Wendy C Robertson

Preserving Content from Your Institutional Repository

Between institutional repositories and hosting journals, many libraries are becoming responsible for scholarly content in new ways. While Portable Document Formats (PDFs) are the most common formats today, the unique, local, serial content could be in a variety of formats. These items might be digitized text, born digital text, audio, video, images, or multimedia. This article discusses formats that will remain accessible through time (PDF/A, txt, xml) so that contents are not locked into proprietary formats. It will also discuss options for backing up items and associated metadata, including simple backups, off-site storage of files, Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe (LOCKSS), Private LOCKSS Networks, and Portico. The article offers suggestions for how your library might best preserve local content.

Navigating the Political Waters of Open Access Publishing in Libraries

ABSTRACT The presenters shared their research on politics in library publishing, originally published in 2016 in the book Open Access and the Future of Scholarly Communication. Many libraries have forayed into the world of Open Access (OA) publishing, marking a major shift in the mission of libraries to move from providing access to generating and creating content. The issues involved highlight the approaches various libraries have taken—and the challenges faced—in selecting a platform, writing a business plan, planning for preservation, educating researchers about OA publishing, working with a university press, marketing, and navigating staff training issues. Recommendations for defining library roles, areas of focus, and future research in this new territory will be highlighted.

A beginners guide to MarcEdit and beyond the editor: Advanced tools and techniques for working with metadata

ABSTRACT Terry Reese taught two pre-conference workshops on MarcEdit at the NASIG 32nd Annual Conference: a full day session titled “A Beginner’s Guide to MarcEdit” and a half day session titled “Beyond the Editor: Advanced Tools and Techniques for Working with Metadata.” Attendees were given slides and sample files so that they could follow along or work through the exercises later at their own speed. The first day covered everything from installation and settings, to how to work with vendor records, and direct integration with library systems. The second day covered using OpenRefine and the features related to linked data.

Managing e-Publishing: Perfect harmony for serialists

This article describes two serialists who use skills honed in their respective serials departments to show how those skills adapt to the world of e-publishing. The presenters discussed their roles in e-publishing and their respective university presses and library publishing programs. How have their libraries reorganized to provide resources for supporting these new roles? The daily work of an e-publishing librarian was reviewed, including an overview of working with Digital Commons and Open Journal Systems, two e-press platforms. The presenters also discussed funding and sustainability of the programs, and working with open access and subscription titles.

New Life to Old Serials: Digitizing Back Volumes

Wendy Robertson shared her experience with digitization projects in which she had been involved at the University of Iowa Libraries. She emphasized the need for serialists to take a participatory role in any digitization projects that include serials. Serialist participation is necessary due to the complications that may occur when digitizing serial runs. Robertson provided practical information regarding digitization projects in general terms, while also mentioning some of the specific technical aspects. She presented a wide variety of existing serial digitization projects in order to show how they are organized. Robertson concluded that a serial digitization project will benefit greatly, by being better organized and more accessible, when a serialist is included in its production.

Collaborating for Sustainable Scholarship: Models that Serve Librarians, Publishers, and Scholars

MacAdam and Duff discussed the benefits and challenges of implementing JSTORs Current Scholarship Program (CSP). The program, which began in 2011, is designed to provide a sustainable publishing platform for university presses. JSTOR worked closely with partners to meet their unique needs and ensure that libraries retain existing access, while standardizing as much as possible. Combining subscription lists was a major issue for the titles moving to the new platform. JSTOR also needed to develop workflows and expertise to support new content. Future plans include improving design options, expanding to new presses, and integration with new JSTOR projects.

Improving our Local Electronic Serials through Standardization and Migration to New Platforms

Determining the best method of storing and managing locally digitized serials can be a difficult process, and must take into consideration a plethora of factors. Wendy Robertsons presentation provided an overview of the functionalities one must consider when opting to digitize or migrate existing local serials to a new platform, as well as an overview of the different platforms where online serials are most likely held in a librarys collection. She concluded with a call for serials experts to be involved in any local serials digitization project, as their knowledge can help the project manager make informed decisions on which platform is best suited for the resource in question.

We're Heading for the Barn Now! An Update on the Revisions to ISBD(S) and AACR2 Rules for Serials Cataloging

Abstract Jean Hirons explained the status of harmonization AACR, ISSN and ISBD(S) rules. Hirons discussed the proposal entitled, Revising AACR2 to Accommodate Seriality, which has been submitted to the Joint Steering Committee for Revision of AACR (JSC) for discussion in September 2000. This proposal contains specific changes to AACR, primarily in Chapter 12. Karen Darling discussed the harmonization process from the ISBD(S) perspective. Hirons also presented recent ideas that have come from harmonization discussions.