"TechKNOW is the quarterly review of bright ideas published by the Technical Services Division of the Ohio Library Council (OLC). This electronic publication provides: professional news; information on emerging library standards and library vendor products; book product and web resource reviews; information about professional associations; OLC division news; and practical advice for technical services librarians in public libraries and academic libraries."

Site includes archive of issues from 1995 to present

 

"Yet more academic libraries are looking to save money by sharing functions. The Five College Librarians Council (FCLC) has released a draft report that addresses cost savings by consolidating acquisition, cataloging, and book processing functions among the Five Colleges, Inc. consortium's members, four private, liberal arts colleges and the University of Massachusetts (UM), Amherst. "

Nice video introduction to library technical services for the layperson (from U of Colorade Boulder)

"Next-Generation Technical Services (NGTS) is an initiative developed by the University Librarians and SOPAG as a consequence of work conducted in other key UC efforts. As an outgrowth of the UC Libraries Bibliographic Services Task Force (BSTF) Report, the UC Libraries are involved in a strategic partnership with OCLC to develop a "Next-Generation Melvyl" intended to re-architect the systemwide OPAC and transform the user experience of search and retrieval. NGTS will build on and complement that work by redesigning technical services workflows across the full range of library formats in order to take advantage of new systemwide capabilities and tools, minimize redundant activities, improve efficiency, and foster innovation in collection development and management for the benefit of UC library users."

Contents: PART 1: THEORY -- Review of the literature: technical services redesign and reorganization / Laurie Lopatin -- What is technical services?: perspectives from the field and from LIS education / Pat Lawton, Deborah Rose-Lefmann -- Staffing trends in academic library technical services / Vicki Toy Smith, Kathryn Etcheverria -- Change and adaptation in the technical services of a group of mid-sized academic libraries: a 14-year overview / Pamela Cline Howley -- Quality cataloging with less: alternative and innovative methods / Mary L. Mastraccio -- The name and role of the cataloger in the twenty-first century / Nadine P. Ellero -- PART 2: CASE STUDIES -- Redesign of database management at Rutgers University libraries / Ruth A. Bogan -- Successfully merging workflow and personnel in technical services: a management perspective / Ann Branton -- Workflow analysis as a basis for organizational redesign at McMaster University library / Cheryl Martin -- Centering technical services: developing a vision for change at Union College / Annette M. LeClair -- Merging departments in a small academic library / Rhonda R. Glazier, Dr. Jack D. Glazier -- Creating career paths for cataloging support staff / Karen M. Letarte ... [et al.] -- Navigating toward the future, building on our strengths: reorganization and change at Emory University libraries / Susan B. Bailey -- Technological change and technical services: a case study of a mid-sized research library / Karen M. Ramsay -- Personnel turnover as impetus for change / Martha Ann Bace, Patricia Ratkovich -- Shifting duties and responsibilities of technical services staff / Karen Davis ... [et al.] -- Technical services between reality and illusion: reorganization in technical services at the Ohio State University libraries - questions and assessment / Magda El-Sherbini -- Shuffling the deck: two reorganizations at the University of Massachusetts Amherst / Patricia S. Banach -- Redesigning technical services in an academic law library / Andrea Rabbia -- National cataloging and indexing program for United States government publications: innovative responses to challenges created by online publishing / Thomas A. Downing -- A vision for the future: Cornell University's Geospatial Information Repository (CUGIR) / Elaine L. Westbrooks.

Contents: Technical services : gone (and forgotten) / Christine Mackenzie and Michael Aulich -- Beyond the catalog : the evolution of the technical services librarian at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio / Elizabeth Brice and Ross Shanley-Roberts -- From technical services to collections management : the evolution of technical services in a medical library / Dean James, Laurel Sanders, and Michael Garrett -- Technical services reorganization in law libraries : a survey / Karen A. Nuckolls -- Creative ideas in staffing : shared responsibilities, hybrid positions, and taking full advantage of the connections between public and technical services / Laurie Phillips -- Making room for the future : facilitating change through technical services reorganization at Northwestern University Library / Roxanne Sellberg -- Sizes of change : improving technical services efficiency at a regional public library / Daniel Sifton -- Staffing trends in academic library technical services : a qualitative analysis / Vicki Toy Smith -- Library 2.0 and technical services : an urban, bilingual community college experience / Elisabeth Tappeiner and Kate Lyons -- Web 2.0 and technical services : reorganizing workflow around collaborative interfaces / Adam Murray.

"The new organizational structure--the Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Directorate (ABA)--fully merges acquisitions and cataloging functions, streamlines workflows and deploys staff to take advantage of their unique language and subject skills"

POTOMAC TECHNICAL PROCESSING LIBRARIANS
84th ANNUAL MEETING
October 17, 2008
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Center for Learning and Technology
Bowie State University
Bowie, Maryland

Tide or Tsunami? Riding the Wave of Change in Technical Services

Keynote Speaker: Pamela Bluh

 

Goldstein Director of Information Processing University of Pennsylvania

An oldie, but goodie

The newsletter for ALCTS; published 6 times annually

"provider of books and supporting collection management and technical services"

Big Heads @ LC with recent minutes and round-robin reports

Web site highlights the special events surrounding the ALCTS 50th anniversary, including Midwinter and Annual meeting, and the 2 day Anniversary National Conference, immediately preceding ALA Annual in June 2007

University of Minnesota Library process improvement report, etc.

Peggy Johnson wrote to Big Heads:

"Some of you have been interested in our process improvement project, Selection to Access (S2A), which led to changes in our operations beginning with selection, through the processes in TS and on to marking and shelving. Our final (I hope) report has been posted at http://wiki.lib.umn.edu/Staff/SelectionToAccessImplementation.

We are about to begin a second project, which we are calling S2A: The Sequel. It will focus on serials and government documents."

 

ALCTS has established a new blog.   The primary focus appears to be discussion of "controversial statementsts", which will also be the focus of the 2007 Midiwnter Forum "Definitely Digital: an Exploration of the Future of Knowledge on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of ALCTS."