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The article offers information on the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) Acquisitions Section (AS) Acquisitions Managers and Vendors Interest Group meeting at the 2018 American Library Association's Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. It mentions that Rosemary Jarrell reported on the data available to libraries from vendors for assessing collections. It cites hardest aspects of usage statistics such as multiple platforms, time-consuming, inconsistent.

The article focuses on the 2023 American Library Association Ebooks Interest Group meeting covering discussions on censorship, ebook licensing practices, and digital content sustainability in libraries. Topics include presentations by publishers on digital licensing practices, updates on controlled digital lending and state legislative initiatives, and initiatives such as the Ebook Purchase program by Victoria Public Library to support local authors and expand digital collections sustainably.

The article focuses on Technical Services in the rapidly changing field, providing reports on new developments, conference highlights, and professional meetings. Topics include a detailed report on the Northern Ohio Technical Services Librarians (NOTSL) Two-Part Conference such as system migrations, the presentations on data management, and insights from professionals in the field.

Public libraries submit the number of holdings and circulation of items in their collections to their state libraries annually, which in turn report these statistics to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Public Library Survey (PLS). The reported numbers qualify public libraries for federal and state funding. Additionally, the quantity of holdings (traditionally monographs, serials and physical popular media) is often compared to the circulation (number of check-outs) of those items to calculate a cost-per-circulation number. This calculation becomes complicated when a library's "holdings" become ephemeral due to the nature of digital media and digital licensing models. This article describes several existing metrics for assessing the holdings and circulation of digital assets within both public and academic libraries and argues for the adoption of post-custodial holding metrics used by archives to better represent items available to library patrons, especially those in traditionally underserved demographics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a breakout session at a conference that examined the application of the White Institutional Presence (WIP) framework in acquisitions to promote inclusive and anti-racist collection policies.

Academic libraries in Ghana have adopted information systems for library functions and services. This study sought to find out how academic libraries in Ghana manage the information systems they use. Interviews and a questionnaire were used to solicit responses from nine academic libraries in Ghana. Findings revealed that majority of the libraries studied did not have an Information Systems Policy and staff were mostly not consulted before the installation of the Information Systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The academic library plays a pivotal role within the organizational framework of higher education, supporting teaching, learning, and research with robust collections of materials in an array of formats. The value and ease of access to academic library collections within the higher education organizational framework cannot be understated. Accordingly, neither can the importance of interlibrary loan services from which users may gain access to materials beyond the local collection. In an effort to enhance access and discovery of materials, promote interlibrary loan services, and meet the goals and objectives of a new strategic plan. The University of Alabama Libraries implemented three new tools over the course of a few short months: Lean Library, Article Galaxy Scholar, and EBSCO custom linking. This article presents a case study detailing the implementation of these tools at a major research library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about the Linked Library Data Interest Group Session at the American Library Association (ALA) midwinter meeting held in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2017 is presented. Topics include three-dimensional (3D) metadata resource as mapped with Europeana Data Model (EDM), clothing collection metadata by the Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries and Press metadata librarian Maura Valentino.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries' Special Collections and Archives has a collection of over three thousand oral history interviews. Previous cataloging procedures provided limited discoverability to these interviews that prioritized access to physical transcripts. New workflows established for the management and description of archival collections provided the opportunity to revisit cataloging practices for oral history interviews. This article discusses local considerations, challenges, and workflows involved in access and discoverability of individual oral history interviews in a variety of physical formats, using exported metadata from ArchivesSpace to create the basis of an original MARC record in OCLC's WorldCat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic had a near-immediate impact on libraries worldwide. The majority of the world's libraries shifted their work to online environments, and while this pivot was difficult for all libraries, technical services units were disproportionately impacted given the inherent physical nature of the tasks undertaken by these library units. Research on the impact of COVID-19 and libraries is still developing, but already, technical services units and tasks are being left behind. This literature review explores the early days of COVID-19 guidance for technical services units, tasks, and workers, as well as the lasting impact of COVID-19 on technical work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of the Summer Virtual Interest Group session held by the Core Technical Services Workflow Efficiency Interest Group (TSWEIG) for American Library Association (ALA) Annual 2021 on July 28, 2021. Presentations include the discrepancy between employer expectations and job requirements of a cataloger and the experience of Jill Kehoe in merging two integrated library systems at SUNY Maritime College.

Because of efforts such as large-scale book digitization projects, research libraries will increasingly be distinguished by their special and unique collections. In this paper, the authors analyze three software solutions that enable Encoded Archival Description finding aid documents and digital objects (derived from photographs, manuscripts, and other special collection items) to be published online. While several significant market and technological challenges exist, there are available solutions, both commercial and open-source, that enable libraries to publish selected digital collections and items online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citation analysis is a valuable approach for collection managers to provide evidence of collection use and direct future collection growth. Researchers at East Carolina University reviewed nearly 23,000 citations from 171 doctoral dissertations written by candidates in three programs: Education, English, and Kinesiology. This study focused on library-provided access to journals and books, the format and ages of these items, and titles that were cited by more than one author and across disciplines. Future research possibilities include the impact of open access on library collections in both practical and philosophical terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a case study on the workflow analysis process utilized by the technical services departments at the University at Albany SUNY in preparation for a migration from a legacy library system to a library services platform. The focus is not on specific technical services functionality but rather on the efficient, bottom-up methodology. Tasks were identified, sequenced, and entered into a spreadsheet. Responsible persons or units were marked in the appropriate cell to complete the swim lane diagram. The resulting documentation served as a simplified process diagram for the workflow that can be easily maintained on an ongoing basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic librarians have long highlighted faculty publications inside of the library's walls using faculty publication displays and other methods. In today's environment where scholarly output is important for reputation and rankings, librarians can expand this effort further and help promote scholarship performed at their university to the broader world. External and internal audiences will be discussed and some strategies for promoting faculty research outside of the university will be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed at assessing the application of guiding tools in collection development practices of academic libraries in Tanzania. Data for this study were collected through structured and standardized questionnaires administered to 44 librarians. Face-to-face interview was also conducted with four Library Directors who were purposely selected. The Statistical Package and Service Solution – Version 23 was used to analyze the obtained information. The study revealed that 70.5% of the surveyed academic libraries performed collection development processes without a comprehensive collection development policy. The study recommends on more efforts to develop a comprehensive collection development policy to ensure effective practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the Digital Collections and Research Web site from the University of Maryland Libraries, available at http://www.lib.umd.edu/dcr/publications.html.

Librarians from three Kentucky public universities conducted a survey on the prevalence and success of article purchasing programs. They found that a majority of academic libraries offer article purchasing to reduce costs and expand access to resources, and most of these institutions believe their article purchasing program is successful. Libraries that spent more on article purchasing and libraries that were motivated by a desire to increase access to articles reported higher levels of program success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2018, the University of Arizona Libraries entered into a 5-year evidence-based acquisition agreement with ProQuest to provide access to over 250 primary source collections; otherwise fiscally prohibitive to acquire. The model ensures perpetual access to collections selected by the Libraries that meet the teaching and research needs of our faculty and students while providing our constituencies with broad access to primary source collections. This article covers the implementation and assessment of this model compared with other EBA and PDA models and new learnings with this particular EBA model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Washington, D.C. held on June 22, 2019 organized by Association for Library Collections and Technical Services. Topics discussed include scholarly use of digitized materials into narrative, due to challenges and debate concerning remembrance of the Cambodian genocide, and grant funded three student interns to assist with scanning and metadata entry.

Incorporating shelving and stacks maintenance into technical services puts responsibility for the full life cycle of physical materials in one place. Purchasing, cataloging, processing, shelving, repair, and deaccessioning are done by a single department. With changes in use patterns and retention, it makes sense to closely ally stacks maintenance with other technical services functions. This strategy also creates a pool of trained staff and students who can work on related projects as needed, from shifting to transfers to withdrawals. Public services staff can refocus on customer service rather than managing the flow of books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the years, libraries have taken numerous approaches to assess their serial subscriptions. When the Texas A&M University Libraries made the strategic decision to introduce a sustainable, iterative approach to reviewing serials they employed a new tool to the task, 1Science's 1Figr product, which includes reports that combine traditionally used usage and citation analysis data together with new open access metrics. This case study examines the reports and how they were employed in the review to help the Libraries' make substantive collection decisions. This article should help libraries get a better understanding of what 1Figr is and how it can be used so that libraries can make an informed decision as to whether the product would be a worthwhile investment for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article talks about the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference held in New Orleans, Louisiana, in June 2018, where Collection Management and Electronic Resources Interest Group (CMERIG) hosted a session "Textbook Affordability: Practical Applications and Visions."

For decades, libraries have used mission statements as a tool to inform patrons about their services and mission. Some library units use the same tool to communicate their services to the other units within the library and to external stakeholders. A survey sent out to the AUTOCAT and OCLC-CAT listservs collected information from librarians and staff about their technical services related mission statements. Copies of the mission statements were requested as part of the survey. The information gathered from this exploratory study provides an initial, broad view of how library technical services use mission statements, which could spark further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces the ALCTS PARS Preservation Metadata Interest Group Meeting to be held at American Library Association Annual Conference, Washington D.C. on June 2019. Topics include Successful Implementation of Preservation Metadata by Juniper Starr; Preserving an Archival Collection of Musical Scores by Ruth Elder; and Ruth wrapping up with an evaluation of the project, including lessons learning and potential improvements for the future.

The article reviews the Web site of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, a division of the American Library Association, available at http://www.ala.org/alcts/.

This article presents a case study from the University of New Mexico which describes the gifts policy, procedures, and workflow. It describes the procedures that were developed for adding gift books to the collection and the ways in which University of New Mexico has been able to use these same procedures to streamline inventory projects of material shelved in the stacks but not findable in the library catalog. By clearly outlining collecting parameters and drawing on the expertise of subject librarians and technical services staff, the University of New Mexico has successfully simplified the workflow for managing all new gift materials to the collection and evaluating existing titles for potential withdrawal. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Private jazz collections offer unique research opportunities for students and scholars. Collectors gather specific recordings that reflect their interests and tastes, and a particular time in history. The Colorado State University Libraries' Charles W. Brown Jazz Collection is a private collection of jazz recordings, donated with a request that they be available solely to the university's students and faculty for research and study. The author describes how the libraries digitized a variety of analog recordings: The challenges we faced with unfamiliar formats, the lessons we learned during the project, and the options we considered when faced with technical difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article the authors describe management and cataloging practices for ebooks at The University of Texas at Dallas library in their newly implemented Integrated Library System (ILS) Alma. Encountered issues are reviewed when handling vendor ebook records and best practices are shared such as duplicate records control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) Institutional Repository Resources from the American Library Association (ALA) Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), available at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/confevents/upcoming/webinar/ir_resources.cfm.

This column will feature reports on what is going on in the rapidly changing, ever fascinating field of Technical Services. Each quarterly issue will consist of reports on new developments including integrated library systems, next generation catalogs, management of electronic resources; conference happenings and reports from professional meetings; what's new in technical services publications; as well as reports from technical services professionals on their research and projects. Such reports, announcements, and brief articles for consideration for inclusion should be sent to Barry B. Baker, Editor, ‘‘Technical Services Report,’’ Director of Libraries, University of Central Florida, P.O. Box 162666, Orlando, FL 32816-2666. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To fulfill a variety of goals in building the library's music collection and connecting it with both the campus community and the region, the Hiram College Library began a project in 2005 to create a collection of Northeast Ohio music. Focusing on sound recordings, the library has amassed a collection of more than 800 CDs in 8 years through purchase, publicity, and donations. Analysis of the results of this project and attempts to gather interest through social networking reveals the challenges and opportunities in this endeavor. As a long-term project, much work remains to be done, and possible future directions are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reviews the web site "KnowledgeUnlatched " (KU) located at http://www.slideshare.net/ KnowledgeUnlatched which was developed by social entrepreneur Frances Pinter and focuses basically on humanities and social science scholarly material.

The article reviews the web site "AllMusic" located at www.allmusic.com, developed by a media company Rovi which is basically for popular music, artists and genres.

Do school, public, and academic library collections in the United States provide the children, young adults, and future teachers they serve with books that reflect diverse families and life experiences? Using checklists and OCLC holdings, the authors assessed the extent to which libraries collect youth literature that includes characters from racial and ethnic minorities, characters with disabilities, and characters who identify as LGBTQ. They also assigned public libraries to Conspectus levels and compared youth-diversity holdings by collection expenditures. They found that more than one-third of public libraries spending over $100,000 annually on materials did not achieve the minimal level for representations of diversity in their youth collections, indicating a need for local assessments and additional efforts to provide diverse youth collections. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents the highlights of the Reference & User Services Association (RUSA) and Emerging Technologies in Reference (MARS) Local Systems & Services Program held during the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, in June 2012. The meeting was attended by over 300 people. Speakers shared their ideas and experiences as librarians. Library automation expert Marshall Breeding presented an overview of discovery technology.

The model of a library staff divided into technical and informational service divisions remains common-especially among academic libraries. The authors argue that in many ways it is now the technical services division that is best positioned to provide outreach services to a community-whether at the university or municipal level. Maintaining bibliographic access amid the changing information landscape hinges on a clear understanding of systems, metadata, and traditional organizational skills, all home grown in the back rooms of conventional libraries. The authors cite examples of library outreach that emanated from technical service departments and conclude that the sequestered staffs of the past must make themselves indispensible today by sharing their knowledge and talents, offering services to their communities that require their technical expertise, and advance the mission of the library organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents conference proceedings and summaries for research papers on library technical services presented at the 2008 annual conference of the American Library Association (ALA). It includes a report by working groups of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) on functional requirements and numbering of authority records, a summary of a program on subscribing to scholarly periodicals and other periodicals published exclusively in electronic form and a presentation on the roles and job descriptions of metadata librarians.

Information is presented about conferences at the American Library Association's annual meeting in Anaheim, California in Summer 2008. The forums include "Next Steps in Next Generation Catalogs, A Report on Presentations and a Discussion, "International Authority Issues: The Time Is Now for Non-Roman Scripts in the Name Authority File," and "Removing the Fence: Merging Print and Electronic Serials Workflows."

The article reviews technical services web sites, including Web World of Authority Control at http://net.llb.byu.edu/ catalog/catalogwebsite/authority index.htm and The OpenLibrary at http://openlibrary.org.

At Adelphi University (AU), the circulating collections of two satellite libraries needed to be merged into the circulating stacks of the main campus library. However, there were no architectural shelving blueprints to use to determine the amount of available shelf space in the main stacks, and no accurate, current information on the size of the collections to be merged. With Excel, the borders function was used to create stack blueprints, measure the amount of shelf space available, and determine where shelves could be added or built. Classmark counts for the three collections were obtained from the library OPAC, and average classmark widths from library literature were used to obtain measurements of each classmark. This shift and merger was successfully completed using the methodology described. In addition, the blueprints were then modified to create floor plans on each stack level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights a project conducted at the Washingtoniana Division, D.C. Public Library to improve collections security for unique materials. As part of planning for these improvements, staff conducted a survey of similar public library settings and their special-collections practices. Seventy-three surveys were sent to U.S. public libraries, and 47 were completed and returned. Results showed a wide variation in practices, but common concerns included balancing open access with special-collections limitations, and with working with public library communities and users. An appendix details the survey results. The authors contend that special collections in public libraries differ from those in private and/or academic libraries because public library collections must address the mandate for open access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on the ALCTS technical services directors of large research libraries discussion group meeting. The ALCTS Technical Services Directors of Large Research Libraries Discussion Group met to discuss issues which are common to the administration of large research libraries. The agenda for this meeting included the following discussion items, the use of international MARC records; foreign vendor records for acquisitions and cataloging; backlogs that never get addressed; the many challenges facing research libraries and some strategies to meet them and marketing the services of libraries. In preparation for this meeting, members submit round robin reports about what has happened in their institutions since the last meeting, including personnel changes, ongoing or completed projects, new initiatives, etc. Foreign-language materials cataloging was also the focus of the next issue addressed by the group. Casalini Libri has been providing enhanced cataloging records for materials provided to libraries through approval plans.

This section offers news briefs related to library service in the U.S. The American Library Association held its annual meeting in San Francisco, California in June 2001. Blackwell's Book Services released Blackwell's Online Bookshop (BOB) in a U.S. version. A report from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) focuses on the economic and logistical issues associated with creating a shared library depository.

Gold Rush is a central digital registry of databases (e.g., abstracting/indexing services), full-text electronic journals, and other full-text resources available on the Internet. The project was undertaken by the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries on behalf of its member libraries in order to offer improved patron access to electronic resources (especially full-text journals that are embedded within commercial aggregator services) and to offer better administrative tools for managing contracts, and collection overlap analysis. The system is Web-based and has a public interface as well as a staff administrative mode. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Large academic library systems have always struggled to ensure consistent and quality training across their student-assistant workforce. With a unique combination of patron-service seminars, Web-based training exercises, and standardized training checklists, the University of Louisville Libraries have made extensive progress in providing an effective, unified training regimen for student assistants. This article discusses this training regimen, examines the issues behind developing service seminars and online training programs, and investigates how other educational tools can be incorporated in student training. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This section offers news briefs related to the field of technical services in libraries. The midwinter meeting of the American Library Association which focused on electronic data interchange was held in San Antonio, Texas in January 2000. A report released by the Digital Library Federation investigates an object-oriented approach to digital library construction. The report, "Collections, Content and the Web" was published by the Council on Library and Information Resources about the effect of the World Wide Web on collections-based institutions.

The WWW is not only a resource for reference librarians, but also a tremendous tool for technical services librarians. Five librarians involved in Collection Development, Acquisitions, Serials and Cataloging give examples of useful WWW sites for selecting and acquiring new and O.P. books, selling duplicates, monitoring authority control and changes in cataloging, and receiving and exchanging serials. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Archivists and catalogers have different perspectives on the description and cataloging of library materials. They often use different tools and standards to gain intellectual control of collection materials. However, they can work together to make unique archival materials more accessible. At the New Mexico State University Library, catalogers and archivists are working together to add bibliographic records for their manuscript collections to OCLC and to the local online catalog. This is an educational and enriching experience for staff in both areas. It also provides greatly increased access to these collections. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]