[Metadatalibrarians] Thrilling discussions at ALCTS Creative Ideas in Technical Services IG at ALA Midwinter 2017

[Amber Billey]

**Please excuse cross-posting**


Join ALCTS Creative Ideas in Technical Services Interest Group for several
thrilling discussions at ALA Midwinter 2017!

Location: Georgia World Congress Center, Room B202

Date and time: Sunday, January 22 from 1-2:30 pm

Metadata in the “Post-Truth” Era.

Facilitator: Timothy Mendenhal, Fordham University

Summary: Despite initial promises to democratize access to information and
information resources, recent discourse emerging in the wake of the 2016
United States presidential campaign has highlighted how the online
information ecosystem and social media platforms such as Facebook may have
played a role in spreading “fake” news stories and misinformation, as well
as in “siloing” their users so that they are not exposed to opposing points
of view. Such an information ecosystem clearly demands a response from
libraries, with their mission to encourage information literacy and
transparency. In the technical services community, we often view
information literacy as the domain of reference librarians, but as creators
of metadata which is increasing sent out of the silo of the catalog and
onto the open web, how should technical services librarians respond to the
so-called “post-truth” era?

LCDGT (Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms).

Facilitator: Jessica Janecki, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript
Library

Summary: The LCDGT is a new vocabulary. It is being developed for use with
newly created MARC fields 385 (audience characteristics) and 386
(creator/contributor characteristics). The 385/386 fields are available for
use in bib records and work/expression authority records. The LCDGT
vocabulary is also available for use in other places where one might wish
to use a demographic term, such as authority records for persons. The
385/386 fields can also be used with other vocabularies such as LCSH. This
vocabulary in conjunction with these new fields has the potential to allow
us to record facetable/indexable information about a work that our patrons
want (I need books by women authors!) but without abusing the 650
(650__Women authors on a book that is by a woman rather than about a woman)
or resorting to notes fields. We can discuss the new LCDGT vocabulary, its
proposed uses, and hear from anyone who is currently using it or the
385/386 fields.


Contending with Chaos: Authority Control Strategies in a Digital World.

Facilitator: Joseph Nicholson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Summary: While the need for authority control remains steady for
traditional cataloging workflows, institutional repositories and other
digital projects have placed stringent new demands on an aspect of library
work that is notoriously labor-intensive, time-consuming, and understaffed.
Faced with an avalanche of names and geographical headings that need to be
transformed into authorized access points, many libraries that create NACO
records or practice other local forms of authority control must engage in a
kind of triage operation, focusing authority control efforts on a small
subset of names while abandoning other headings to uncontrolled chaos.
Centering on authority control workflows for both print and digital
resources, this discussion will offer participants the opportunity to
exchange ideas and creative solutions as well as address new developments
in the field such as linked data.

All Things MarcEdit: Let’s Compare Notes!

Facilitators: Tim Kiser and Nicole Smeltekop, Michigan State University
Libraries

Summary:  As cataloging workflows become more automated, catalogers are
using more coding-oriented processes to complete a variety of tasks.
MarcEdit is one of the most commonly used programs for batch editing MARC
records.  Many catalogers and metadata librarians are both impressed and a
little intimidated by the robust capabilities of MarcEdit. This roundtable
will focus on creative applications of MarcEdit in cataloging and metadata
workflows. Come share your success stories and failures, tips and tricks,
MarcEdit project ideas, and learning strategies!


The Evolution of Processing Materials.

Facilitator: Crystal Hutchinson, Central Kansas Library System

Summary: Libraries that process all materials "in-house", now have less
time to physically process materials. Staff shortages, lack of funds and
more computer duties have made it harder to employ a staff member to "cover
books". What are libraries doing in their library to accomplish this
traditional service?

Authority Control in a Pre-Linked Data Environment.

Facilitators: Carol Ou, University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Adam Baron,
University of North Texas

Summary: To prepare for the transition to BIBFRAME and linked data,
libraries may want to review their current authority control practices. The
ongoing maintenance of authorized access points in bibliographic records
seems increasingly important sfo the access points can eventually be
matched to URIs. As an intermediary step, some have also advocated for the
insertion of URIs directly into MARC records. There is also the question of
how to reconcile locally established names. This discussion will focus on
how libraries might accomplish some of this work, while also exploring
possible best practices and ways to improve efficiencies when it comes to
authority control in the current MARC environment. Emphasis will be given
to tasks that can be completed by library staff or an automated authority
control vendor.

The role of cataloging in transforming library metadata into linked data

Facilitators: Lihong Zhu, Washington State University
Summary: Linked data has the potential to revolutionize the academic world
of information creation and exchange. Basic tenets of what libraries
collect, how they collect, how they organize, and how they provide
information will be questioned and rethought. Limited pools of
bibliographic records for information resources will be enhanced by data
captured at creation. By harvesting the entire output of the academy, an
immensely rich web of data will be created that will liberate research and
teaching from the limited, disconnected silos of information that they are
dependent on today.” (Philip Evan Schreur,  “The Academy Unbound: Linked
Data as Revolution” https://journals.ala.org/lrts/article/view/5073/6144)
This roundtable discussion will focus on what role cataloging should play
in transforming library metadata into linked data.

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Chair, Amber Billey (amber.billey at columbia.edu)
Vice-Chair, Whitney Buccicone (bucciw at uw.edu)