The source for Oberlin College Libraries staff news and announcements!
1. Our internal Con Library Tech Services LibGuide is now open to anyone with the link, and I hope you may find some useful tidbits of info. This is perpetually in progress, so please excuse placeholders! https://libguides.oberlin.edu/con-tech-services (Kim Fixx maintains our extensive Preparations manual separately.)
2. A monthly new titles list for the Con Library is available the first week of each month. You can find them in our Box folder, Conservatory Library New Titles Lists. The folder and files are set to be easily shared.
3. Last but certainly not least, I am delighted to report that we finished a major cleanup project (12,200 items!). The Con Library had an old practice of using one big (but vague) record for complete or collected works by one composer or for large monographic series. These sets or series also had (have) individual bibliographic and item records for each component volume. The dysfunctional umbrella records had ‘extra’ item records with a status of “check shelf,” with no real-time availability.
Back in November of 2018, though the amazing power of Sierra’s Create Lists, we identified 6,104 item records with this “check shelf” status. For each, we confirmed the existence of the ‘real’ item in OBIS and corrected its call number, then deleted the corresponding “check shelf” item. Once each set/series was all finished, we removed OCLC holdings from the set and deleted or suppressed that record. As a bonus, funny-looking records routed to me for troubleshooting were treated to full correction/enhancement in WorldCat and updated in OBIS as well, and sets or series lacking analytic records for some volumes were fully analyzed. On December 23, 2021, the very last check-shelf item was removed, and every corresponding live item record is correct. Many thanks are due to Anne Sprague (retired), who did a lot of the initial cleanup, and to Faith Hoffman, who touched literally thousands and thousands of records during work from home.
A picture is worth a thousand words. I am attaching a file that shows the “before” for the Rameau complete works with links to the cleaned up records.
https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/slavery-abolition-emancipation-and-freedom
https://blog.archive.org/2022/01/01/welcoming-recorded-music-to-the-public-domain/
I tuned into their virtual celebration last year and it was entertaining!
The staff post-holiday party is this Friday, Jan. 7 – now to be held on Zoom at 12pm
with a grab-n-go meal catered by Pink Peppercorn. Pick up your meal (if you ordered one using the Google form provided before the winter shutdown) in the Thornton Room, 11:45am-12:15pm on Friday.
There will be an assortment of sweets from the Blue Rooster, so come early for the best selection! Even if you didn’t order a meal, there will be enough dessert for all staff – plus a surprise. So stop in the Thornton Room and then log on to Zoom for a bit of staff camaraderie.
Happy New Year. I look forward to seeing everyone (behind your sturdy masks) as we come back to campus. I’m sure you saw this notice, but please be aware that:
“All staff must get tested for COVID–Walk-in testing will be available at Hales Gym beginning at 1 p.m. on January 2, and continue January 3-11 from 8 a.m. – noon and 1 – 6 p.m. daily. Weekly PCR testing is required for those unvaccinated students, faculty, staff, and vendors who have a vaccination exemption. Beginning in mid-January, optional walk-in PCR testing will be available seven days a week for asymptomatic students, faculty, and staff.”
Dear Colleagues,
We will be interviewing two candidates for the position of Associate Director for Collections and Resource Services in the second week of January: Brian Kern of Allegheny College and Enerel Dambiinyam of Columbia University. I have attached their CVs.
Some of you will be in meetings or at meals with the candidates, while everyone will be invited to a presentation on“The Next Normal in Collections and Resource Services—Changes, Trends, Evolution,” which takes place from 2:00 to 3:00 on January 10 (Dambiinyam) and January 14 (Kern).
There will be an evaluation form for everyone to submit after the interviews.
Thank you for your help and advice in choosing this important colleague to join our staff.
Now I remember one of those things I wanted to update you on!
The Library Council has suggested that our PanLibrary Forums should be rescheduled to allow for the maximum number of staff to attend. They suggested an afternoon time, specifically 3:00-4:00pm.
Please use the comment section to let me know if that doesn’t work for you or your department. We are thinking of the FIRST TUESDAY of every month, beginning in February.
Thoughts?
I’m glad we can provide a Scholar’s Study to those who work in open areas and feel safer there.
Joseph and Bill can allow for longer than 6-hour check out if you wish to leave things in the study for now.
This arrangement is fine until the end of fall semester and perhaps through J-term, depending on what J-term looks like for the college. I will let you know. For now, let’s take it one day at a time and assume you can use the rooms until the end of this semester.
All the best and thanks for your patience and good humor in these quickly-evolving times,
Valerie
