CATALOG DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL REPORT
July 1, 2002 – June 30, 2003

Submitted by Linda Barnhart

Accomplishments

Cataloging: The Department cataloged 63,534 titles, a whopping 18% increase over the previous year! Of this number, 58,701 titles were copy cataloging (up 20%) and 4,827 were original cataloging (down 1%). (6 titles were done as retrospective conversion.) While the Department did streamline some workflows, much of the increase was due to added positions in the Copy Cataloging and Searching Unit. California State Documents cataloging caught up with the new arrivals. 1,374 CDs from the MP3.com (formerly Vivendi) gift were cataloged, and staff in the Acquisitions Department is preparing the remaining titles for cataloging. Development of a new East Asian Film Collection led to the development of new processes for acquiring and cataloging Asian film/video materials.

Database Maintenance: Database Management sent 57,084 volumes to SRLF. This group also completed merging records for CMRR, SSH Annex, and half of BML for the Master Records for Monographs project. The Pinyin conversion cleanup project was completed, resulting in the correction of over 8,700 bibliographic records, the review of 3,300 series authority records, and the scrutiny of hundreds of pages of printed error reports generated by loading 45,250 converted bib records and 35,580 associated authority records.

Shared Cataloging Program: The SCP record distribution process was transferred successfully to UCSD from CDL, and our sister UC campuses now have access to CDL licensed electronic resources four to six weeks sooner than before. Electronic monographs and how they should be handled by the SCP were hotly debated and resolved system-wide. Working with staff from the BADS Division, SCP catalogers were able to process and distribute 14,393 electronic monographic records (representing six packages) via the SCP. 2,326 electronic journal records, 29 database records, and 1,922 records for California documents were also distributed this fiscal year. Over 33,000 PIDs are being maintained through the Shared Cataloging Program. The SCP Steering Committee was discussed by HOTS and emerged with a new charge and a new name: the SCP Advisory Committee.

Staffing: Compared to last year's major reorganization, this year's staffing was relatively stable, with the biggest changes taking place in the Copy Cataloging and Searching Unit (CCSU). Two new copy catalogers were hired in September. In the winter, two long-time staff members retired, and their successors also took positions in CCSU. We welcomed a new Administrative Assistant into the Department in September. We were able to hire an original cataloger on contract to catalog sound recordings (MP3.com) and books in the humanities, and we were able to re-hire a recalled retiree original cataloger, who concentrated on non-English material. The CJK Unit hired a limited term cataloger to catalog Chinese monographs. The Department reviewed the successes and challenges of last year's reorg through a two-part survey.

Workflow streamlining: The Department continued to move forward in its effort to decentralize the cataloging of electronic resources. Moving image material cataloging was consolidated into one unit (renamed the Music and Media Cataloging Unit) from three. A new technique for the automated searching of materials in the In-Process Collection resulted in more copy cataloging being identified for, and cataloged by, student catalogers.

Division Accomplishments:

Business, Automation, and Database Services (BADS):

• The new Ex Libris version of Melvyl was implemented; the BADS Division gave the department an orientation and basic instruction on Melvyl-T
• Worked on team development and individual development, including a “train the trainer” class for the group
• Tina Nguyen joined the department as our new AA in October
• Shirley Higgins and Tina Nguyen designed a new process for gathering and reporting cataloging statistics
• George Janczyn transitioned staff to Windows 2000 and took the lead in implementing LC Class Web. He configured and installed 23 PCs, and helped 16 staff move in the massive December reconfiguration project
• Karen Peters took on additional INNOPAC system management responsibilities. She also began managing the weekly preparation and distribution of SCP records for the nine UC campuses and outputting and loading BML records for table of contents
• Database Management reengineered to manage their increased and higher level workload while maintaining currency on ongoing tasks (this involved new work assignments, reassignments, and lots of training)
• Database Management also supported the major shift of Biomedical Library materials to the Annex in preparation for their building remodel and addition.

Monographs Cataloging Division:

• Made substantial inroads on the MP3.com gift, including developing procedures and macros, physically processing the multi-disc sets, hiring a 50% original cataloger, and performing a significant amount of cataloging
• Continued to make strides in improving the efficiency of our processes, including the distribution of materials from searchers to catalogers, and consolidating moving image material cataloging
• Worked with diverse stakeholders in developing procedures for processing moving image materials, including Chinese underground films

Serials Cataloging and CJK Division:

• 2,800 new titles were added to the six OCLC WorldCat Collection Sets for which UCSD is responsible. Work on the WorldCat Collection sets and enhancements to serial records continued to generate several thousand dollars worth of OCLC credits to the UCSD Libraries
• All serial catalogers attended two SCCTP serials cataloging workshops, basic and advanced, that incorporated changes brought about by the 2002 revisions to AACR2 chapter 12
• Backlogged SIO serial technical reports were cataloged this FY.
• CJK catalogers that catalog electronic resources received training on the cataloging of those resources
• The OCLC TechPro outsourcing project for Chinese language materials reached its terminus with 562 titles being catalog for IR/PS and the East Asia Collection
• A rekindling of the Korean Studies program required negotiating a contract for acquisition and cataloging services from an outside vendor, Total Library Services, to process Korean language materials

Goals

In support of Strategic Plan Goal 1--Objective 2:

1. Catalog all newly received purchased materials in all formats.
2. Catalog backlogged materials as resources permit beyond the new acquisitions (e.g., IP-M books, EU documents, SIO Technical Reports with copy, A&I database journals)
3. Catalog the SIO Technical Reports that require original cataloging.
4. Process Korean materials in a timely manner in accordance with the TLS contract.
5. Review practices for the cataloging of U.S. government depository material.
6. Catalog CDs from the MP3.com gift as resources permit (original cataloging of classical music prioritized by the bibliographer, and copy cataloging as can be absorbed beyond the new acquisitions).

In support of Strategic Plan Goal 1--Objective 4:

1. Continue merging monographic records for all branches (except the big ones) to come closer to full implementation of the master record concept for monographs.
2. Complete the BML/Annex holding project and assess its potential for improved holdings displays for other library collections, as well as for adherence to national standards.
3. Process deselected materials from the East Asia Collection and the 7 th floor of Geisel.

In support of Strategic Plan Goal 1--Objective 6; Strategy 2--Objective 6; and Strategy 3--Objective 4:

1. Improve communication out from the Shared Cataloging Program to other campuses, groups, and the CDL.
2. Further formalize and clarify the process for selecting and prioritizing the cataloging of materials via the Shared Cataloging Program.
3. Test procedures for the Shared Print Collections processing using the ACM titles as a pilot package, and provide information for pilot project assessment.

In support of Strategy 1--Objectives 1 and 2:

1. Train department staff on new and updated software packages, including OCLC Connexion and Millennium Cataloging.
2. Cross-train staff to increase flexibility in assignments and timeliness in cataloging; in particular, train additional catalogers to catalog electronic resources to broaden that skill set throughout the Catalog Department.
3. Provide training on general authority work to Catalog Department (and other interested) staff, and extend NACO training to more catalogers.
4. Develop a core training plan for staff and student employees within the Department.
5. Provide the opportunity for many staff to take advantage of the proximity of the ALA Midwinter meeting.

In support of Strategy 1--Objective 2:

1. Develop a written statement of the Catalog Department's vision, mission, and values. For vetting at LMG, prepare a draft of identified cataloging priorities.
2. Develop productivity and quality standards for cataloging.
3. Review the automated statistics processes and design an improved system for calculating cataloging statistics.
4. Review TPOT to assess functionality, content, and structural needs to update its technical infrastructure, and to continue to improve its service.

Concerns

Morale. Low salaries and budget pressures are having increasingly negative impact on staff morale.

Equity in staff classification levels. We are also finding that, in general, higher levels of skills are required to do our increasingly complex work, with some staff not being appropriately classified.

INNOPAC system performance. The technical mode of our ILS is intensely used, and staff members have changed work schedules to do substantive tasks in off-hours. Catalog Dept. staff are very concerned about the adequacy of our INNOPAC servers, and strongly urge an upgrade.

Cataloging workloads. We are concerned about the ever-increasing growth in electronic resources. Although we have begun to make some inroads, the MP3.com gift, because of its magnitude, remains a concern. The possibility that the 1,800 electronic journals in the China Academic Journals package may need to be cataloged for CDL is also worrisome.

Maintenance workloads. Database maintenance is becoming an increasingly high-level task as we do fewer individual record corrections, with staff instead performing more massive changes to groups of records with sophisticated tools. Our staff has become increasingly creative and adept in techniques for large-scale record manipulation. Along with this increased skill set, however, are rising expectations for changes of extraordinary magnitude, complexity, and speed. In addition, collection development initiatives have greatly affected the Database Management unit; as this workload grows somewhat unpredictably, they are not necessarily staffed to keep pace.

Digital library workloads. When will tasks for the UCSD Digital Library Program impact more than senior department staff? Will there be a need for hands-on assistance with metadata record creation? While there is still clearly a learning curve for all library staff (Catalog Dept. staff included), what practical impacts might be felt here, and when? How will we prioritize?

Shared Cataloging Program and Shared Print Collections. As the cataloging of serial, integrating, and monographic electronic resources becomes increasingly complex, we wonder whether the Shared Cataloging Program as it is currently implemented is a sustainable model. Another facet of the increased complexity is the potential impact of a broadened program of Shared Print collections. What options are possible for the University of California system to improve and sustain collaborative cataloging?

Change management. A variety of anticipated (and unanticipated!) changes will impact staff in unknown ways: the budget situation, changes to campus programs, contract negotiations. In the Catalog Department, we will work on OCLC through the new Connexion client interface, and many catalogers may begin to use the Millennium Cataloging module. These two “system upgrades” could have substantial impact upon how a cataloger does their daily work.