CATALOG DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL REPORT
July 1, 2003 – June 30, 2004

Submitted by Linda Barnhart

Accomplishments

Cataloging: Catalog Department staff and students cataloged 62,866 titles, off 1% from the previous year (which itself was up 18% over 01-02). In addition to these titles, 4,288 electronic copies of materials already in the print collection were added, for a total of 67,154 titles cataloged this FY. Because of the impact of electronic resources, the number of titles cataloged continues to demonstrate an increasing disparity with the actual total physical pieces received in the Acquisitions Department. For the first time, the Department was asked to come up with a count for ARL of the total number of electronic monographs in the collection (68,826) as a baseline figure to which we will add in coming years. Within these cataloging statistics:

• 3,247 sound recordings from the MP3.com gift were cataloged (including all of the popular CDs identified as a priority), bringing the total for that gift to 4,621, or 23% of what we accepted.
• All IP-M books were cataloged (these were books with copy, backlogged from FY 02-03 when the collection budget was high).
• Over half of the SIO Technical Reports collection, including all of those that were identified up-front as original cataloging, was cataloged.
• The Chinese In-Process Collection was reduced by approx. 33%, and catalogers are now keeping current with the cataloging of all incoming Chinese and Japanese materials. The Chinese serials cataloging backlog was eliminated, and staff completed a project to clean-up and recatalog serials ordered as monographs.
• The first year of our outsourcing Korean materials to TLS has been a great success in terms of smooth workflow and fast turnaround time. 42 orders for new books and DVDs were placed and received, and 96 titles were cataloged (this included Korean gifts).

Database Maintenance:

• UCSD deposited 16,282 volumes at SRLF this fiscal year, and withdrew 17,540 volumes in lieu of deposit.
• We transferred approx. 10,000 volumes from the East Asia Collection to the Annex; BML, S&E and IR/PS also had weeding projects that impacted the Annex. The Map Room was completely weeded with remaining items integrated into other collections. This major project, and its companion projects of 8 th floor weeding and 1 st floor transfers, required an accelerated timetable and required the use of staff overtime to complete.
• The consolidation of monographic bibliographic records into a single record (the “Master Records for Monographs” project) was nearly completed (in this, year three, of a projected five-year project).
• For the very first time, we utilized an authority processing vendor to clean up federal documents bibliographic records and to add the relevant authority records, with great success.
• Vendor-supplied Table of Contents data was added regularly to records for the S&E and SIO Libraries.
• The SCP record manipulation workload became increasingly heavy.
• A wide variety of quality control issues in the cataloging and physical processing of books became evident, particularly for some science branches, and steps were taken to improve performance in that arena.

CJK Acquisitions: CJK acquisitions specialists processed 4,036 order requests and received 4,772 volumes. Staff implemented updated claiming and cancellation procedures for Chinese and Japanese materials. New workflows were developed for acquiring and cataloging Chinese and Japanese video materials.

Shared Cataloging Program: This year SCP staff enabled Melvyl and local catalog access for the UC campuses to 2,478 electronic journal titles (including 7 new packages), 154 databases, 8,936 electronic monographic titles (including 8 new packages), and 640 California documents. The group managed the first large-scale deletion of a CDL package (Computer database). The number of WorldCat Collection sets (done as a by-product of SCP cataloging) increased from eight to eleven. The SCP Advisory Committee, a systemwide group that replaced the SCP Steering Committee, was formed and has become quite active. Internally, the SCP Management Group and SCP Planning/Operations Group were formed to formalize processes and track activities. Regular reports on SCP were provided to HOTS. The SCP Web site was completely re-designed and migrated to the Inside CDL site. Several key issues were discussed (and some resolved and implemented) with various groups, including the process for cataloging open access online resources, the classification of electronic monographs, the relationship with the ERMS, and the impact of Shared Print Collection records. CDL raised the ongoing issue of the possible redundancy of the PID server, its potential relationship with SFX/UCeLinks and ARKs, and the need to plan a successor strategy.

Staffing: The Department successfully employed a staffing strategy that converted four experienced students to limited term staff positions. We were also able to accomplish more book cataloging because of a contract-position cataloger (who also cataloged sound recordings) and a recalled retiree. While we lost one senior staff member to retirement this year, we happily were able to recruit a new staff member into that position. Cross-training of staff continued to be a priority, and this year we covered the areas of direct access electronic resources, various database management tasks, PID validation, SIO materials, BML/MCL materials, CIP, and accompanying materials. Staff continues to demonstrate flexibility and willingness to help: one copy cataloger agreed to be “loaned” to the CJK Unit to assist with a backlog, and another cataloger helped with the maps weeding effort. We had a wild success with increased understanding and awareness through ALA Midwinter participation because almost every single staff member attended. The Cataloging Liaisons program, between the Department and the branches we catalog for and designed to promote proactive communication, has been useful and successful.

Physical reorganization: The federal documents processing report submitted in October and implemented in June/July resulted in two staff being moved from the Acquisitions Department to the Catalog Department. In addition, two UCAI metadata specialists and one part-time Metadata specialist needed to be absorbed into department space. This required a major restructuring of the physical space occupied the Department. Kudos to all department staff for their flexibility in accomplishing this reorganization.

Work improvements/streamlining: An innovative macro provided some highly automated searches that allowed us to process cataloging backlogs more quickly and effectively. An incremental improvement (via an Excel workbook) helped the autostats process to limp along, however the system is effectively broken and requires significant development work to become at all useful. New hardware for INNOPAC helped in response time. We beta-tested the Millennium Silver cataloging client, and replaced 27 PCs, not counting the hand-me-downs.

Goals and Objectives

1. Increase the metadata content and improve the integrity of our catalogs (Strategic Plan Goal 1, Objective 2):

1. Catalog all newly received purchased materials in all formats (keep current with incoming purchases).
2. Catalog backlogged materials as resources permit beyond the new acquisitions (EU documents, SIO Technical Reports, MP3.com recordings, Chinese language original cataloging, cartographic materials).
3. Improve quality control in the cataloging and physical processing of library materials.
4. Review and update cataloging documentation. Review TPOT to assess functionality, content, and structural needs to update its technical infrastructure, and to continue to improve its service. Prepare TPOT for migration to a content management system by updating existing documents and links, adding metadata to documents and creating new documents.
5. Finish the Master Record consolidation for monographs.
6. Complete withdrawal and transfer of volumes from IR/PS and S&E Libraries, as well as the fifth floor of SSHL. Finish the JSTOR print archive work.
7. Complete the inventory of the SSH Ref Map collection. Complete CONSER training so that UCSD can independently create and authenticate serial records.

  2. Optimize work processes (Strategy 1, Objective 2):

1. Evaluate and redesign processes to incorporate OCLC Connexion, MilCat, and LC Cataloger's Desktop on the Web, including staff training.
2. Evaluate and redesign processes to accomplish authority work.
3. Review the automated statistics processes and design and implement an improved system for calculating and reporting cataloging statistics.
4. Integrate federal serial documents processing into SCU, and review monographic procedures in OCU.
5. Refine processes for batch creation, manipulation, and ingestion of large record sets.
6. 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.
7. Provide training on general authority work to Catalog Department (and other interested) staff, and extend NACO training to more catalogers.
8. Develop a written statement of the Catalog Department's vision, mission, and values. For vetting at LMG, prepare a draft of cataloging priorities.
9. Develop productivity and quality standards for cataloging.
10. Investigate/implement electronic ordering of Chinese materials; reduce number of vendors.
11. Conduct a thruput study based on 03-04 data sufficient to assess our timeliness in cataloging.

3. Analyze, evaluate and redesign the Shared Cataloging Program to match the environment and goals, and to improve effectiveness (Strategy 1, Objective 2)

4. Develop cataloging/metadata components for the technical services strategic planning effort .

Concerns

Digital library metadata workloads. As UCSD progresses with the implementation of its digital asset management system, as we move toward a more active institutional repository, and as we are increasingly successful in attracting grant funding for digital library projects, it has become clear that the UCSD Libraries needs increased staffing and expertise in multiple metadata standards, in the relationships between various standards, and to advise on local implementation. The addition (at the beginning of FY 04-05) of .25 FTE staff is not nearly enough to provide sufficient support. We expect the strategic planning process for technical services to illuminate and more precisely articulate the direction, the scope, and the nature of these needs.

Staffing concerns. Having a Department Head at 50% is neither desirable nor sustainable, particularly in a large and complex department where new initiatives await implementation (e.g., non-MARC metadata work), where leadership is critical, and where the environment is constantly changing. We are finding that, in general, higher levels of skills are required to do our increasingly complex work, with some staff not being appropriately classified. We are extremely concerned that there appears to be a resistance within the Libraries to the upward reclassification of cataloging staff, which has already caused original cataloging backlogs to form and other higher-level tasks to be deferred. In addition, we are increasingly concerned about succession planning for potential retirements, so as not to lose the detailed knowledge and organizational history essential to this kind of work.

Re-inventing the Shared Cataloging Program. While we have an immediate goal for the coming year to begin a close review of the Program, the longer-term ramifications of the outcomes of that review are of concern. Presuming the Program remains at UCSD (avoiding the potential budget implications), how should SCP fit structurally into the Catalog Department (given that the focus is now more monographs than serials)? What efficiencies can we make in managing it? How can we streamline workflows and design workloads so they are reasonable? How can we improve communication with the campuses, meet their needs, and successfully manage their expectations? Outside of the context of the Program review, we also have concerns about the transition from PIDs to the “next generation” of techniques for managing URLs.

Workloads, morale, and stress. It is becomingly increasingly tricky to balance the need for a comfortable, interesting, and sane work environment (including reasonable workloads) with the ability to satisfy expectations by taking on new types of work and new projects. With a committed and productive staff such as that in the Catalog Department, staff members tend to willingly take on an increasing number and variety of tasks. While the upside is wonderful, of more concern is the downside, which leads to exhaustion, dissatisfaction, stress, and burnout. Morale issues , caused by increasing workloads and decreasing pay (higher insurance premiums, parking fees, inflation, and other factors), combined with no pay raises for the past two years have effectively lowered staff pay. Catalog Department managers are concerned about the effect of these factors—which have been sustained for considerable time—and urge the Libraries to press for organizational solutions that can relieve some of the pressure.

Increasing and outstanding CJK cataloging workloads. There are several large electronic packages that need cataloging (China Academic Journals—1800 titles; Siku monographs—3200 titles; Superstar electronic monographs--50,000 titles; Japan National Diet Library—30,000 titles) as well as some Chinese print backlogs (Siku supplement--2500 titles; small backlog of original cataloging). A large workload of video materials has emerged. We expect continued growth in both Japanese and Korean materials, and bibliographers appear to be quite successful in acquiring one-time funding for special purchases. It would be useful to reconfirm the priorities/expectations for the processing of these materials, and to assess whether increased staffing (or other techniques) to address them is an organizational priority.

Large record set manipulation. Largely because of CDL contracts for licensed material (but there are also UCSD-only instances), the ingestion of large record sets into the catalog is a frequent, labor-intensive, and system-intensive activity. We need to continue to identify and refine techniques for data manipulation in large batches so that work does not have to be re-done or done through multiple or repetitive steps. The impact on the integrity of the catalog and the quality of records must also be considered. One of the most substantive concerns for the future for large sets is how SCP will be able to classify electronic monographs if that element is given as an essential priority.

Content management system. We eagerly anticipate the day that TPOT can migrate to a library-sponsored content management system.

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. System constraints impact the Circuit (which needs to be upgraded as well), Melvyl servers, and staff's ability to work effectively. Despite the system and software upgrades that took place in 2003-04, Catalog Dept. staff continues to be very concerned about the adequacy of our INNOPAC servers, and strongly urge a hardware upgrade.