University Libraries
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/10
Browse
Search Results
Item Are we there yet? Electronic Resources Discovery in WorldCat(2020-06-26) Bradley, Benjamin; Guay, Beth; Hemsley, Erica; Wilson, Aaron; Reiss, RobinIn 2012 the UMD Libraries began implementing WorldShare Collection Manager to manage the Libraries’ electronic collections and to make them accessible in the Libraries’ discovery system, WorldCat UMD. The panel will discuss how our understanding of WorldCat Discovery (WCD) informs our work to make the Libraries' resources available to students, faculty, staff, and others who rely on OCLC catalog records for library resource discovery. Our discussion will: provide background information on WCD; discuss its advantages and disadvantages; highlight cross-departmental collaboration and workflows; and finally, discuss new work in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic, in particular, work to implement the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service, and to make undiscoverable and important electronic resources, such as the Adam Matthew Digital American Indian Histories and Cultures collection discoverable and accessible.Item Outsourcing Cataloging at the University of Maryland, College Park: Problems and Opportunities(Against the Grain, 2020-01) Bradley, Benjamin; Guay, BethFor the University of Maryland Libraries, a major outsourcing initiative began in late 2011 following an earlier implementation of WorldCat Local as a discovery tool: the transitioning from MARC record set loads of electronic resources collections into the local catalog to e-resource collection activations in the WorldCat knowledge base ending with the adoption of WorldCat Discovery and link resolver in July 2015, resulting in a highly automated and outsourced environment. During this time, e-resource cataloging processes shifted as the responsible units underwent a hand-full of reorganizations resulting in, as of April 2017, the formation of four units within Collections Services (formerly known as Technical Services): Acquisitions and Data Services, Continuing Resources and Database Management, Discovery and Metadata Services, and Original and Special Collections Cataloging. This latter reorganization brought relief with the creation of a new Discovery Librarian position. During these transitions, e-resource maintenance remained a constant challenge for personnel across unit lines. We have found, however, that with new skills brought by the Discovery Librarian such as programming and data-manipulation added to old-fashioned competencies, such as communication skills, institutional memory, and a good sense of humor, the challenges have become manageable, and may even offer new opportunities.