Applications are being accepted for NASIG Awards & Grants

The North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) is now accepting applications for various awards and grants.

View the announcement here.

The application deadline in January 18, 2011.

LRTS Request for Grant Proposals

Library Resources & Technical Services (LRTS), the journal of the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), announces the availability of grants of up to $1,000 (funded by an ALA Carnegie-Whitney Grant) to assist authors with preparing literature reviews. 

The purpose of the grants is to provide funds that will be used for clerical and research support, thereby allowing the author/s to concentrate on analyzing the resources and writing the literature review.  Possible tasks might be collecting citations, sorting and organizing citations by themes and categories, locating and gathering resources to be reviewed, verifying citations, funding purchases of articles not owned by the home institution of the author, and so forth.  Funding also could provide a mentoring opportunity by  funding assistance by a library school or information science student.

Highly cited, literature reviews provide an essential professional service to practitioners, scholars, and students by identifying the key themes and the most important publications appearing in successive two year periods.  Books and articles by accredited scholars and researchers, i.e., primarily peer-reviewed publications provide the basis for a literature review.  A good literature review is evaluative, selective, and critical, and goes beyond summarizing and quoting from the selected sources.   Literature reviews explain why the sources cited are important and valuable, may compare them to prior works, and create a structure that organizes the two-year body of content to make it comprehensible and to identify themes, not only for those who have followed the developments it describes, but to future researchers.  All sources referenced appear in the endnotes; a separate bibliography is not published.  Although commissioned, LRTS literature reviews go through the same double-blind peer review process as unsolicited manuscripts.

 LRTS seeks authors for the following topical areas and coverage periods:

• Acquisitions literature published 2010-2011
• Serials literature published 2010-2011

Papers should be submitted not later than June 30, 2012. Grant recipients will be required to submit progress reports to the LRTS Editor twice a year.

The grant proposal must include:

1. Requester name, title, and contact information
2. The literature to be reviewed (see list above) 
3. The requester's credentials to write the literature review
4. The amount requested
5. Budget plan and rationale for how the funds will be expended 

Proposals are due by January 31, 2011.
Applications and inquiries should be submitted to Peggy Johnson, LRTS Editor, lrtseditor@ala.org

2010 CONSER Annual Report Now Available

The 2010 CONSER Annual Report has been posted to their website. Highlights include:

• information on new CONSER member libraries
• highlights from the May 2010 operations meeting
• information on the Open Access Journal Project
• Serials Cooperative Cataloging Training Program (SCCTP) update

CONSER RDA Testing

The CONSER Program has shared some of their Resource Description and Access (RDA) testing information.

A three-part document covers issues related to RDA, the CONSER Standard Record (CSR), and the Library of Congress Policy Statements (LCPSs).  It includes the following sections:

• RDA as Modified by CSR: Recommended Guidelines
• Differences between CSR, RDA, and LCPS
• Using Existing OCLC Bibliographic Records for Serials: CONSER RDA Testers

A webinar recording from September 29, 2010, consisting of RDA test discussions for CONSER catalogers is also available.  It is just under one hour long and will be of interest to RDA testers and those dedicated to following the test process.

Helpful links were shared in the webinar:

The Program for Cooperative Cataloging has a web page devoted to RDA testing: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/RDA-PCC.html

The University of Chicago Library has kindly shared its RDA testing information as well:  http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/staffweb/depts/cat/rda.html  Included is a link to Renette Davis' presentation "Changes from AACR2 to RDA for Cataloging Serials."

"CONSER Cooperative Open Access Journal Project" by Les Hawkins

CONSER members have discussed a plan to provide CONSER-authenticated records for online journals in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). This column provides information on the Cooperative Open Access Journal Project, which is a multi-library project to provide high quality bibliographic records containing accurate ISSN data. If successful, the project could serve as a model for cooperatively providing records for other online journal collections.

The CONSER website has a page devoted to the project: http://www.loc.gov/acq/conser/Open-Access-Project.html

"CONSER Cooperative Open Access Journal Project" is published in the Serials Review, vol. 36, issue 3 (Sept. 2010), pages 167-168.

DOI: 10.1016/j.serrev.2010.05.007

"Print Serials Workflow in RDA" by Mary Curran

In her latest column in the Serials Librarian, Mary Curran shares a sample Resource Description and Access (RDA) workflow for serials cataloging. The goal is to provide serials catalogers with an introduction to RDA.

"Print Serials Workflow in RDA: A Draft Workflow for RDA Toolkit Based on JSC's Sample Workflow for a Simple Book" is available in the Serials Librarian, vol. 59, no. 3 & 4 (Oct. 2010), pages 244-262.

DOI: 10.1080/0361526X.2010.504918

NASIG 2011 Conference: Call for Proposals

NASIG 26th Annual Conference
Gateway to Collaboration
June 2-5, 2011
St. Louis, Missouri

The 2011 Program Planning Committee (PPC) invites proposals for preconference, vision, strategy, and tactics sessions. The program planners are interested in hearing from publishers, vendors, librarians, and others in the field of serials and electronic resources about issues relating to scholarly communication, publishing, and resource acquisition, management, and discovery. Proposals based on emerging trends, case studies, and descriptive and experimental research findings are encouraged.

To propose a program or idea, please use the online form. 

This Call for Proposals will close on September 17, 2010.

Please note the following:
* The Program Planning Committee reviews all submitted proposals and hopes to notify applicants of the status of their proposals in December 2010.
* The Program Planning Committee welcomes proposals that are still in the formative stages, and may work with potential presenters to focus their proposals further.
* Proposals should name any particular products or services that are integral to the content of the presentation. However, as a matter of NASIG policy, programs should not be used as a venue to promote or attack any product, service, or institution.
* Time management issues generally limit each session to two speakers for Tactics sessions or three speakers for Strategy sessions. Panels of four or more speakers must be discussed in advance with the Program Planning Committee (prog-plan@nasig.org)
* Proposals may be accepted as a different type of session than was originally suggested; this decision is the purview of the Program Planning Committee.
* NASIG has a reimbursement policy for conference speakers whose organizations do not cover expenses.

Inquiries may be sent to the PPC co-chairs, Anne Mitchell and Michael Hanson, at: prog-plan@nasig.org.

We look forward to seeing you in St. Louis!
- Anne Mitchell and Michael Hanson
NASIG PPC Co-Chairs

2011 ALCTS Awards

The Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) is seeking nominations for various awards.  A list of the awards, with links to information about each, is available on the ALCTS Awards & Grants page.  The deadline for nominations is December 1, 2010.

CONSER At-Large Meeting Summary from June 27, 2010, Available

A summary of the CONSER At-Large Meeting held at the ALA Annual Conference on June 27, 2010, is now available on the CONSER website.  Topics covered include:

• Open Access Journal Project
• OCLC's CONSER database scan
• CONSER documentation and training
• RDA testing
• ISSN update

The Serials Librarian Announces New Editors

The following announcement was posted on SERIALST:

Dear All,

Early this summer marked the retirement of Jim Cole, both from librarianship at Iowa State University and from his editorship of the peer-reviewed journal published by Taylor and Francis, The Serials Librarian.

Now co-editing SL are Louise Cole of the University of Kingston in London (no relation to Jim!) and Andrew Shroyer of California State University at Los Angeles.

We welcome submissions of new content for SL, and any thoughts you may have about the nature of the journal or directions for the future!

Please forward any articles you have authored for SL (as well as your thoughts) to our shared email address: editorserialslib@gmail.com.

This is a time of exciting developments and milestones in the evolution of journals and serials. The continuing transition to electronic forms, the devising of big package deals for providing serial publication content, the struggle to adapt the library organization to the demands of e-resources, the advent of open access journals and the testing of RDA, for instance, are all both unsettling and exhilarating processes for serials librarians. We want to ensure that The Serials Librarian provides its readership with relevant readings, knowledge of breakthroughs, good practical pointers and a forum for healthy debate of all the issues.

This is a first effort at serving as a journal editor for each of us. Thank you for your support as we manage this transition.

--Andrew and Louise

ALCTS CRS CRCC Forum Presentations Now Available

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS), Continuing Resources Section (CRS), Continuing Resources Cataloging Committee (CRCC) has posted presentations from their Monday Update Forum held at the ALA annual conference in Washington, DC, this year.

The two featured speakers were:

• Tina Shrader, a representative from the National Agricultural Library on the Task Group coordinating the official testing of RDA
• Renette Davis, who shared thoughts on preparing staff for testing RDA at the University of Chicago

Presentations are posted on the ALA website and on ALA Connect.

Full minutes of the meeting will also be posted on ALA Connect.

via OCLC-CAT

588 Field: Source of Description Note

Now available on the CONSER website, information on the new source of description note:

• Draft instructions for the MARC 588 field (pages from the CONSER Editing Guide)
• PowerPoint slides from a recent webinar
  
• Archived webinar
  

CONSER Operations Representatives Meeting

Outcomes and Action Items from the CONSER Operations Representatives Meeting, held May 6-7, 2010, have now been posted on the CONSER website. Topics covered include:

• ISBD punctuation
• Implementation of new MARC coding
• Multiple character set guidelines
• Open Access Project Task Group report
• Lack of one-to-one correspondence between print and online versions due to changes in title change rules
• Linking field issues
• Changes to uniform titles
• RDA testing
• ISSN-L
• And more!
  

"Record Authentication as a Barrier: Reflections on Returning to CONSER" by Christopher H. Walker

Christopher H. Walker's humorous essay on his career in serials both entertains and makes some relevant observations on the frustrations faced by catalogers in non-CONSER institutions who discover mistakes and needed updates to CONSER-authenticated bibliographic records in OCLC's WorldCat database. He concludes:

CONSER authentication remains valuable as a guarantee that the bibliographic description is the work of one or more catalogers with significant training. But because serials continue to develop and change until they cease, it may be time to look for strategies, as a cataloging community, to share more widely the burden of keeping those records up-to-date.

This article is published in Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 2 & 3 (Feb. 2010), pages 161-168.
DOI: 10.1080/01639370903535684

"Doing More with More: The UC CONSER Funnel Experience" by Valerie Bross

"Doing More with More" outlines the process undertaken by libraries in the University of California system to create a CONSER funnel. The experiences of the UC Funnel and the lessons learned shared by Bross provide useful information to other groups that might consider creating a similar funnel.

This article is published in Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 2 & 3 (Feb. 2010), pages 135-160.
DOI: 10.1080/01639370903535676

"The Road to CONSER--Taken by the Health Sciences Library System, University of Pittsburgh" by Liping Song

Liping Song's article outlines the process of becoming a CONSER member library, based on the experience at the Health Science Library System at the University of Pittsburgh.

This article is published in Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 2 & 3 (Feb. 2010), pages 143-152.
DOI: 10.1080/01639370903535668

"The ISSN Network as an Example of International Cooperative Cataloging" by Regina Romano Reynolds

In this article, Regina Romano Reynolds examines the cooperative nature of the ISSN Network, focusing on the shared ISSN Register, which is an international, cooperative, cataloging venture. She provides an overview of the ISSN Network and the ISSN Register, and the various uses for International Standard Serial Numbers. Data elements in ISSN records are also covered, along with users of and uses for these records.

This article is published in Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 2 & 3 (Feb. 2010), pages 169-186.
DOI: 10.1080/01639370903535692

CONSER Editing Guide Update

Update 19 to the CONSER Editing Guide is now available online.

Notes from the ALA Mid-Winter CONSER-At-Large Meeting

Notes from the CONSER-At-Large Meeting held January 17, 2010, are now available. Topics covered include:

• Cooperative Open Access Journal Project
• Repeatable 260 Field
• Format changes from CD-ROM to DVD-ROM
• ISSN Report
  

NASIG's Call for Poster Session Proposals

The NASIG Program Planning Committee (PPC) invites poster session proposals for the 25th NASIG conference in Palm Springs, California, June 3-6, 2010. The theme of the conference is "An Oasis in Shifting Sands: NASIG at 25."

Posters will be on display 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, June 5th. Presenters must be available to discuss their topics during the afternoon break on this day.

Poster sessions provide an opportunity to share innovative ideas and new applications of technology. Sessions may present a report of a research study, an analysis of a practical problem-solving effort, or a description of an innovative program that may be of interest to the serials community. In keeping with NASIG tradition of non-commercialism, poster sessions focusing solely on a commercial product will not be accepted.

Deadline for submission: Proposals must be received by Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 5 p.m. EST. Members of the PPC's Sub-committee on Poster Sessions will evaluate abstracts. Presenters will be notified in April 2010.

Please submit proposals online: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RXXMKM3

Inquiries may be sent to the PPC co-chairs, Morag Boyd and Anne Mitchell at: prog-plan@nasig.org

Established in 1985, the North American Serials Interest Group, Inc. is an independent organization that promotes communication and sharing of ideas among all members of the serials information chain--anyone working with or concerned about serial publications.

For more information about NASIG, see: http://www.nasig.org

Conducting Research and Writing for Publication

In honor of the "Year of Cataloging Research," I'm highlighting a couple of editorials from Library & Information Science Research on the research and writing processes. Whether you are brand new to conducting cataloging research or a seasoned veteran, you will likely find some tips to improve both your research process and the resulting write-up.

Make Sure Your Research has a Purpose!
Hernan, Peter, and Candy Schwartz. "What is a Problem Statement?" Library & Information Science Research 29, issue 3 (2007): 307-309.

Reporting Your Findings and a Few Style Tips
Nitecki, Danuta A. "Finalizing a Research Paper--Findings through Conclusion." Library & Information Science Research 32, issue 1 (2010): 1-3.

“Me and My Shadow: Observation, Documentation, and Analysis of Serials and Electronic Resources Workflow” by Kristen Blake and Erin Stalberg

Blake and Stalberg's “Me and My Shadow” outlines a project done at North Carolina State University Libraries to document and review serials and electronic resources workflow. This three-stage project looked at the entire serials lifecycle and began with a staff shadowing component where a librarian directly observed tasks being performed. Workflow mapping was the next step, where the information gleaned from shadowing was documented in a graphic representation showing what steps were involved in various processes and by whom. Finally, the workflow was analyzed to look for areas that could be made more efficient. This article provides a nice literature review, highlighting several articles looking at library workflow analysis. The authors identified a gap in the literature regarding shadowing techniques in libraries as a tool for workflow mapping and analysis and sought to fill that gap with detailed sections on the shadowing process and outcomes. This article will be of interest to librarians preparing to engage in a serials workflow analysis. A link to view the workflow mapping diagrams created in this project is an added bonus.

The article can be found in the Serials Review, vol. 35, issue 4 (Dec. 2009), pages 242-252.

doi:10.1016/j.serrev.2009.08.018