plans for staff reallocation, elimination, and retraining. Unsuccessful libraries will have failed to root out resistance to change, driving out their best and brightest.”

4. What is the role of technical services now? What should we be doing? Traditional breakdown (acquisition, serials, cataloging)--disappearing Replaced by: –Knowledge access management –Metadata services –Discovery services New processes, new workflows, new management, new skills needed

5. Most recent staff training was focused on these trends –Descriptive/cataloging standards –Library automation MARC standards Computer literacy Supervisory/management focus –Need to manage change because the work is changing

6. Training document guides –Usually comprehensive documents –Could be general in nature for the entire profession, or for specific disciplines (librarianship vs. serials librarian) –OhioLINK established one for technical services staff in 2008 https://platinum.ohiolink.edu/dms/DMSdocs/core competencies.htm https://platinum.ohiolink.edu/dms/DMSdocs/core competencies.htm –Document use was subject to local interpretation

7. Statement by F. Zipkowitz from 1985, from a bulletin board posting: “A common misconception is that people resist change and resent criticism. The truth is that people resist being changed and resent being criticized. They usually do not mind if they can initiate the change and criticisms themselves.” F. Zipkowitz. “Meeting the Challenge of Change: Training and Retraining Library Technical Services Staff.” Technical Services Quarterly. Vol. 2, no. 3-4 (1985)

8. If you want staff to take on a lead role in retraining/reskilling you must: –Be comfortable with the change process –Be honest in commitment when relating to staff –Insure that staff have honest belief in usefulness and value of training Communication is crucial

9. IMHO, there are at least 8 areas of competency that TS staff need in the foreseeable future Retraining and/or hiring should focus on bringing in and retaining these skill sets

10. RDA now fully implemented by LC/PCC Staff learn and use only one set of rules Bibliographic data created must be: –Consistent –Easy to work with for automated maintenance –Conform to Program for Cooperative Cataloging rules –Work in a linked data environment

11. Must have ability to work with large files of bibliographic data using batch processes –MARC21 –MARC XML Ability to use products such as MarcEdit software Work needs to remain in TS where knowledge of library standards exists

12. Skill to work with at least one scripting language like: –PHP –Regular expressions –Macros Used for automating workflows, designing web interfaces and online tools Free training available online (Codeacademy) if budgets are an issue

13. Standard being developed to replace MARC21 Staff must have knowledge of the BIBFRAME model (work, instance, annotation, authority) MarcEdit/Zepheira/BibFLOW, LC building tools to work with BIBFRAME data

14. Staff must understand the structure and concepts behind linked data Must have functional knowledge of –RDF (Resource Description Framework) –RDF triples (Subject—predicate—object) –Ontologies/schema.org –Consider training using professionals like Library Juice Academy

15. Staff need to have functional knowledge of –Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS) –Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS) –Dublin Core –Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Functional knowledge of crosswalking and data exchange

16. Ability to create and contribute “authority records” to national and international databases (LC—VIAF) Trained/guided by PCC/NACO and SACO Funnels and direct contribution, subject, language or geographic area Enormous amount of work needed to be done here for identification/differentiation—TS staff are in unique position to do this work

17. Staff need to: –Effectively handle and understand new workflows for new and ongoing projects –Effectively manage special projects –Effectively manage large amounts of data –Develop solid marketing and communication plans (documentation) PM certification may be costly, look to WebJunction for PM training

18. My list is not exhaustive, does not cover some specific job-related tasks such as –ERM licensing, link resolver knowledge –Discovery services setup and administration –E-book platforms –LibGuides development

19. Creation and management of consistent quality metadata is crucial for discovery and access on a global scale, for publishers, libraries, systems and services Knowledge of these skill sets will allow TS managers and staff to position themselves as leaders in the development, management and maintenance of quality metadata

20. TS Managers must develop creative training plans –Identify skills currently available in TS staff –Identify capability of existing staff to acquire (or not) new skills –Prioritize skills, identify gaps, establish timetables for training –Communicate and justify training programs to staff administration

21. Always monitor for new trends or services that can impact current workflows, positive and negative. e.g. the “Data Everywhere” trend Take on leadership roles, challenges and take risks –For example, early adoption of BIBFRAME can be paired with staff training for RDA/XML and for linked data Communicate and share results—especially your research and investigations Always attempt to increase your visibility

22. Define levels of competency and quality for your staff, stick to them Provide staff with opportunity to advance professional careers Involve staff at all levels in decision making. Skill set training is an opportunity, not a threat

23. Quality of the service provided by the academic library can usually be defined by –Strong and capable leadership –Bright, creative, well-trained staff Relevance of technical services depends on our ability to adapt and meet new challenges

24. Questions

25. Roman S. Panchyshyn, Catalog Librarian, Assistant Professor Kent State University 330-672-1699 rpanchys@kent.edu