Acquisitions Section |
Cataloging and Classification Section |
Collections Management and Development Section |
Council of Regional Groups |
Preservation and Reformatting Section |
Serials Section
Following is the slate of candidates for ALCTS division and section offices for the 2006 elections.
STATEMENT: ALCTS and the Acquisitions Section of ALCTS are good venues for information sharing, education and promotion of professional concerns. Over the past few years it has provided some of the most engaging discussions and programs for librarians in the field. My goal has been to add what perspective I can to the organization.
STATEMENT: CCS’ mission is “to contribute to library service and librarianship�” I mentally insert future tense and see CCS’ mission as contributing to the future of librarianship. We’ve seen the proliferation of new metadata standards. Now we’re seeing a wave of new data content providers. Cataloging data is not only automatically harvested but MARC records are automatically generated by vendors, publishers even our own library systems offices. We need to be proactive to ensure that catalogers are involved in this role change. Our skills, especially as advocates for data integrity and authority control, are critical. Predictions of e-only libraries with vendor supplied cataloging haven’t become a reality for most libraries. We still need to catalog the tangible, often unique materials in our collections. If elected, I’ll promote our leadership role in preparing for the future while safeguarding the best of our cataloging traditions.
STATEMENT: As the pace of change surrounding information description and access quickens, it is too easy to dwell on weaknesses and threats to cataloging. We must focus our attention on our strengths and explore where the skills of our profession intersect with existing opportunities. Catalogers have long possessed mastery of the description, organization, and retrieval of information. Additionally, catalogers have extensive experience integrating old and new practices, whether pertaining to bibliographic data, MARC coding, or cataloging values. Such core skills are transferable to new opportunities such as integrating descriptive metadata from various sources, organizing digital information, or providing authority control across an array of sources and platforms. Our mission remains stable; our tools, practices, and some of our values are changing. CCS’ role is to enable its membership to continue the mission of providing leadership in describing, organizing, and accessing information resources.
STATEMENT: I would welcome the opportunity to serve the section and the profession to the best of my ability if elected to this committee.
STATEMENT: I bring to this election twenty-eight years of ALA membership, most of it serving ALCTS in sectional activities and much of it in a leadership role. While it may not be apparent, I have quite a bit of collection development experience. I am currently a selector, and have been one in both academic and special libraries and in both technical and public services positions. I find in the twenty-first century that I spend most of the time trying to manage increasingly electronic collections and much less time developing them. One of my goals on the Executive Committee would be to examine the current CMDS committee and discussion group structure to see if there are additions or changes that would help meet members’ current needs. Another goal would be to look at increased synergies between CMDS, other sections in ALCTS, and other divisions in ALA. A great deal of programming on and discussion of collection development and collection management takes place in the ALCTS Serials Section, RUSA, even LITA. I would like to explore how CMDS can find additional ways to cross the divisional boundaries.
STATEMENT: Three areas of collection management stand out to me: 1) scholarly communication and the continuing serials crisis, 2) re-thinking our organizational systems and technical standards along with the growing reliance on networked electronic resources, 3) changing definitions of the local collection with the increasing speed of delivery/access to collections that are not locally-owned. We must continue to reconsider our involvement in the creation and dissemination of knowledge and be active in the development of new ways of creating collections that serve our communities in a cost-effective and easy-to-access manner. We must support the development of standards for ERMs and in other areas that will increase the interoperability of local and vendor systems. With collections, systems and public services work at various sizes and kinds of institutions, I believe that I have a broad perspective on issues of collection management that can benefit our section.
STATEMENT: As a member of the CRG Affiliate Relations Committee and the NMRT Student and Student Chapter Outreach (SASCO) Committee, I am interested in disseminating relevant information to groups that are not part of ALA but with whom we maintain contact. CRG maintains relations with regional technical services affiliate groups and SASCO relays information on ALA activities, awards and scholarships to students at ALA library schools. CRG and SASCO encourage affiliates and student chapters to reciprocate by sending information about their activities and programs to CRG and NMRT respectively. Information is a two-way street, and CRG and NMRT benefit by learning what these groups are accomplishing in their states and library schools. This two-way communication will further enhance the flow of information between ALA and state affiliates and library schools.
STATEMENT: PARS has a demonstrated capacity for constructive discussion that deepens section members' understanding of our work and provides an energetic voice for preservation within ALCTS and ALA. Given the opportunity to serve as PARS chair, I would hope to continue this tradition of thinking, learning, and outreach. I am especially interested in evaluating how PARS meets members' needs and builds connections with peers in ALCTS and other divisions of ALA.
STATEMENT: Together with many colleagues in the library profession, I share the concern that the rich and varied collections held by libraries will continue to be preserved and made accessible. In the aggregate they are an unparalleled cultural resource. We have at our disposal an abundance of preservation guidance and a range of options for extending the useful life of analog research materials entrusted to our care, and we urgently need to secure a future for digital resources. I would like to see PARS continue to cultivate and promote the use of standards and recommended practices for existing and evolving reformatting strategies and other preservation options; monitor national and international developments; provide members with a forum for open and informal discussion of items of relevance and interest; and invite experts, vendors and colleagues to participate in discussion groups and programs as speakers and panelists.
STATEMENT: In 2004 I walked into the serials work force, in retrospect, almost completely unaware of the innumerable challenges facing this profession. Being new, I have found myself both overwhelmed with the ever-changing resources, systems, services, and workflows that libraries are faced with today but also thrilled to see the amazing insights and innovations of serials professionals. Gratefully, through my position as a trainer and my NASIG, ALA, and Charleston conference experiences, I have met many others who are experiencing this same reaction. I am fascinated with the evolutionary leaps our field is working towards with electronic resources. This includes the development and use of ERMs, open access journals, institutional repositories, and the emerging possibility of an institutional registry system. Most importantly, I am devoted to the open communication needed between libraries, publishers, and vendors. I hope to provide a fresh perspective through my greenness while learning from our experts.
STATEMENT: With digital libraries and electronic resources playing a larger role in academic libraries, technical services is becoming increasingly involved not only in the acquisition, access and management of these services, but also key in the creation and organization of local digital collections. It is paramount that we encourage nontraditional collaboration not only between technical services and public services staff and librarians, but also academic technologists and faculty members who create and use these services and collections. It is paramount that we educate our library staff about technology and encourage them to be creative developers and active investors in the digital library future.
STATEMENT: For the last several years I have enjoyed the benefits offered to members of ALA, ALCTS, and most specifically the Serials Section. I believe that the Serials Section has an essential role to play in recruiting and educating those new to a career in serials. I also feel that the Serials Section needs to continue to work on focusing its efforts in establishing serials standards, providing continuing education opportunities, and developing useful and up to date programs. As secretary, I would embrace the opportunity to contribute to the effective and efficient operation of the Serials Section and support efforts to promote the advancement of the entire information community.