Friday, November 21, 2008

New Books






CMRLS has received 2 new Technical Services books in the RCO (aka Professional) Collection. They are now cataloged and ready for use.



Cataloging of Audiovisual Materials and Other Special Materials: A Manual Based on AACR2 and MARC21 by Nancy B. Olson with the assistance of Robert L. Bothmann and Jessica J. Schomberg. I'm so glad this classic title has been updated. It is a vital resource for all non-book catalogers. There are lots of examples and I've always loved Nancy's chatty narratives chronicling her decision making process.


Metadata by Marcia Lei Zeng and Jian Qin has received good reviews. I haven't read it myself, but I figure there's no way a library can have too many books on this hot topic.




All new books (not just Technical Services) are highlighted on the CMRLS website on the "New Books" page. Each title has a direct link to the bibliographic record in C/W MARS for easy requesting.



Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Latest on RDA

I found this notice in my inbox today:

"Due to complications in software development, the Committee of Principals has determined that the full draft of RDA will be issued in PDF files. It will be available on November 17, 2008. We will provide the appropriate URL for accessing the full draft at this time. We will also provide an update on the software as soon as possible.

Nathalie Schulz, Secretary, JSC
for the
Committee of Principals"

I sometimes wonder if RDA will really happen. I'll be teaching a cataloging mini-course this coming spring and I'm glad that, for the moment, I can still use all of my material from AACR2/MARC. Of course I'll introduce RDA, but at least I have more time before I have to teach it.

Monday, November 10, 2008

The NELA Conference

Wow! It’s been a busy month since I last posted.

I attended the New England Library Association Conference in Manchester, New Hampshire on October 19-21. There were lots of good programs including 3 organized by NETSL. I want to thank NASIG (North American Serials Interest Group) for sponsoring one of the programs. They paid for Victoria Reich of Stanford University to fly to Manchester to talk about the CLOCKSS (Controlled Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) program on Monday morning.

Monday afternoon, Danny Joudry , Assistant Professor at Simmons College GSLIS and Diane Baden, of Boston College Libraries discussed some Hot Topics in Tech Services. Diane reviewed RDA and Dan talked about the education (or in some cases lack of education) of catalogers. This panel was followed by the first-ever reception for NETSL members. Good food, stimulating company and a free drink. What more could you ask?

On Tuesday, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Research Scientist at OCLC, presented Why not the Library First? and suggested ways to return our libraries to prime source status.

Another fantastic program that I attended was sponsored by the Information Technology Section called The Internet is NOT Flat with Ethan Zuckermann, cofounder of Global Voices. Ethan is one of the best speakers I have ever seen. His presentation was incredibly well-organized, thought-provoking and fun. His topics flowed smoothly from one to the next. If you ever have a chance to see him in person, I strongly recommend it.

Blogs posts of all NELA programs, along with links to presentations and handouts, are available at the NELA website. What a great way to catch up on programs that you missed.