The Serials Cataloger

27th Annual NASIG Conference

2012-02-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

Registration is now open for the 27th annual conference of the North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG), which will be held June 7-10, 2012, in Nashville, Tennessee. Complete information can be found on the conference website: http://www.nasig.org/conference_registration.cfm

Some program highlights of particular interest to serials catalogers include:

"RDA and Serials: Theoretical and Practical Applications" to be presented by Judy Kuhagen (preconference session)
"CONSER Serials RDA Workflow" to be presented by Les Hawkins and Hien Nguyen
"What's Up with Docs?!?: The Peculiarities of Cataloging Federal Government Serial Publications" to be presented by Stephanie Braunstein, Joseph R. Nicholson, and Fang Huang Gao.

Preliminary Report from the CONSER Standard Record RDA Core Elements Task Group

2012-01-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

The preliminary report from the CONSER Standard Record RDA Core Elements Task Group is now available on the CONSER website. Issues covered include:

Authorized access points for translations and language editions
Additions to distinguish otherwise identical authorized access points for resources
Recording dates of publication
Recording statements of responsibility relating to the title proper

LRTS Request for Grant Proposals

2011-12-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

Library Resources & Technical Services (LRTS) announces the availability of grants of up to $1,000 (funded by an Association for Library Collections and Technical Services 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 support 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:

Collection Development and Management literature published 2011-2012
Cataloging/Classification/Metadata Management literature published 2011-2012
Preservation and Reformatting literature published 2011-2012

Papers should be submitted not later than June 30, 2013. Grant recipients will be required to submit progress reports to the LRTS Editor in June and December each 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. Amount requested

5. Budget plan and rationale for how the funds will be expended

Proposals are due by January 31, 2012.

Applications and inquiries should be submitted to Peggy Johnson, LRTS Editor, lrtseditor@ala.org.

Call for Papers: Library Resources and Technical Services

2011-11-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Library Resources & Technical Services (LRTS) is the Official Journal of the Association for Library Collections Technical Services (ALCTS)

Library Resources & Technical Services (LRTS) is a peer-reviewed journal that takes a critical approach to the questions and challenges facing librarians and libraries with regard to:

Collections
Scholarly communication
Preservation (including digitization)
Acquisitions (including licensing and economic aspects of acquisitions)
Continuing resources
Cataloging (including descriptive metadata, authority control, subject analysis, and classification)

LRTS publishes both research papers and thoughtful explorations of operational issues that have value and implications for other libraries. In addition, LRTS publishes editorials, book reviews, letters to the editor, and the annual report of the president of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services.

If you have thoughts or ideas for papers in these areas that you would like to explore or develop further, or if you would like to encourage your colleagues to develop a topic or theme (for example, from a presentation, program or poster session) and to turn the theme into a paper, please consider contributing to LRTS yourself, or invite a colleague to consider contributing.

For more information, see the LRTS web site: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/resources/lrts/index.cfm

Instructions for authors can be found here: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/resources/lrts/authinst.cfm

If you have questions or would like additional information, you can contact the editor:

Peggy Johnson

Editor, Library Resources & Technical Services

Editor, Technicalities

voice: 651-298-0121

m-john@tc.umn.edu

ISSN and You: Using ISSN SuperNumber in the Digital Environment

2011-10-31T08:03:00.000-06:00

ALCTS Webinar, November 9, 2011

All webinars are one hour in length and begin at 11am Pacific, noon Mountain, 1pm Central, and 2pm Eastern time.

Description: Learn about the work of the US ISSN Center and ways the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) contributes to identification, access, and data linking in print and digital environments worldwide. ISSN is the premier international identifier for serials and other continuing resources in all formats. ISSN was ahead of its time in anticipating the crucial role of identifiers in the digital environment and has evolved well beyond its early role as a number displayed on print journals. Demand for ISSN continues to increase because of its ability to identify and facilitate linking to current, long-dead, or yet-to-be published continuing resources today and in the future semantic web.

Audience: Any library staff members who work with any aspect of serials and other continuing resources (acquisitions, cataloging, ERMs, Open URLs), systems librarians, reference librarians, publishers, subscription agents, online platform providers, and fulltext data.

Presenter: Regina Romano Reynolds is ISSN Coordinator at the Library of Congress and director of the US ISSN Center. She is a frequent speaker and writer about ISSN, serials, and the future of bibliographic control; convener of the ISO working group to revise ISO 8:1977, the Presentation of Periodicals; a member of NISO’s PIE-J Working Group to develop recommended practices for the presentation and identification of e-journals. Reynolds received the 1999 ALCTS Ulrich’s Serials Librarianship Award.

*****************

For additional information, pricing options, or to complete the online registration form, go to the following link and select the session you would like to attend.

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/confevents/upcoming/webinar/index.cfm

ALCTS webinars are recorded and registrants receive a link to the recording shortly following the live event.

For questions about registration, contact ALA Registration by calling

1-800-545-2433 and press 5 or email registration@ala.org. For all other questions or comments related to the webinars, contact Julie Reese, ALCTS Events Manager at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5034 or alctsce@ala.org.

Posted on behalf of the ALCTS Continuing Education Committee.

CONSER Editing Guide Update

2011-09-12T13:48:00.000-06:00

Update 20 (2011) for the CONSER Editing Guide is now available on the CONSER website.

Call for Proposals - North American Serials Interest Group Annual Conference

2011-09-12T13:39:00.000-06:00

The first Call for Proposals for the NASIG 2012 conference will close this Friday, September 16, 2011.

Inquiries may be sent to the PPC Chair (Michael Hanson) and Vice Chair (Karen Davidson) at: prog-plan@nasig.org

NASIG 27th Annual Conference

Creating Harmony from Dis-chord

June 7 - 10, 2012

Nashville, Tennessee

The 2012 Program Planning Committee (PPC) invites proposals for conference sessions. Publishers, vendors, librarians, and others in the field of electronic resources and serials are encouraged to submit proposals 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.

The PPC is looking for topics within, though not limited to, the following learning tracks:

Access and Discovery
Acquisitions and Licensing
Archiving and Preservation
Cataloging and Metadata
Collection Development
eResources, eSerials, eBooks, and eManagement
Mobile Technology
Open Access and Digital Repositories
Publishing and Scholarly communication
Standards

To propose a program or idea, please use the online form. This Call for Proposals will close on September 16, 2011.

Please note the following:

Formerly, NASIG conferences included sessions with the designations of "Strategy" and "Tactic." These designations will not be used at the 2012 conference, and all sessions that formerly held these designations will be one hour long.
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 to three speakers for conference sessions. Panels of four (4) or more speakers must be discussed in advance with the Program Planning Committee (prog-plan@nasig.org)
NASIG has a reimbursement policy for conference speakers whose organizations do not cover expenses.

Inquiries may be sent to the PPC Chair (Michael Hanson) and Vice Chair (Karen Davidson) at: prog-plan@nasig.org

We look forward to a great conference in Nashville!

Michael Hanson and Karen Davidson

NASIG PPC Chair and Vice Chair

ISSN and You: Using ISSN SuperNumber in the Digital Environment

2011-07-26T09:38:00.000-06:00

Regina Romano Reynolds will present a webinar entitled, "ISSN and You: Using ISSN SuperNumber in the Digital Environment" as part of a series offered by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS). The webinar is schedule for November 9, 2011.

More information is available on the ALCTS website.

Upcoming Webinar on the CONSER Standard Record

2011-07-26T09:34:00.000-06:00

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) has announced an upcoming webinar, "The CONSER Standard Record: Where Are We Now?" Steve Shadle will present this hour-long webinar on October 5, 2011.

Find more information, including fees and how to register, on the ALCTS website.

CONSER Operations Meeting 2011 Outcomes

2011-06-16T13:58:00.000-06:00

The report from the CONSER Operations Meeting held May 5-6, 2011, is now available.

Topics covered include:

Linking multiple formats
ISSN
Working with RDA records
Future of CONSER documentation
Open Access Journal Project
CONSER RDA decisions that need to be made

Call for Proposals: ALCTS Cataloging Norms Interest Group

2011-04-25T15:34:00.000-06:00

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) Cataloging & Classification Section (CCS) Cataloging Norms Interest Group invites speakers for its meeting at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans on Saturday, June 25th from 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Presentation topics should be of current interest to catalogers, cataloging managers and administrators.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

Evolution, definition, and functions of the catalog and cataloging norms
Emerging concepts and implementations of "next generation catalogs"
RDA and FRBR
Cataloging in hybrid and digital libraries
Changes in catalogers' workflows
Emerging perceptions of cataloging quality
How end users' expectations and behaviors affect cataloging norms
Metadata records and elements in different contexts
The impact of web norms on cataloging norms from the perspectives of web developers and catalogers

Presentations should be approximately 15-20 minutes in length, with additional time allowed for questions and answers. Please send abstracts of proposals to co-chairs by Monday, May 9th. We look forward to hearing from you!

Cataloging Norms Co-Chairs,

Michele Seikel

Associate Prof. of Bibliography, Cataloger,

Edmon Low Library, Oklahoma State University

seikel@okstate.edu

Co-Chair, ALCTS CCS Cataloging Norms Interest Group

Melanie McGurr

Coordinator of Authority Control and Database Maintenance

Ohio State University Libraries

Co-Chair, ALCTS CCS Cataloging Norms Interest Group

mcgurr.2@osu.edu

via OCLC-CAT

Request for Proposals from the ALCTS Continuing Resources Section College and Research Libraries Interest Group

2011-03-30T16:06:00.000-06:00

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) Continuing Resources Section College and Research Libraries Interest Group (CRS C&RL IG) requests presentation proposals for our ALA Annual meeting in New Orleans Sunday June 26, 2011, from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

Withdrawing print when libraries also have online access
Distributed print repositories
Coping with hard economic times in continuing resources acquisitions and collection management
Pay-per-view pricing for journal articles and new models of acquisitions
Continuing resources cataloging
Next generation OPACs and continuing resources displays
Accessing continuing resources through discovery platforms
Continuing resources in a mobile computing environment
Other topics?

Each presentation should be approximately 20 minutes. There will be time for discussion.

Please e-mail proposals by May 1st to Beth Bernhardt beth_bernhardt@uncg.edu and Patrick Carr carrp@ecu.edu

Please include in your proposal:

Title of presentation
Brief summary of proposed presentation
Name(s) and position(s) of presenter(s)
E-mail address(es) of presenter(s)

via SERIALST

2011 NASIG Conference Program

2011-03-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

The North American Serials Interest Group is pleased to present its 26th Annual Conference program!

For the past 25 years, the NASIG Annual Conference has been essential in helping librarians keep up to date with current trends and strategies for the future, practical methods for greater efficiencies in their libraries, and invaluable networking with colleagues and vendors from across the industry. For its 26th conference, NASIG is committed to giving you yet another outstanding experience.

Early Bird registration is open from now until May 5.

Register by 5 p.m. Eastern on May 5, 2011, and be entered into a drawing for $100! Register for the conference at http://www.nasig.org/conference_registration.cfm. Hotel reservations information is at http://www.nasig.org/conference_hotel.cfm. If registering more than one guest, please follow the instructions on the website.

We promise you:

Vision speakers Adam Bly and Paul Duguid, who will cover the current and future directions, design, and dissemination of scientific information, and what the historical context of the supply chain for books and journals might teach us about the present digital transformation of scholarship.
Strategy Sessions that give you the current trends in the profession and real-world strategies that can take your organization into the future.
Tactics Sessions where you learn from speakers sharing valuable expertise that gives you practical applications for a better work flow today, and the knowledge to take you confidently into tomorrow.

Three preconferences on June 1st – 2nd:

Serials and RDA: an Ongoing Relationship
Accounting Techniques for Acquisition Librarians
Who Ya Gonna Call? Troubleshooting Strategies for E-resources Access Problems

Social and Networking Opportunities:

Conference reception at the City Museum, Thursday, June 2.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs, Friday, June 3.

Please visit http://www.nasig.org/conference_program.cfm to view descriptions of the in-depth Strategy sessions and practical Tactics sessions covering acquisitions and licensing, cataloging and access, collection development, and scholarly communication.

NASIG knows well that budgets are tight, and justifying costs is not easy. We have worked hard to hold the line on costs, without sacrificing quality, by keeping our regular registration rates steady and hotel conference rates close to 2003 pricing levels. We continue to strive to keep costs low while producing a conference that offers both excellent value and invaluable learning opportunities.

Registration opens Monday, March 7, 2011. Register by 5 p.m. Eastern on May 5, 2011 and be entered into a drawing for $100!

For program and registration information, please see: http://www.nasig.org/conference_registration.cfm

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, please visit http://www.nasig.org/.

Betsy Appleton

Publicist, NASIG, Inc.

eapplet1@gmu.edu

via SERIALST

NASIG Conference: Call for Poster Sessions

2011-02-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

The North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) Program Planning Committee (PPC) invites poster session proposals for the 26th NASIG conference in St. Louis, Missouri, June 2-5, 2011. The theme of the conference is "Gateway to Collaboration."

Posters will be on display 9am-5pm on Saturday, June 4th. Presenters must be available to discuss their topics during the afternoon break on this day.

Poster sessions provide an opportunity to share innovative ideas, new workflows, 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. Proposals should name any particular products or services that are integral to the content of the poster session. However, as a matter of NASIG policy, programs should not be used as a venue to promote or attack any product, service, or institution.

To propose a poster session, please use the online form.

Proposals must be received by 5pm PDT on Friday, April 1, 2011. Members of the Program Planning Committee will evaluate abstracts, and presenters will be notified in April 2011.

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, PPC Co-Chairs

ALCTS webinar: RDA and Serials Catalogers

2011-02-22T10:57:00.001-07:00

ALCTS webinar: RDA and Serials Catalogers: Will Our Work Really Change?

Date: March 2, 2011

All webinars are one hour in length and begin at 2pm Eastern, 1pm Central, noon Mountain, and 11am Pacific Time.

Description: How will RDA affect serials cataloging? This webinar will provide an overview of the work done by the ALCTS Continuing Resources Section’s Continuing Resource Cataloging Committee in testing RDA. It will also highlight issues affecting serials cataloging that have arisen during the national RDA testing.

Audience: Cataloging staff who already have some experience with serials cataloging and who want to know how their current practices will change with RDA.

Presenter: Steve Shadle is Serials Access Librarian at the University of Washington Libraries where he is responsible for local systems and services that provide access to electronic serials (including library cataloging). With Les Hawkins (CONSER Program Coordinator), he developed the Electronic Serials Cataloging Workshop for the Serials Cataloging Cooperative Training Program (SCCTP) and also serves as a trainer for a number of SCCTP courses. In 2010 Steve received the Ulrich’s Serials Librarianship Award in recognition of his work on eSerial cataloging continuing education. Steve is on the Editorial Board for Serials Review and is the current Vice-President/President-Elect of the North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG).

This is the third is a series of five webinars on RDA. The webinars included in the RDA series are:

February 2, 2011 - Changes from AACR2 to RDA. Part 1: Description
February 9, 2011 - Changes from AACR2 to RDA. Part 2: Access Points
March 2, 2011 - RDA and Serials Catalogers: Will Our Work Really Change?

March 16, 2011 - Linked library data: tuning library metadata for the Semantic Web

April 6, 2011 - Preparing copy catalogers for RDA

To Register, complete the online registration form at http://www.ala.org/ala/onlinelearning/reg/webinar.cfm

for the session you would like to attend.

Fees for individual webinars:

Group Rates - ALCTS Members & Non-Members: $99

Individuals - ALCTS Members: $39; Non-Members: $49

Participants outside the United States may register at the ALCTS member rate.

Pricing for RDA Series: (All 5 webinars)
Group Rates - ALCTS Members & Non-Members: $346
Individuals - ALCTS members: $120; Non-members: $160

Participants outside the United States may register at the ALCTS member rate.

All webinars are recorded and the one-time fee includes unlimited access to the webinar recording. All registered attendees will receive the link to the recorded session so if you are unable to attend the webinar at the time it is presented, you will have the opportunity to listen to the recording at your convenience.

For questions about registration, contact Tom Ferren, ALA Senior Registration Coordinator at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4293 or tferren@ala.org. For all other questions or comments related to the webinars, contact Julie Reese, ALCTS Events Manager.

Posted on behalf of the ALCTS Continuing Education Committee.

CONSER Editing Guide Revision: Request for Comments

2011-01-06T09:06:00.000-07:00

CONSER requests comments on their draft revisions for the CONSER Editing Guide. The deadline for comments is January 31, 2011.

View the draft revisions and instructions for submitting comments on the CONSER website.

Applications are being accepted for NASIG Awards & Grants

2010-12-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-12-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

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:

Requester name, title, and contact information
The literature to be reviewed (see list above)
The requester's credentials to write the literature review
The amount requested
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

2010-12-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-26T17:09:00.001-06:00

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

2010-10-26T15:44:00.000-06:00

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

2010-10-26T15:08:00.000-06:00

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

2010-09-08T16:52:00.000-06:00

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

2010-09-08T16:46:00.000-06:00

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

2010-08-06T09:45:00.000-06:00

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

2010-08-03T09:56:00.003-06:00

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

2010-07-20T16:45:00.003-06:00

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

2010-06-29T10:43:00.005-06:00

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

2010-06-07T12:43:00.002-06:00

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

2010-04-06T15:00:00.003-06:00

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

2010-04-06T14:40:00.003-06:00

"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

2010-04-06T14:22:00.002-06:00

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

2010-04-06T13:55:00.003-06:00

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

2010-03-16T11:09:00.002-06:00

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

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

2010-03-16T10:51:00.002-06:00

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

2010-02-24T16:01:00.002-07:00

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

2010-02-16T16:33:00.007-07:00

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

2010-02-08T12:06:00.002-07:00

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

More on the Repeatable MARC 260 Field

2009-12-22T14:48:00.005-07:00

CONSER has posted a recording of a recent webinar, "A Passing Interest in Publishers: Multiple 260 Fields in the MARC Record" presented by Melissa Beck and Valerie Bross, both of UCLA. The webinar covers repeatable 260s for serials, integrating resources, and multipart monographs. The webinar recording is about 1 hour in length, followed by a little over 10 minutes of discussion.

Links to the webinar recording (via Elluminate) and related information are on the right-hand column of the CONSER homepage. Or you can link directly to the webinar recording, PowerPoint slides, and chat session transcript.

A previous posting included a link to the 260 field documentation.

The Serials Librarian is Seeking a New Editor

2009-12-10T09:39:00.002-07:00

Taylor & Francis has issued a call for a new Editor-in-Chief for the Serials Librarian. Information can be found here.

Call for Proposals: ALA Midwinter 2010

2009-11-19T14:09:00.002-07:00

The ALCTS Continuing Resources Section College and Research Libraries Interest Group (CRS C&RL IG) requests presentation proposals for our Midwinter Meeting in Boston on Sunday, January 17, 2010, from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

Withdrawing print when libraries also have online access
Distributed print repositories
Regrouping after serials cancellations: have / how have your workflows changed?
Pay per view pricing for journal articles
RDA and FRBR, as they pertain to serials
MARC Format for Holdings Data
Next generation OPACs and serial displays
Other topics?

Each presentation should be approximately 20 minutes. There will be time for discussion.

Please e-mail proposals by *December 14, 2009* to Beth Bernhardt, Beth_Bernhardt@uncg.edu

Please include in your proposal:

Title of presentation
Brief summary of proposed presentation
Name(s) and position(s) of presenter(s)
E-mail address(es) of presenter(s)

Many thanks. We hope to see you in Boston!

Sincerely,

Beth Bernhardt, Co-chair, ALCTS C&RL IG

Electronic Resources Librarian, Jackson Library, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Beth_Bernhardt@uncg.edu

Rebecca Kemp, Co-chair, ALCTS C&RL IG

E-Resources Acquisitions Librarian, Davis Library, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, rkempemailuncedu

"Serials in RDA: A Starter's Tour and Kit" by Mary Curran

2009-11-04T13:43:00.003-07:00

In her Serials Librarian column, "E-Ventures: Notes and Reflections from the e-Serials Field," Mary Curran presents a concise tour of Resource Description and Access (RDA) rules related to serials cataloging. She covers changes from Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, second edition (AACR2); the text of RDA rules related to those changes; RDA rules regarding major and minor title changes; examples of how RDA data elements will be recorded; serial-related issues that have been deferred for later discussion by the Joint Steering Committee (JSC); examples of FRBR-RDA mapping for selected serials-related data; and examples of MARC record syntaxes.

"Serials in RDA: A Starter's Tour and Kit" is published in the Serials Librarian, vol. 57, issue 4 (November 2009), pages 306-323.

DOI: 10.1080/03615260903218825

NASIG seeks Cataloging Programming for 2010 Conference

2009-10-14T11:00:00.002-06:00

NASIG 2010: Second Call for Proposals

NASIG 25th Annual Conference
An Oasis in Shifting Sands: NASIG at 25
June 3-6, 2010
Palm Springs, California

The North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) 2010 Program Planning Committee (PPC) extends a second call for proposals and/or program ideas for pre-conference, vision, strategy, and tactics sessions. We welcome all proposals related to serials and electronic resources, and we are particularly interested in the following topics in order to provide a diverse conference program:

Changes in the cataloging environment, particularly Resource Description and Access (RDA)
Future directions for binding and other print-centered processes
On-demand and patron-driven purchasing
Programs reporting the findings of descriptive or experimental research on serials-related topics

The Program Planning Committee will review all submitted proposals for their content and timeliness, and reserves the right to combine or refocus proposals to maximize their relevance and to avoid duplication.

This Call for Proposals will close on November 6, 2009. PPC hopes to notify proposers in December 2009. Inquiries may be sent to the PPC co-chairs, Morag Boyd and Anne Mitchell at: prog-plan@nasig.org

For additional details and to suggest a proposal or idea, please complete the online form.

We look forward to seeing you in Palm Springs,

Morag Boyd and Anne Mitchell, PPC Co-Chairs

2010, the Year of Cataloging Research

2009-10-01T11:59:00.004-06:00

In a guest editorial for Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, Allyson Carlyle discusses the ALCTS Implementation Task Group on the LCWG Report's declaration that 2010 will be the year of cataloging research. She encourages library-related organizations to promote programs on cataloging research. She also mentions several way individuals can contribute:

Generate and share inspiring research ideas;
Do your own research;
Present and publish your research;
Encourage and support others doing research (fill out those email surveys);
Read research papers and articles on bibliographic control;
Organize a research program or other event on bibliographic control at a conference you attend;
Spread the word-let everyone interested in cataloging, catalogs, metadata, bibliographic control of any sort know about it;
Attend programs on cataloging research at ALA and other conferences.

Read the complete editorial in Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, vol. 47, issue 8 (Nov. 2009), pages 687-690.
DOI: 10.1080/01639370903223901

Information on the Repeatable 260 Field

2009-08-28T15:49:00.003-06:00

The Library of Congress has announced its plans for implementing the repeatability of the MARC 21 260 field. The Library of Congress and Program for Cooperative Cataloging plan to implement the changes on September 1, 2009. Guidelines for the repeatable 260 field (to account for publication data that changes over time) are now available.

2010 NASIG Conference - Call for Proposals and Ideas

2009-08-24T09:32:00.003-06:00

NASIG 25th Annual Conference
An Oasis in Shifting Sands: NASIG at 25
June 3-6, 2010
Palm Springs, California

The 2010 Program Planning Committee (PPC) invites proposals and/or program ideas for pre-conference, 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, licensing, and cataloging.

This Call for Proposals will close on September 25, 2009. Inquiries may be sent to the PPC co-chairs, Morag Boyd and Anne Mitchell at: prog-plan@nasig.org

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

Please keep in mind the following:

The Program Planning Committee will review all submitted proposals for their content and timeliness.
PPC will treat all submissions as suggestions and guideposts. PPC may work with potential presenters to blend or refocus proposals to maximize their relevance to attendees and avoid duplication.
Proposals should name any particular products or services that will be the focus of a presentations, but keep in mind that programs should not promote a specific institution, product, or service.
Proposals based on descriptive and experimental research findings are encouraged.
Time management issues generally limit each session to two speakers. Panels of four (4) or more speakers must be discussed in advance with the PPC (prog-plan@nasig.org)
Proposals may be suggested as one type of session and/or format and ultimately be accepted as any one of the other types of sessions or formats; this decision is the purview of the Program Planning Committee.
Vision and Strategy speakers presenting original content are required to produce a written paper for the conference proceedings.
NASIG has a reimbursement policy for conference speakers whose organizations do not cover expenses. Details about reimbursement are available on the NASIG website.
The Program Planning Committee hopes to notify applicants of the status of their proposals in December 2009.

We look forward to seeing you in Palm Springs!
- Morag Boyd and Anne Mitchell, NASIG PPC Co-Chairs

"E-Journal Cataloging in an Age of Alternatives: A Survey of Academic Libraries" by Xiaotian Chen and Stephen Wynn

2009-07-16T09:47:00.003-06:00

Chen and Wynn present the results of a survey of 72 U.S. academic libraries on cataloging practices for electronic journals. The survey covered various aspects including if e-journals are cataloged, what percentage, the use of batch loading, if holdings are reported to OCLC, reasons why e-journals are not cataloged, other services for accessing e-journals, the use of A-to-Z lists and OpenURL link resolvers, and future plans to change policies or procedures. Respondents were also asked to identify persistent problems/issues with e-journal cataloging and to anticipate future trends. The researchers found that most libraries who are cataloging their e-journals are satisfied with their policies. They also found that some libraries think cataloging is unnecessary and predict that "this sentiment will grow, especially as new tools become more widely adopted."

Chen and Wynn's article can be found in The Serials Librarian, vol. 57, issue 1 & 2 (July 2009), pages 96-110.

"Serial or Monograph: Who Decides?" by Kathy Carter

2009-07-14T16:27:00.003-06:00

Carter's article discusses the monograph versus serial question for online resources, specifically looking at cases where a library owns both print and online versions of the resource. She outlines the pros and cons of monographic and serial treatment, presents a brief survey of the cataloging practices of a sample of ARL libraries (for a single title), and provides sample OPAC screenshots to illustrate the information users are given in a results list for various cataloging practices. Cataloging decisions are complicated by the publisher's decision on how to present the titles, the availability of MARC record sets, and how the title is treated in the library's link resolver's knowledgebase.

Carter's article is available in The Serials Librarian, vol. 57, issue 1 & 2 (July 2009), pages 87-95.

"How the Current Draft of RDA Addresses the Cataloging of Reproductions, Facsimiles, and Microforms" by Steven A. Knowlton

2009-07-14T13:47:00.004-06:00

Knowlton's article discusses the "multiple versions problem" (sometimes called the MulVer problem) that arises when cataloging reproductions. He provides a brief overview of how reproductions have been handled under various cataloging codes. He then discusses how RDA, with its basis in FRBR principles, will deal wtih the MulVer problem. While the proposed new cataloging code may help to clarify relationships between originals and reproductions, Knowlton argues that, "RDA as currently designed is challenging for the cataloger and includes many data that may prove to be difficult for catalog users to understand."

Read Knowlton's article in Library Resources & Technical Services, vol. 53, no. 3 (July 2009), pages 159-165.

"ISSN-L: A New Standard Means Better Links" by Oliver Pesch

2009-07-13T16:03:00.003-06:00

Pesch's column, "Spotlight on Serials Standards," takes a look at the ISSN-L. He gives an overview of the history of the development of the new standard and explains its benefits.

See The Serials Librarian, vol. 57, issue 1 & 2 (2009), pages 40-47.

Call for Papers: Cataloging & Classification Quarterly

2009-06-19T13:28:00.002-06:00

Cataloging & Classification Quarterly

CCQ welcomes the submission of research, theory, and practice papers relevant to the broad field of bibliographic organization.

This journal, published now 8 times a year by Taylor & Francis, LLC, is respected as an international forum that emphasizes research and review articles, description of new programs and technologies relevant to cataloging and classification, and considered speculative articles on improved methods of bibliographic control for the future.

Articles are particularly welcome in areas dealing with research-based cataloging practice, including user behavior, user needs and benefits. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts via email with attached word document to the Editor, Sandra K. Roe, Bibliographic Services Librarian, Illinois State University (email: skroe@ilstu.edu)

Special Issues
Colleagues interested in guest editing a special issue or expanded double issue are invited to contact the Editor with a general proposal, tentative schedule, and CVs. Previous special issues have included:

Metadata and Open Access Repositories (Michael Babinec and Holly Mercer, Guest Editors)

Bibliographic Database Quality (Jeffrey Beall and Stephen Hearn, Guest Editors)

The Intellectual and Professional World of Cataloging (Qiang Jin, Guest Editor)

Knitting the Semantic Web (Jane Greenberg and Eva Méndez, Guest Editor)

Cataloger, Editor and Scholar: Essays in Honor of Ruth C. Carter (Robert Holley, Guest Editor)

Annual Best Paper Award
Taylor & Francis sponsors an annual prize for CCQ with a small financial stipend for the Best Paper of the Year.

Free Print Sample
A free print specimen copy may be obtained by sending an email to Marisa.starr@taylorandfrancis.com

For More Details
Further details may be found at the CCQ home page.

via SERIALST

Preservation Actions, MARC 21 Field 583, and Communal Local Holdings Records in OCLC WorldCat

2009-06-17T10:41:00.002-06:00

A white paper entitled, "Preservation Actions, MARC 21 Field 583, and Communal Local Holdings Records in OCLC WorldCat," is now available via the CONSER Web site. It discusses a proposal to record data on preservation actions and commitments for print serials. The collection of this data is necessitated by the trend in some libraries to discard print copies when online versions are available.

Report from the Joint BIBCO CONSER Operations Meeting and the CONSER Operations Meeting

2009-06-17T10:21:00.003-06:00

The report from the Joint BIBCO CONSER Operations Meeting held April 30, 2009, and the CONSER Operations Meeting held April 30-May 1, 2009, is now available on the CONSER Web site. Topics covered include:

Proposal to make field 008/39 obsolete (cataloging source data)
Use of the term "Online" as a series qualifier
Repeatable MARC 260 field guidelines
MARC 853 field for print archiving
Individual CONSER memberships
Coordination with Serials Solutions on CONSER MARC records
NISO best practices for title changes
RDA and LCRIs
Google Books Library Project records
CONSER practice on MARC 776 and 856 fields in print records

“Harnessing the Spiderweb: Collaborative Serial Maintenance, Challenges and Solutions at UC” recorded by Lisa S. Blackwell

2009-06-02T15:31:00.001-06:00

Blackwell’s report covers a presentation given at the 2008 NASIG Conference by Sarah Gardner, Melissa Beck, and Valerie Bross on a cooperative cataloging project undertaken by University of California system libraries. The logistics for setting up the UC CONSER Funnel are discussed.

This report is available in The Serials Librarian, vol. 56 (2009), pages 240-245 and to NASIG members on the NASIG Web site.

“Taking the Sting Out of Multiple Format Serials Displays” recorded by Jean Sibley

2009-06-02T13:43:00.001-06:00

This is a report of a presentation given by University of Kentucky librarians Marsha Seamans and Nancy Lewis at the 2008 NASIG Conference. They discussed their efforts to improve access to multiple format serials (particularly online journals) in their online library catalog. This report will be of greatest interest to libraries using the Voyager ILS, as its focus is on Voyager’s bibliographic record linking feature.

Find this report in The Serials Librarian, vol. 56 (2009), pages 220-225 or NASIG members can access it via the NASIG Web site.

“MARC Holdings Conversion: Now That We’re Here, What Do We Do?” recorded by Patricia Howe

2009-06-02T13:20:00.003-06:00

This is a report of the session presented at the 2008 NASIG Conference by Steven C. Shadle (moderator) and Siôn Romaine, Frieda Rosenberg, Ted Schwitzner, and Naomi Young (presenters).

Presenters for this strategy session covered some of the benefits of using the MARC Format for Holdings Data. They also provided tips for planning a conversion project and discussed the outcomes, both the expected and the unexpected. The report wraps up with a lengthy list of “lessons learned.”

This conference report appears in The Serials Librarian, vol. 56 (2009), pages 168-180. It will also be available to NASIG members on the NASIG Web site.

ALA Annual Presentation Proposals: ALCTS Continuing Resources Section, C&RL Interest Group

2009-05-05T13:43:00.003-06:00

The ALCTS Continuing Resources Section College and Research Libraries Interest Group (CRS C&RL IG) requests presentation proposals for our Annual Meeting in Chicago on Saturday, July 11th from 10:30am-12:00pm.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

RDA and FRBR, as they pertain to serials
Licensing and SERU
MARC Format for Holdings Data
Best practices in managing budget cuts and serials cancellations
KBART and knowledge base management
Next generation OPACs and serial displays
Open Access journals and serials in Institutional Repositories
The future of serials cataloging and/or the future of managing serials bibliographic and holdings records

Each presentation should be approximately 20 minutes. There will be time for discussion.

Please e-mail proposals by May 29th to Britta Santamauro, bsantamauro@chasemail.org

Please include in your proposal:

Title of presentation
Brief summary of proposed presentation
Name(s) and position(s) of presenter(s)
E-mail address(es) of presenter(s)

Many thanks. We hope to see you at ALA Annual!

Britta Santamauro, Chair, CRS C&RL IG
Co-Director of Library Services
Chase Collegiate School
Waterbury, CT 06708
Bsantamauro [at] chasemail [dot] org

Rebecca Kemp, Co-Chair / Chair-elect, CRS C&RL IG
Serials Coordinator Librarian
UNC Wilmington
Wilmington, NC 28403
kempr [at] uncw [dot] edu

via SERIALST

"Metadata in a Digital Age: New Models of Creation, Discovery, and Use" recorded by Paoshan W. Yue

2009-04-17T16:13:00.003-06:00

This article is the report on a preconference held during the 2008 NASIG Annual Conference. It was co-sponsored by NISO (National Information Standards Organization). Yue's report covers presentations given by various speakers on metadata, providing both library and publisher/vendor perspectives.

Two sections in this article of particular interest to serials catalogers are: "ISSN: Linking Data and Metadata" presented by Regina Romano Reynolds of National Serials Data Program at the Library of Congress, and: "Changes in Cooperative Cataloging Standards: Implementation of the CONSER Standard Record" presented by Les Hawkins, who is the CONSER Coordinator at the Library of Congress. Reynolds provided general information about the ISSN program, as well as an update on the status of the new ISSN-L. Hawkins talked about the establishment of the CONSER Standard Record.

This article is available in The Serials Librarian, vol. 56, issue 1-4 (Jan. 2009), pages 7-24. It will also be available to NASIG members on the NASIG Web site.

NASIG 2009 Annual Conference in Asheville, NC

2009-04-15T14:49:00.003-06:00

NASIG Conference Registration is waiting for you!

http://www.nasig.org/conference_registration.cfm

We know travel dollars are tight or non-existent, but we also know that the NASIG conference is the best deal around. If you are into electronic resource acquisition, management, or general e-resource wrangling, serials or e-resource cataloging, collection development, serials or other related areas, NASIG offers targeted programs to assist in your professional development and some of the best networking around.

For those who are still “on the fence,” here are a couple of things to consider. Times being what they are, this is THE conference not to miss. Why?

The Program

As usual, we have an excellent line up of cutting-edge speakers and poster sessions waiting to inspire and informyou. Also informal discussion groups where you can share

ideas with your peers and talk with publishing representatives. See:

http://www.nasig.org/2009_conference_program.cfm

We’ve also got several great pre-conferences with seats still open. If you are a cataloger in the Southeast or Mid-Atlantic region, here’s a chance to register for an official SCCTP workshop on Electronic resources/serials cataloging. Get it while it’s close by! Our other pre-conferences are also valuable opportunities to bone up on e-journal strategies and licensing. See:

http://www.nasig.org/2009_conference_preconferences.cfm

Opportunities to Network & Forget Our Budget Woes for a Few Days Asheville is quite a fun town, with many cultural and culinary offerings within easy walking distance of the two conference hotels (which are right across the street from each other). We’re providing wonderful live music at the Crest Center on Saturday night – see:

http://www.wishingchair.com/home.html

Our optional NASIG evening at the Biltmore Estate is going to be fabulous and will give participants a wonderful dinner, a private evening tour, plus the opportunity to return for more exploration later in the week. It’s a real deal. For more information see:

http://www.nasig.org/2009_conference_tours.cfm

The Asheville Tourists baseball team will be playing.

Asheville has many brewpubs, arts and crafts, nature trails and hiking, the list goes on. See:

http://www.nasig.org/2009_conference_asheville.cfm

Travel and Roommate Assistance

We will be offering a custom airport shuttle for those flying into the Asheville airport (more on this soon), and there are several other cities nearby that offer competitive airfares. This is the best time EVER to book airline flights! Check out the deals. And if you need any assistance, check out our Travel Guru Service for free assistance and advice. See: TRAVEL ASSISTANCE: Let NASIG’s “Travel Gurus” help!

Worried about finding a roommate? Use the NASIG “forums” or the NASIG Facebook page to find one!

Special Program for First-Timers

Information about our Mentoring Program, which is very popular with folks new to the field and first-timers to the conference. See: Mentoring Program Announcement.

WE REALLY HOPE TO SEE YOU IN ASHEVILLE! Questions? Contact cpc@nasig.org

Marilyn M. Carney

Publicist, NASIG, Inc.

mmcarney@waketech.edu

via SERIALST

"A Snapshot of Early Acceptance of the CONSER Standard Record in Local Catalogs" by Lori J. Terrill

2009-04-03T08:34:00.003-06:00

A new issue of the Serials Review is now online. This article contains the first published research that I'm aware of on the CONSER Standard Record. Here's the abstract:

In an effort to enhance the usefulness of serial bibliographic records, while also increasing the cost-effectiveness of record creation and maintenance, CONSER adopted new cataloging guidelines in 2007. Commonly referred to as the “CONSER Standard Record,” the new cataloging standard was developed to support the user tasks of finding, identifying, selecting, and obtaining resources. This study looks at initial acceptance of the new standard by catalogers by measuring the types of edits made to these records in the copy cataloging process. Results indicate that libraries accept most of the changes made to the mandatory elements in the CONSER Standard Record, as compared to former full-level cataloging standards, and do not suggest the need for significant revision of the standard.

The article can be found in the Serials Review, vol. 35, issue 1 (March 2009), pages 16-27.

NASIG 2008 Conference Proceedings Available

2009-03-20T11:32:00.004-06:00

The Proceedings for the 23rd Annual Conference of the North American Serials Interest Group are now available as a special issue of The Serials Librarian, volume 56, issue 1-4 (2009). The Proceedings were edited by NASIG members Buddy Pennington and Allyson A. Zellner.

Call for Instructors for ALA-ALCTS Web Courses

2009-03-19T11:34:00.003-06:00

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) needs knowledgeable librarians from all kinds of libraries to teach additional sections of its popular online courses.

ALCTS offers three continuing education courses over the Web and is in the process of developing several more. We would like to offer multiple sections of some courses targeted to participants from the same type of library.

We are recruiting knowledgeable librarians to teach additional sections of:

Fundamentals of Acquisitions Web Course
Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Acquisitions Web Course
Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management Web Course
New courses in areas of collections and technical services

Please visit the ALCTS Web site for additional information about the courses at: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/confevents/index.cfm

Courses are provided over a five or six week period. They are composed of self-paced modules and include interaction with the instructors and classmates. This typically involves four weeks of instruction with one week of wrap up; there is no final class grade. The courses are already developed and ready to use; no additional editing is needed. Instructors would participate in evaluations and have the opportunity to recommend updates to the course content as needed. To ensure consistency of instruction and a high value experience for participants, course instructor training has ordinarily had several components:

1. Take the course as a participant.
2. Repeat the course shadowing the instructor, with access to the instructor interface.
3. Team-teach the course with an experienced instructor.
4. Teach the course solo.

A modest honorarium will also be paid for solo teaching each session.

If enough qualified applicants are identified, we would be able to create special "train the trainer" sections of the course that would allow us to accelerate the instructor training process.

How to Apply:

If you are interested in becoming an instructor for an ALCTS Web Course, please complete the online instructor application at http://alctsprogram.wufoo.com/forms/alcts-web-course-instructor-application/. You will be asked to:

Include a statement of interest (300 words maximum)
Specify the areas in which you are interested in teaching (acquisitions, collection development, serials, preservation, etc.)
Attach a copy of your resume

Upon submission, the application will be send to Julia Gammon, chair of the ALCTS Education Committee. Review will be completed by the appropriate section level committees.

The deadline for applications is May 4, 2009.

Julia Gammon
Head, Acquisitions Dept. University Libraries
& Interim Marketing Manager, University of Akron Press
University of Akron
Akron, OH 44325-1708
330-972-6254 (phone)
330-972-5132 (fax)
jgammon@uakron.edu

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Conference Program Available for 2009 NASIG Conference

2009-03-09T10:14:00.002-06:00

The 2009 conference program for the North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) Annual Conference is now available.

Information on registration, travel, hotels, Asheville, sponsors, and more can be linked to from the conference homepage.

NASIG's Call for Poster Sessions

2009-03-05T14:19:00.002-07:00

The NASIG Program Planning Committee (PPC) invites poster session proposals for the 24th NASIG conference in Asheville, North Carolina, June 4-7, 2009. The theme of the conference is "Riding the Rapids through Mountains of Change."

Posters will be on display 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday, June 5th. Presenters should be available to discuss their topics during the afternoon break on this day. Submission form is online.

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's tradition of non-commercialism, poster sessions focusing solely on a commercial product will not be accepted.

Deadline for submission: Applications must be received by 5 p.m. EST on Friday, March 27, 2009. Members of the PPC's Sub-committee on Poster Sessions will evaluate abstracts. Presenters will be notified in April 2009.

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

CONSER Standard Record Documentation Update

2009-02-24T11:22:00.003-07:00

I previously reported on the November 2008 update to the CONSER Standard Record Documentation. CONSER has now posted an overview of those changes here.

CONSER 2009 ALA Midwinter At-Large Meeting Summary

2009-02-24T11:13:00.004-07:00

The CONSER ALA Midwinter At-Large Meeting Summary from Jan. 25, 2009 is now available. It includes information on the RLG Shared Print Program, ISSN-L developments, the CSR MARC Task Group, the update of the SCCTP Holdings Workshop, and more.

Serials Holdings Workshop - Call for Trainers

2009-02-19T09:33:00.002-07:00

CALL FOR TRAINERS

A train-the-trainer session for the Serials Cataloging Cooperative Training Program (SCCTP) Serial Holdings workshop will be held in conjunction with the ALA Annual conference in Chicago on Friday, July 10, 2009. The session will be held from 8:30-5:00 and will include modeling of selected course materials as well as training tips.

Requirements:
Trainers should have experience using the MARC Format for Holdings Data (MFHD), familiarity with serials, and some training experience. Trainers will be expected to be available to give a minimum of two workshops per year. The holdings course is designed to be given by a single trainer or a pair of trainers using PowerPoint, a trainee manual, and hands-on exercises.

Costs:
There is no cost for the train-the-trainer session. Your institution will be responsible for travel, lodging and per diem costs while you are attending the training. Training materials will be provided online for printing free of charge.

For more information on the SCCTP program, see http://www.loc.gov/acq/conser/scctp/scctp-home.html

Application Process: If you are interested in becoming a trainer for this workshop, please send an email to CONSER Program email address conser@loc.gov by March 20, 2009 with the following information:

1) Your name, title, mailing and email addresses and telephone and fax numbers.

2) A brief description of your experience in MARC Format for Holdings Data (MFHD), your experience with cataloging serials, and your experience with providing cataloging or other training

3) Names of three references who can attest to your experience and training ability

Selection of participants:
When choosing participants for the train-the-trainer session, selectors may wish to consult with the applicant's supervisor or another reference who can provide helpful details on qualifications. A maximum of 15 people
in the session may limit acceptance.

The Serials Cataloging Cooperative Training Program (SCCTP) requires a statement of support from the prospective trainer's home institution if the participant will be using official time to prepare, travel, and instruct at another institution. When the applicant becomes a trainer, the group sponsoring the SCCTP event will cover the travel and lodging expenses of the instructor, and optionally, may offer an honorarium.

Confirmation Required for Course Attendance:
Submitting an application does not guarantee that you will be placed in the training session. Accordingly, you should not make any travel arrangements before receiving official confirmation. The registrar will acknowledge all applications as they arrive. The registrar will notify each potential candidate of the response to their application by March 27, 2009, sending confirmation notices and additional details to participants.

Please direct any questions to:
Les Hawkins
CONSER Coordinator
Library of Congress
lhaw@loc.gov
202-707-5185

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MARC Coding for Serials

2009-01-23T12:03:00.004-07:00

The North American Serials Interest Group has published a new NASIGuide, "MARC Coding for Serials." The guide was written by Elizabeth McDonald and Beverly Geckle and "focuses on how serial MARC records differ from records for other formats."

A complete listing of NASIGuides is available online and includes others of interest to serials catalogers, such as:

"ISSN" by Donna Packer
"Serials Holdings" by Frieda Rosenberg
"Title Changes" by Michele Seikel

CONSER Standard Record Documentation Update

2009-01-08T14:18:00.003-07:00

The CONSER Standard Record Documentation has been updated as of November 4, 2008. The url remains the same as it was previously. Links to the documentation and related LCRIs can be found here.

“Single-Record versus Separate-Record Approaches for Cataloging E-Serials in the OCLC WorldCat Local Environment” by Lihong Zhu

2009-01-08T10:53:00.006-07:00

Zhu’s article reconsiders the single versus separate record decision for cataloging online serials from the perspective of a library using network-level cataloging via OCLC’s WorldCat Local platform. The author outlines the decision-making process that led Washington State University to abandon the single-record approach for the separate-record approach.

"Single-Record versus Separate-Record Approaches for Cataloging E-Serials in the OCLC WorldCat Local Environment" is published in Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, vol. 47, no. 2 (2009), pages 161-170.

Note to LibX users: This article is only available online on the InformaWorld site and not the old Haworth Press site. If the InformaWorld link has not been added to your OpenURL resolver, try this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01639370802575583

More ALA Midwinter Programming

2009-01-05T13:48:00.002-07:00

You are cordially invited to attend the following ALA Midwinter program sponsored by the ALA ALCTS Continuing Resources Section's Committee on Holdings Information.

Holdings Information Forum: E-Serials Holdings: Whether, Why, and How?

Time: Saturday Jan 24, 4:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

Location: Colorado Convention Center Room 301 (Denver)

Program Description: Unlike the Print world, libraries are no longer the sole suppliers of holdings data for electronic serials. The forum will examine this new reality and address such questions as: Who has the data? Who provides e-content coverage? Who needs and uses the data? How is the data exchanged? In what format? What are the format standards for electronic holdings data? And will a crosswalk between MARC21 and ONIX SOH (currently in version 1.1) benefit the display of serials holdings information in local systems?

Speakers:

Heather Staines (Springer US): The Many Facets of Metadata Exchange Between Publishers and the Research Community, and the Role that A&I Services and DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) Play in Providing Access to Electronic Content.

Rebecca Gunther (LC) for Linda Miller (LC): ONIX for Serials: How it Can Map to the MARC21 Holdings Format

Peter McCracken (Co-founder and Director of Research, Serials Solutions):

The Function and Role of Chronology and Enumeration Information in ERAMS Tools, Such as A-to-Z Lists and Link Resolver Knowledgebases

Myrtle Myers (OCLC): OCLC eSerials Holdings and Beyond

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IFLA Call for Papers

2008-12-23T09:07:00.004-07:00

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Serials and Other Continuing Resources Section, Division of Collections and Services 75th World Library and Information Congress, Milan, Italy, 23-27 August 2009

Session theme: Serials in the 21st century: new concepts, new challenges

The IFLA Serials and Other Continuing Resources Section (SOCRS) invites librarians and other interested parties to submit proposals for papers for the 2-hour open session in Milan.

Electronic formats have altered traditional ways of acquiring, cataloging and managing library materials. The lines are blurring between e-books, e-journals, and article databases. The division of functions in Acquisitions, Cataloging and Collection Development, as well as Public Services, which have until now been based on the types of material (continuing resources vs. monographs), are becoming less clear. Almost all e-resources have a seriality aspect. Are e-books the new continuing resource? If the work of managing and servicing e-resources is being done in serials units (whether Acquisitions or Cataloging), then who handles “new” serials such as e-books and where do they fit in? Should they be included in ERMs? What kind of training and communication is needed for efficient work with e-resources? How do libraries adapt to this paradigm shift?

We especially invite papers that address the following topics:

Organizational models for work with e-resources. What works and what doesn’t?
E-books from selection to access: some new approaches
New challenges as new opportunities

Please send a detailed abstract in English (1 page or at least 300 words) of the proposed paper (which must not have been published elsewhere) and relevant biographical information of author(s)/presenter(s) by February 15th, 2009, via e-mail to: Eva-Lisa Holm Granath, Secretary of SOCRS (e-mail:evaho@bibl.liu.se).

The abstracts will be reviewed by members of the Serials and Other Continuing Resources Section´s Standing Committee. Successful proposals will be identified by March 8th, 2009. Full papers will be due by May 1st, 2009, to allow time for review of papers and preparation of translations.

Papers should be no longer than 10-20 pages. 10-15 minutes will be allowed for a summary delivery of the paper during the Section's open session in Milan. We aim for a broader range coverage with slightly shorter presentations.

Please note that the expenses of attending the Milan conference will be the responsibility of the author(s)/presenter(s) of accepted papers, and at least one of the authors/presenters must be present for the program.

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MARC Field 588 Proposal

2008-12-23T08:56:00.003-07:00

MARC Discussion Paper no. 2009-DP02, regarding the proposed definition of field 588 for a metadata control note, is now available. In serial records, the field would be used for source of title, description based on, and latest issue consulted notes, as well as other data useful for tracking changes. Since this information is primarily of interest to catalogers, having a separate MARC field for the data would allow it to be suppressed from OPAC displays.

via Catalogablog

Scholarship for NASIG Annual Conference

2008-12-15T14:53:00.004-07:00

The North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applicants for the first annual Rose Robischon Scholarship, underwritten by Swets Information Service. Through this scholarship, a serials professional lacking funds for professional travel will be able to afford attendance at the 2009 NASIG Annual Conference to be held in Asheville, North Carolina, June 4-7, 2009.

The scholarship is named in honor of Rose Robischon. During her two decades of active service in NASIG, Rose served as member and chair of several NASIG committees and held the elected position of treasurer from 2005 to 2007. NASIG is pleased to offer this scholarship in memory of Rose's many contributions to the library profession and to honor her energy, warmth, and humor.

The scholarship offers the recipient with funding to attend the NASIG conference for the year in which the scholarship is given. Expenses for travel within North America, registration, and three nights lodging will be paid for the recipient. Conference registration includes most meals, and a stipend of $75 is intended to offset the cost of meals not included and transportation between the airport and the conference hotel.

For details regarding eligibility and application requirements, please visit the award announcement at http://www.nasig.org/about_awards_robischon2.cfm

The application deadline for the Rose Robischon Scholarship and other NASIG awards is February 16, 2009. For details about the awards offered by NASIG, please visit http://www.nasig.org/about_awards.cfm

ALA Mid-Winter Programming

2008-12-15T11:39:00.004-07:00

ALCTS Continuing Resources Section's Continuing Resources Cataloging Committee (CRCC) is pleased to announce the program for our semi-annual Monday Forum, scheduled 1:30-3:30 PM on Monday January 26, 2009, in the Colorado Conference Center Korbel Ballroom 3C (but do re-confirm location in the Conference Event Planner when available) at the ALA Midwinter Conference in Denver:

Updates on current news and events from:

CONSER Coordinator Les Hawkins
ISSN Coordinator Regina Romano Reynolds
The Continuing Resources Section's Liaison to CC:DA, Jenniifer Lang

and then a special program: "Working with Vendor-Supplied Records," a joint presentation by:

Peter McCracken, Co-Founder and Director of Research at Serials Solutions
Steven Shadle, Serials Access Librarian at the University of Washington

The topic promises to engage wide interest even beyond the serials cataloging community, so plan now to put this Forum on your Event Planner!

Christopher Walker, Chair, for the Committee: Anna Ashikhmina, Jennifer W. Lang, Beth Jedlicka Thornton, Bonnie S. Parks, Tina Shrader, Eva Sorrell, Jennifer B. Young, Kelley Leigh Lasher

via OCLC-CAT

Survey on Organization of Technical Services Units

2008-12-10T10:39:00.004-07:00

Here's a recent survey invitation that's been posted to a number of discussion lists.

This request has been cross-posted to AUTOCAT, OCLC-CAT, OLAC, and SERIALST. Please excuse the duplication.

Dear Colleagues,

You are invited to participate in a research study related to how the evolving role of the professional cataloging librarian is reflected in the organizational structure of library technical services units. This survey is intended for librarians currently employed as professional catalogers. For this survey, a professional is defined as a position requiring an MLS or equivalent. A paraprofessional is defined as a position not requiring an MLS or equivalent even if held by an individual with the degree.

Recently, library literature has discussed the differences between professional and paraprofessional catalogers, primarily in terms of which type of staff perform traditional cataloging tasks such as original cataloging, classification, subject analysis, and authority control. We are interested in how the shifting/evolving roles of catalogers have been reflected in the organizational structure of technical services units. Technical services units may be organized in a traditional hierarchical model, in a self-directed team-based model, or in a hybrid model incorporating aspects of both traditional and team-based models.

Responding to this survey constitutes informed consent to participate in the research. The survey is voluntary, and you may withdraw from it at any time. All responses will be kept confidential. Demographic information is being collected for data management purposes.

The survey will remain open until December 31, 2008 at midnight. It should take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. Any questions may be directed to Greg Matthews, Cataloging Librarian, email: gmat@wsu.edu; Debra Spidal, Cataloging Librarian, email: dspidal@wsu.edu; or Lihong Zhu, Head of Technical Services, email: zhu2@wsu.edu. Please take a few moments to assist us in our research.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Hd89LP4U0okLM9ZsS_2bDAsg_3d_3d

Sincerely,
Greg Matthews, Cataloging Librarian
Debra Spidal, Cataloging Librarian,
Lihong Zhu, Head, Technical Services,
Washington State University Librarie
P.O. Box 645610,
Pullman, WA 99164-5610

via OCLC-CAT

CONSER Annual Report for 2008 Now Available

2008-12-08T13:21:00.004-07:00

The 2008 CONSER Annual Report has been posted on the CONSER homepage. Topics covered include:

Membership Updates
CONSER Standard Record Update
Serials Cooperative Cataloging Training Program (SCCTP) Update
Links to Member Reports and Statistics

NASIG Regional Unconference

2008-11-26T12:36:00.003-07:00

2009 NASIG Regional Unconference: An Overview of Serials and Electronic Resources in Libraries

Date: Friday, March 20, 2009, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Cost: $25.00 for NASIG members, paraprofessionals and support staff; $50.00 for Non-members

Location: Kansas State University, Hale Library, Manhattan, KS 66506

The 2009 NASIG Regional Unconference wants YOUR input! The event will feature conversation and topics relevant to serials and electronic resources in libraries. How can organizations within the scholarly information industry improve to meet the needs of our community? We ask for your feedback to help form dialogues, panels and discussions.

The Unconference includes:

Relevant discussions pertaining to serials and electronic resources
Brainstorm groups set to identify applicable topics for break-out sessions
Open scheduling for participants to attend break-out groups of their choice

Stay tuned for further announcements with program details, agenda, and other relevant information.

Norene Allen

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NASIG Announces the 2009 Awards Application Process

2008-11-19T13:45:00.003-07:00

The North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) is pleased to announce the beginning of the application cycle for its 2009 grants, awards, and scholarships to be awarded at the 2009 Annual Conference being held in Asheville, North Carolina, June 4-7, 2009. Established in 1985, NASIG is an international organization committed to promoting communication and sharing of ideas among all people working with or concerned about serial publications. More information about NASIG is available at nasig.org.

Marcia Tuttle International Award

A $3,000 grant for an individual working in the serials information chain to fund appropriate activities in fostering international communication and education. For more details, please visit the following page: http://www.nasig.org/about_awards_tuttle.cfm

Horizon Award

Awards for promising new serials professionals, covering cost of conference registration, three nights lodging, and travel within North America. Recipients will also be invited to serve on a NASIG committee.
For more details, please visit the following page:
http://www.nasig.org/about_awards_horizon.cfm

Fritz Schwartz Education Scholarship

A $3,000 scholarship and conference travel grant for a graduate student demonstrating excellence in scholarship and the potential for accomplishments in a serials career. For more details, please visit the following page: http://www.nasig.org/about_awards_schwartz.cfm

NASIG Conference Student Grant

Grants for qualifying students to attend the NASIG annual conference, covering cost of registration, three nights lodging, and travel within North America. For more details, please visit the following page:
http://www.nasig.org/about_awards_studentgrant.cfm

Serials Specialist Award

Awards for promising paraprofessionals, covering cost of conference registration, three nights lodging, and travel within North America.
For more details, please visit the following page:
http://www.nasig.org/about_awards_specialist.cfm

Rose Robischon Scholarship, underwritten by Swets Information Services

This needs-based scholarship for a serials professional will be awarded for the first time in 2009. Materials for the scholarship are currently being finalized and should be available on the NASIG website in December. Announcements will be sent out once applications are being accepted.

The application deadline for all of the above-listed awards is February 16, 2009. For details about the awards offered by NASIG, please visit http://www.nasig.org/about_awards.cfm

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“Chipping Away at Serials Processing Backlogs in Technical Services” by B. Jean Sibley

2008-11-19T11:33:00.002-07:00

Sibley looks into issues surrounding serials cataloging and processing backlogs for both print and electronic formats in this article. She used an online survey to gather input on the topic, receiving responses from 180 libraries. Her discussion of the results covers topics including the types of items backlogged, what factors contribute to the creation of backlogs, public access, and strategies to reduce backlogs.

Sibley’s article is published in The Serials Librarian, vol. 55, no. 3 (2008), pages 444-456.

"MARC Record Services: A Comparative Study of Library Practices and Perceptions" by Rebecca Kemp

2008-11-19T10:38:00.006-07:00

In this article, Kemp looks at MARC record services for electronic serial bibliographic records. Following a literature review and the presentation of case studies of two libraries’ implementations of MARC record services (one using Serials Solutions’ 360 MARC Updates and the other using Ex Libris MARCit!), the results of Kemp’s 2007 survey are discussed. The survey garnered 130 responses, although only 26 respondents completed the entire survey. Results presented cover issues related to separate vs. single records, challenges associated with brief records, and overall satisfaction/dissatisfaction with MARC record services.

Ms. Kemp’s article can be found in The Serials Librarian, vol. 55, no. 3 (2008), pages 379-410.

Serials Review: Call for Column Co-Editor

2008-11-11T08:52:00.003-07:00

Serials Review is looking for a co-editor of the "Balance Point" column. The "Balance Point" has traditionally served as a forum for multiple authors who work in areas related to serials and who present different viewpoints about current issues and controversial topics related to serials.

The Balance Point co-editor is charged with editing the column for two issues of Serials Review per year. Responsibilities include determining column topics, recruiting contributors, communicating with the journal and columns editors, editing and incorporating the writing of contributors to the issue, preparing introductions, and seeing that publication deadlines are met.

The person should be linked to the serials profession, either in librarianship, publishing or some area of serials content provision.

This person should be curious about exploring issues related to serials and want to make a contribution to the literature of serials.

Though this is an unpaid volunteer position, the rewards include publication, involvement in a major scholarly/professional journal publication, and the intellectual satisfaction of contributing to the professional and scholarly discussion of serials.

Interested parties should send a description of their interests and qualifications to:

Beverley Geer, b_geer@yahoo.com or Connie Foster, connie.foster@wku.edu

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