Abstract

Technical Services at University of Michigan underwent a major reorganization in 2007, combining the Serials and Acquisitions Division with the Monograph Cataloging Division which led to a substantial reduction in time to shelf. Resources were reallocated for the increasing electronic assets and long neglected special projects. This paper details the changes made in staffing configurations and responsibilities, as well as adjustments in workflow, including employment of vendor records for a modified EDI ordering process and utilization of shelf-ready processing for print materials. To speed items to the shelf, new acquisitions were mainstreamed and cataloging on receipt was implemented for materials with bibliographic copy. A procedure to flag records needing further work was developed and implemented with the collaboration of the library systems staff. These flagged records were then searched online monthly via an automated process using defined match points to find and accept a fuller record for overlay. Only those materials for which no better record was found would be reviewed for any further cataloging which might be required. In this reorganization, some staff members were reassigned to areas in Electronic Resources and Database Management, while experienced and rare book catalogers could focus on uncataloged materials in the Special Collections Library, such as Transportation History and Rare books, as well as significant gifts including a 20,000 item collection of Sheet Music and The Walp Collection of Children’s Literature. The paper relates successes, lessons learned, and illustrates the benefits provided to library patrons.

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120 to 12: Reducing Days to Shelf with Vendor Services, Catalog on Receipt, and Automated Bibliographic Overlay Process

Technical Services at University of Michigan underwent a major reorganization in 2007, combining the Serials and Acquisitions Division with the Monograph Cataloging Division which led to a substantial reduction in time to shelf. Resources were reallocated for the increasing electronic assets and long neglected special projects. This paper details the changes made in staffing configurations and responsibilities, as well as adjustments in workflow, including employment of vendor records for a modified EDI ordering process and utilization of shelf-ready processing for print materials. To speed items to the shelf, new acquisitions were mainstreamed and cataloging on receipt was implemented for materials with bibliographic copy. A procedure to flag records needing further work was developed and implemented with the collaboration of the library systems staff. These flagged records were then searched online monthly via an automated process using defined match points to find and accept a fuller record for overlay. Only those materials for which no better record was found would be reviewed for any further cataloging which might be required. In this reorganization, some staff members were reassigned to areas in Electronic Resources and Database Management, while experienced and rare book catalogers could focus on uncataloged materials in the Special Collections Library, such as Transportation History and Rare books, as well as significant gifts including a 20,000 item collection of Sheet Music and The Walp Collection of Children’s Literature. The paper relates successes, lessons learned, and illustrates the benefits provided to library patrons.