Sand, Sun, and Technical Services: Sandusky Bound with OLCTS

Next week is the 2016 OLC Convention and Expo!  There will be many programs of interest to tech services folks, ranging from the TSD-sponsored Linked Data in Theory and Practice, featuring Susan Allen from Worthington Libraries and Jeff Penka from Zepheira, to big name keynote speakers such as Jacqueline Woodson and Karin Slaughter.

 

Intriguing breakout sessions cover universally-appealing topics such as:

Evaluation and Annual Reviews (who doesn’t need advice on drafting and delivering the dreaded PEs?)

Real World Assessment (using actual, factual data to evaluate collections and services)

To Add or Not to Add: What to Do About Self Published Materials (always a hoot and a half due to its contentious nature)

No Surprises! Using Foresight Technique to Anticipate and Plan for the Future (crystal balls issued at the door, maybe?)

and

How to Beat Burnout (you know it when you have it…or do you?)

 

There are also plenty of opportunities for good times, whether it’s intellectual fun or, well, not so much. Tickle your brain with LIBChats and their presenters’ passionate delivery of controversial ideas. The Battledecks competition features librarians doing improv — what could possibly go wrong? And of course the OLC Connects table will feature Technical Services Division Committee staff, who gladly will break out the absolutely riveting and reprehensible game of Catalog Cards Against Humanity if you even look at them sideways.

 

See you in Sandusky for some sand, sun, and PLENTY of continuing education!

 

 

 

 

 

Save the date for the 2016 OH-IUG: October 7

The Ohio Innovative User’s Group (OH-IUG) 2016 meeting will be held on October 7th at the OCLC Conference Center in Dublin, Ohio.

The meeting is open to all Innovative customers in Ohio and the surrounding region.

More information about this meeting, and how to propose a program at it, is here.

 

–Mike Monaco

ALAO TEDSIG 2016 Workshop — August 12, 2016, The University of Akron, Ohio

In the library technical services world, long acronyms are de rigueur, but ALAO TEDSIG is an overachiever, putting to shame NOTSL, ALCTS, and even the OLC TSD in that department. But I won’t hold it against them, because the ALAO TEDSIG is bringing Terry Reese to my library for a full day on using MarcEdit! Announcement follows:

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ALAO TEDSIG 2016 Workshop

The ALAO Technical, Electronic, and Digital Services Interest Group (TEDSIG), with cooperation from the University of Akron Libraries, is pleased to announce its 2016 workshop, “Streamlining Technical Services Workflows with MarcEdit,” with speaker and MarcEdit creator Terry Reese (Head, Digital Initiatives, The Ohio State University). Registration is open for the TEDSIG Workshop (August 12, 2016) at Bierce Library, University of Akron. This workshop will be on how to use MarcEdit to streamline typical technical services workflows, especially as they pertain to cataloging, file loading, and electronic resources. This workshop’s target audience are both those new to MarcEdit, and those who are familiar with MarcEdit but need a refresher.

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–Mike Monaco

The ISBN Odometer Has Flipped …

Ah, the glorious years of the 2000s.  For the publishing world, probably the next big event on the horizon after Y2K was the introduction of the 13-digit ISBN (International Standard Book Number) on January 1, 2007.  From roughly 1970 until 2007, ISBNs were 10 digits in length, having evolved from the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering (SBN) code.  Since each edition or variant of a book published between that period was assigned a (mostly) unique ISBN, the supply of available 10-digit numbers was destined to run out.

The solution in 2007 was the introduction of the 13-digit ISBN, with prefix 978.  Why did we start with 978, you say?  Because the new format was meant to be compatible with the “Bookland” European Article Number (EAN), which also used 978.  And you guessed it: there were only so many 978- ISBNs to go around as well, particularly in the burgeoning e-publishing environment.

All of which leads to … the 979 ISBN prefix!  The first 979- ISBNs were actually issued in France in 2009, but my library saw its first print materials with this 13-digit format just this year.  A strange thing we noticed was that, when upgrading the MARC record in our shared cataloging “client” (ahem), inputting the 979- ISBN did not produce a 10-digit (shorter) equivalent as usual.  A little research led us to understand that this is perfectly normal: 979- ISBNs are not convertible to a 10-digit format and exist only in a 13-digit format.

So don’t be too surprised when the ISBN odometer flips for your materials.  It’s probably OK to keep driving.

— Michael Christian-Budd

Library of Congress to cancel the subject heading “Illegal aliens”

Janis Young of the Policy and Standards Division of the Library of Congress has announced a significant revision to LCSH terminology that has been the topic of a lot of discussion in the past and again more recently.

In response to constituent requests, the Policy and Standards Division of the Library of Congress, which maintains Library of Congress Subject Headings, has investigated the possibility of cancelling or revising the heading Illegal aliens. PSD also explored the possibility of revising the broader term Aliens. It concluded that the meaning of Aliens is often misunderstood and should be revised to Noncitizens, and that the phrase “illegal aliens” has become pejorative. The heading Illegal aliens will therefore be cancelled and replaced by two headings, Noncitizens and Unauthorized immigration, which may be assigned together to describe resources about people who illegally reside in a country.

 Other headings that include the word aliens or the phrase illegal aliens (e.g., Church work with aliens; Children of illegal aliens) will also be revised. All of the revisions will appear on a Tentative List and be approved no earlier than May 2016; the revision of existing bibliographic records will commence shortly thereafter.

 For background on the history and purpose of the headings Aliens and Illegal aliens, the rationale for the revisions to LCSH, and a description of the scope of the project, please see the full announcement on the LC website at http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/illegal-aliens-decision.pdf.

 Questions or comments on these revisions may be directed to Libby Dechman (edec@loc.gov) in the Policy and Standards Division.

Registration is open for Link to the Future : the 2016 Technical Services Retreat!

The OLC Technical Services Division’s biennial Retreat will take place  March 31 and April 1, 2016, at the Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center. The Retreat’s theme this year is “Link to the Future” and we are excited to have keynote speaker Bobby Bothmann. Visit the OLC site for details and registration information. The Technical Services Division Action Council is happy to be return to a great venue, and we have a slate of programs and speakers we are proud to offer. The format of the Retreat — where the participants and speakers stay for the entire length of the conference and have opportunities to network and socialize — is unique and we’re sure you’ll be glad you attended. But don’t take our word for it. Here are some comments from attendees at the 2014 retreat:

“The workshop format is so beneficial. I recommend that you retain it. Also, the accessibility of the presenters for questions outside of the presentations was great!” –Lisell Drake, GPO, Washington, D.C.

“I really enjoyed the venue! Great to have comfortable seating and the use of a table. Great speakers and topics as well!” –Lisa McPeek, Denison University Library

“The organizers struck the right balance of big picture and focused, practical topics” –Sevim McCutcheon, Kent State University Libraries

“The event was amazing! Hotel and staff were awesome! Great sessions with a lot of information ; I learned a lot, and had a lot of fun too! Thank you OLC! The food was outstanding! A great event overall!” –Linda Berry, Portsmouth Public Library

“I really liked the conference center. It was easy to get to, attractively designed, comfortable, affordable, and [the food was] delicious.” –Alyssa Briggs, Dayton Metro Library

“This was my first OLC TSD retreat, and I loved this facility. I hope we can come here again. Also, Battledecks was a lot of fun!”  –Wendy Bartlett, Cuyahoga County Public Library

Fifty shades of … genre terms

The Library of Congress’ work compiling a thesaurus of genre and forms terms has been a massive effort and taken years of work. Now that the terms are out, what are the best practices for using them?

The Subject Headings Manual (SHM) has instructions on using one of the first thesauri to be released (moving images and radio programs, SHM H1913 and H1969.5, respectively), and even before that, LC provided some helpful guidance for applying genre terms for fiction in SHM H1970, which refer to another thesaurus developed outside LC, the GSAFD.

But now that more thesauri have been released in recent months, instructions for using the terms will compose a distinct document, The Genre/Form Terms Manual. The first draft was posted this week at the library of Congress website, http://www.loc.gov/aba/publications/FreeLCGFT/freelcgft.html.

Presumably these instructions will supersede SHM H1913 and H1969.5 (and the special provisions in H1970) and bring consistency to genre/form terms assignment across all formats. According to the Cataloging Standards and Policy Office site’s official announcement, the instructions will be adopted later in 2016; in the meantime (or at least until May 31st) comments can be directed to Janis Young (jayo@loc.gov).