Friday, 24 of May of 2013
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From Forbes, an interesting look at Public Libraries, how they can do more and why we should rethink our role in acquisitions. Do we keep buying “just” what people want or should we be discovering new books/formats and bringing them to the attention of our users/patrons/customers?
Last week, I attended the MPLA/NLA/NSLA Library Conference and got to visit with a few librarians. One of the biggest advantages to conferences is the networking we get to do outside of our libraries and even outside of the sessions. I love hearing about new ideas and this conference did not fail to produce new possibilities that I can take back to my library.
This past conference I attended several wonderful TSRT-sponsored sessions and although I did not get to attend all, as a couple were scheduled for the same time, I got to hear lots of great information from ‘filtering” the internet to disaster planning.
One highlight from Thursday conference was that not only did I get to hear Dr. Tom Osborne’s keynote speech but that I got to sit and have lunch with him at the NLA lunch. It was an unexpected delight and I kind of felt like I was having lunch with a long-time family member that I hadn’t ever met.
Pictured left is Ella Jane Bailey, Sandy Herzinger and Sharon Mason (photo courtesy of Corinne Jacox). I hope that I, too, will still attend conference after I retire. What a fun way to spend a couple of days in October!
Please check out the official link to presentations hosted by the MPLA site. http://www.mpla.us/documents/handouts/2012/index.html
Congratulations to Angela Kroeger, Vice-Chair/Chair Elect of TSRT, who not only won one scholarship but TWO scholarships recently! Angela first won the “Tom and Roberta Drewes” scholarship from ALA in the category of Support Staff. Then, Angela won a local scholarship hosted by the Nebraska Library Commission and funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services called the “21st Century Librarian” scholarship. Angela is a student of library science at the University of Missouri – Columbia and works at the University of Nebraska – Omaha Library as a cataloging associate. Keep up the good work!
By Sue Ann Gardner, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Robin Bernstein, Bellevue University
Nebraska has an active library association (NLA), with several sections and round tables. The Technical Services Round Table (TSRT) was established in the mid-1990s and has enjoyed a robust and engaged membership ever since its inception. The current Chair of TSRT, Casey Kralik of Bellevue University, recently suggested a proactive, innovative approach to preparing for Resource Description and Access (RDA), the successor to AACR2. Sensing the anxiety and uncertainty about the new standard among colleagues, and feeling unfamiliar with the mechanics that will accompany the new guidelines, Kralik established a statewide RDA Practice Group. Her main impetus for starting the group, she says, “was to provide a community learning opportunity for area catalogers to start practicing RDA principles because we were already bringing in complete and incomplete RDA records into our own system from OCLC created by libraries other than the Library of Congress who had converted to RDA. Initially, I contacted several catalogers in the community, who had in the past created RDA records and presentations, and asked them if they felt we were ready to move beyond theory in the practical side. They responded ‘yes, definitely’ because we knew that we were ready to get started and we didn’t want to wait until the Library of Congress moved forward with it before we got started. We were ready to learn.”
Starting in early 2012, 15 to 20 librarians and staff have met monthly to practice creating records, explore the RDA Toolkit, and discuss authority workflows. Assisted by colleagues from the University of Nebraska, Nebraska Wesleyan University, the Nebraska Library Commission, and others, 4-hour sessions have been arranged at various locations in eastern Nebraska. A variety of types of libraries (university, small public, special, etc.) are represented in the group.
Colleagues who cannot attend the sessions benefit by having at least one person from a library attending and taking the knowledge back to share. Rebecca Bernthal of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln says, “The sessions are a great way to build a network of support for the upcoming RDA transition. The practice sessions are lively, informal discussions in a welcoming and non-threatening environment – a place to learn with and from others.” Ruth Carlock of York College adds, “Wrapping my mind around the new RDA conceptual models is about like learning a new language. Being able to meet with other catalogers and work through the changes that RDA requires, is very beneficial. The input from other librarians is very helpful especially to someone like me where I am the only cataloging librarian in our library.”
Nebraska librarians will largely begin to adopt RDA on the Library of Congress’s Day One for implementation of RDA, March 31, 2013. Up until then, the Nebraska RDA Practice Group plans to continue to meet monthly. You can view and access the NLA TSRT RDA wiki at http://rdapractice.pbworks.com/w/page/50284619/FrontPage. If you are interested in joining the initiative or learning more about it, contact Casey Kralik at casey.kralik@bellevue.edu.
Please visit the Candidates for Office page to view the photos and bios for this year’s candidates running for the offices of Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect and Secretary. Thanks to Heather, Sharon, Susan and Euem for volunteering to run — we couldn’t do it without you!
Our next RDA Practice Group Meeting will be on May 11 from 9 am – 12 pm at Nebraska Wesleyan University in the library. Information on maps and parking are found on the group wiki.
http://rdapractice.pbworks.com/w/page/50284619/FrontPage
This session will focus on creating simple monographic records using RDA. For those who can attend, please visit the May 11 link on the wiki frontpage for information on the agenda topics and things that you can do to prepare ahead of class so that we can hit the ground running that day.
We will be using the RDA Toolkit online and the Connexion browser for this class. If you have a login for these, please bring them to class.
Lastly, please let Casey Kralik (email: casey.kralik@bellevue.edu) know if you plan to attend by May 4th.
The TSRT/ITART Spring Meeting begins in less than 24 hours! Are you ready? We have been working hard to make sure everything falls into place for Friday the 13th. We are very excited to announce that we will have 60 attendees this year coming to the Bellevue University campus (Administrative Services Building). In preparation for tomorrow’s events, the Spring Meeting page has had some additions. Please check the page for:
Please feel free to give me a call at 402-557-7309 or email casey.kralik@bellevue.edu if you need assistance.
The RDA Practice Group will have its second meeting at the UNO Library, room 112, on Friday, March 23rd from 9 am to 12 pm. The main focus of this meeting is to discuss resources with major emphasis on navigating the toolkit. In addition, we will have a question and answer period so be prepared with any questions regarding RDA and the toolkit that you might have.
Please take a look at the group’s wiki to view information about our group, past meetings, resources and RDA announcements.
As always, anyone can attend and there is no fee. We operate on the generosity of our host institution. If you would like to be a host institution, please contact Casey Kralik (casey.kralik@bellevue.edu) for a future meeting.
If you would like to join us for the second meeting, please RSVP to Casey Kralik (casey.kralik@bellevue.edu) by March 16.
Don’t forget – registration is currently open for the TSRT/ITART Spring Meeting. The meeting will be held on Friday, April 13, in the Administrative Services Building on the Bellevue University campus.
To register, fill out the online registration form. We have recently added a reduced registration rate of $15 for students. To get this rate, you must be a current library science student and a member of NLA.
Attendees can receive up to 4 continuing education credits for this meeting. Please fill out the Nebraska Library Commission CE form after attending.
For more information about the meeting, see the TSRT Spring Meeting web page.
The Library of Congress has announced its Long-Range RDA Training Plan, which outlines the process that will be used to train LC catalogers to work with RDA. The plan also includes an RDA implementation date of March 31, 2013. An announcement about the plan, as well as the full text of the plan itself, is available on the Library of Congress web site.
