METADATA SERVICES DEPARTMENT LIAISONS PROGRAM

The goal of the Metadata Services Liaisons Program is to provide a formal channel for proactive and regular communication between the Metadata Services Department and libraries/collections regarding current and anticipated needs, questions, projects, policies, practices, and workloads.

A liaison between the Metadata Services Department and each library/collection provides a simple mechanism and a conduit for information flow. However, we do not intend that this be the ONLY mechanism for communication. If the particular person who could answer a question is known, direct contact with that person is perfectly acceptable. For example, someone in a library should feel free to contact the Head of the Serial Cataloging Unit directly for a specific serial cataloging question without going through their liaison. Liaisons particularly want to know about new projects in the planning stages or getting underway.

Each library/collection will have different needs, and we expect that each relationship will be somewhat unique. Some of the overall expectations for a liaison relationship, however, include:

• having regular meetings;
• providing relevant information and updates about either department (in terms of projects, activities, workload, etc.);
• describing workflows, procedures, and policies that might impact either department;
• reviewing specific bibliographic problems and resolving the straightforward ones, referring the more difficult problems (or problems outside of one's area of expertise), and following up to make sure that the solutions are communicated;
• providing information about activities or projects that might impact the other liaison's department (for example, weeding projects, collection moves, new sublocations needed in the library, staffing changes, improved procedures, reindexing projects, etc.)

The liaisons within the Metadata Services Department will summarize in writing the key points from their meetings, which will be shared internally with the other liaisons and the Unit Heads. The liaisons will report at the Unit Heads Group meetings when something warranting broader communication arises. The Unit Heads Group will also occasionally review activities and look for patterns/trends across the various libraries/collections that might require broader action.

During its August 2005 review of this program, the program expanded its formal relationships to include MSCL and MCL. CLICS re-confirmed that they were doing fine without a liaison. The list of liaisons is:

Prepared by the Metadata Services Department Management Group
Document owner: Linda Barnhart
September 17, 2002
Updated March 24, 2009