The Minimal Level Task Force
Our Charge
The MLTF is charged with examining all issues and concerns relevant to the
adoption of a minimal level cataloging standard for the Yale University Library.
This standard is designed to be less than Core and for use with both low priority
and low usage materials added to the collection and all uncataloged collections
The Task Force hopes to:
1. Assess current practices at some of our peer institutions where similar
models have been developed
2. Assess current authority record creation practices, recommending revision
to existing practice or new policies as needed
3. Examine the benefits and disadvantages of following local policies and
requirements for bibliographic records
4. Evaluate current cataloging policies and criteria for items being
transferred to LSF and recommend changes that will accelerate cataloging
of lower priority backlog items designated for LSF
5. Evaluate needs of materials in Mudd that will be transferred to LSF and
currently lack a record in Orbis (but have a call number)
6. Evaluate YBP Provisional Plus records and their suitability as a permanent
record
Prepare a report with recommendations for a Yale Minimal record, and include a
time line for discussion with stake holders and implementation
The MLTF members are Katherine Adams, Tatiana Barr (co-chair), Tom Bolze,
Rebecca Hamilton (Acquisitions), Ellen Jaramillo, Tachtorn Meier (co-chair),
Tony Oddo, Richard Sarcia, Penny Wellbourne, Michael Scott (until his departure
on 7/25/08).
Workflow at Sterling Library
The acquisitions and cataloging process at Yale is especially selector driven.
Selectors decide what we acquire (e.g., in terms of establishing profiles for
approval plans). Many selectors physically inspect ordered materials in the
Sterling Acquisitions Department's “Review Plaza.” They can insert a “priority”
flag in a text or, alternately, send it straight to the Frontlog. Selectors determine,
therefore, the speed at which something is cataloged. Texts in the Frontlog can
languish uncataloged for years. In addition, the Frontlog is called the Cage or “the
dungeon.”
Acquisitions is Both a Place and a Process within Yale Libraries
The Acquisitions Dept. is located across the hall from CMS, but acquiring library
resources is a fragmented process that occurs across the Yale library system.
Various selectors and libraries on campus order material. One key task of the
Acquisitions Dept. is feeding material to the A&S and the HSS Teams. However,
not all materials that come to the CMS Dept. arrive there through the Sterling's
Acquisitions Dept. For example, acquisitions procedures are carried out by the
Latin American selector's office, and it delivers items to CMS for cataloging. Rare
materials are given, in a similar fashion, to the Rare Book team from the
Acquisitions dept. at the Beinecke Library. Slavic, Hebraic,and African Studies
materials are also not processed by Acquisitions.
Materials for the East Asia and South East Asia collections have their own
acquisitions and cataloging units within Sterling. By contrast, the British Art
Center and the Divinity School Library maintain independent, off-site technical
service units.
Items are Ordered by the Sterling Acquisitions Dept. in Five Ways:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Blanket order/ Approval plans (i.e., materials sent to us via profiles)
Standing order (e.g., series)
Firm order (i.e., a specific request for a title)
Gifts (if the selector approves)
Exchanges with non-U.S. institutions
What Happens When Materials Come to Live at Sterling?
Except for Rare Book materials that come from the the Beinecke, there is an
acquisitions-level record in Orbis for every ordered item. What occurs next is a
complicated story. We have created two Visio diagrams to help you keep events
straight.
PDF links:
http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/Acquisitions_Workflows.pdf
http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/Overview_Workflow.pdf
An overview of Sterling's Acquisition process is available and a diagram of the
decision tree that informs these procedures is available below.
We obtain catalog records in a number of ways: vendors sell them to us; we locate
LC or PCC records in OCLC; we create original cataloging records (from full to
core level); and some items are sent straight to the Frontlog without searching in
OCLC for copy.
There are, in general, three cataloging workflow patterns at Sterling:
1. Materials go straight to Preparations or the Stacks:
If LC is involved somewhere in the cataloging process or if a vendor
provides LC-style cataloging service, items are eligible for Fast Cat
treatment by the Acquisitions Dept. and bypass CMS altogether. For
instance, Acquisitions staff may locate an LC record when the item arrives.
Harrassowitz contracts with MarcNow and offers full cataloging records.
Casalini offers roughly the same product, and a few titles are termed
“shelf-ready” and arrive fully processed.
2. Materials go to the CMS Department:
Items are transferred to CMS for a vareity of reasons. If items have PC
copy or a selector marks something as “Priority.” (e.g., red flags for Rush
items, yellow flags for High Visibility titles). Outside libraries and/or
selectors deliver material to us. When items meet certain criteria (e.g.,
NJ18, "P" classification, new serials, multi-part materials), they are
shipped to CMS regardless of the presence/absence of copy.
3. Materials go to the Frontlog (i.e., the Cage):
Materials are banished to the basement in the absence of available copy or
by selector mandate. In addition, non-English books from some selectors
that don't have vendor supplied records, go straight to the Frontlog.
Acquisitions staff does not search OCLC for these materials because the hit
rate is so low. (This can help explain why there are so many non-English
language materials in the Frontlog)
Area Studies Teams: Latin America, Slavic, Hebraic, African
Materials
In rough terms, its all the same model. Stuff comes into the Slavic Reading
Room, for instance, and goes to the Slavic team for cataloging or down to the
Cage. When an item is transferred to the Frontlog or to a team for cataloging,
a provisional or OCLC record accompanies the material.
Frontlogs and Backlogs: Uncataloged Materials
The Frontlog is stuff we have not cataloged. There is no conceptual
distinction between the Frontlog and the backlog in that all these materials
are uncataloged.
There is a small differentiation between Frontlog and backlog materials,
however: an item in the backlog by local definition has been searched against
the OCLC database at least once. The backlog is composed of uncataloged
stuff, but we've made an effort to locate copy. The Frontlog rests undisturbed,
and is, said otherwise, an unsearched backlog.
The Frontlog is both a Place and a State of Being
The Frontlog is a place located in the basement (take the stairs next to the
elevator), and this term defines library items that have not been queried in the
OCLC database. The Frontlog is in a locked cage. The keys to the Cage are
located in various places.
1. Dora's desk. The key ring is a blue tennis racket with two keys. Use the
little key.
2. Under the window in the SSH Team there are keys in a box, and there's a
set of keys across from Joan Hunt's desk
The locked Cage and the Frontlog are not identical. The Frontlog is composed
of materials that have not been searched, and these items can be held
anywhere in the library. The A&S and HSS Teams have their frontlogs in this
cage, but this area includes a lot of other material such as, yes, team backlogs!
This can understandably lead to confusion for the uninitiated. Just remember
the distinction between Frontlog as place and Frontlog as a mode of
(un)cataloging (or state of bibliographic unbeing).
In Relative Terms, how Many Uncataloged Items are There?
Yale receives 160,000-200,000 titles per year, and this is, roughly, the
number of items that are uncataloged in Sterling. While some would
characterize this as “not keeping up” with our cataloging workload, the
manager of the Frontlog disagrees and points out that the number of
uncataloged materials is declining.
By Location/Team
No. of Vols.,
03/2008
No. of Vols.,
07/2007
Vault (aka Old Zeta)
3500
3500
Pamphlets
4800
4500
Pre-1981, General
Backlog
1400
1390
1982-1992, General
Backlog
1400
1490
Room 3
38,571
38,997
Frontlog
92,000
78,000
Slavic
14,000
16,000
Hebraic
15,000
15,000
In Process (w/in our
dept.)
10,000
10,000
Total in all Locations
200,000
220,000
How is the Cage Organized?
The Frontlog is ordered by Uncat Numbers only. Acquisitions will insert a
white flag with an Uncat number into every item sent to the Frontlog.
Backlogs are, generally speaking, divided by teams and then subordered by
Date Groups. Date Groups are composed of two variables.
1. A pseudo-patron number
An item is "charged" to a patron. (Don't be confused! Books in the
Frontlog have pseudo-patron numbers but these items are not organized
by pseudo-patron numbers.)
2. A charge date
Within a specific pseudo-patron account, the books are further identified
by charge date.
¿Is there a hitch? Of course! These materials may have an Uncat number.
This is on the usual white slip of paper, but not all Backlog books have an
Uncat Number. Uncat Numbers were instituted only 10 years ago.
Backlogs and Room 3
There are backlogs all around us! For instance, each team and often each
cataloger has a backlog in her/his work space. “Room 3” is the back room of
the locked Cage and consists primarily of backlog materials. (In addition,
Room 3 includes gifts, Hebraic materials, etc.) This room holds materials that
have been “re-searched” against OCLC and LC for copy. Good copy in this case
is defined as what “could be easily cataloged by a cataloging assistant,” by the
Frontlog manager. This search process is (largely) automated and occurs in
two ways:
1. Internal to the Yale Library System, we match ISBN numbers from bib
records for frontlog materials with a copy of the LC database that's locally
maintained (i.e., the LCDB). This occurs once per month.
2. OCLC matches our records against their database-theoretically. This may
occur twice a year, but Yale has run the match once in three years. This
could yield PC copy. OCLC has a more sophisticated algorithm than
matching by ISBN
What is the Vault (aka Old Zeta), Where is it and How do I Get There?
Go to Microfilm reader and take the stairs down to the basement. Keys to this
space are found in two locations. There is a key on Dora's desk with a keychain
that reads “Zeta.” In addition, you can find a key across from Joan Hunt's desk.
The door to the Vault automatically locks, so beware.
This is a swamp. Rain boots are recommended. It is the dregs of the library and
includes a large undifferentiated backlog of pre-1980s materials. There are old
art auction catalogs, microfilm of Yale dissertations and an Arts and Sciences
Team backlog. There are about 3,000 plus items.