About the Book
In the changing modern-day library, the area of technical services has undergone radical redesign and reorganization not just once, but many times in the last thirty years. Shrinking budgets, new electronic formats, the advent of the Internet, and technological innovations have drastically changed the face of library technical services departments and presented new challenges, such as finding and hiring qualified catalogers; dealing with the exponentially expanding range of print and electronic formats; reorganizing workflows due to staff reductions; and trying to find answers for organizing and describing information in its many manifestations.
The first part of this book explores the future of technical services through surveys, research essays, and insightful opinion pieces. The second part focuses on redesign and reorganization efforts through a number of fascinating case studies. The majority of these case studies come from academic library technical services departments, highlighting efforts to meet and deal with challenges through a myriad of options. For anyone involved in the day-to-day supervision, management, and future of a library technical services department, this book will provide food for thought, as well as practical lessons.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Paths for the Future by Bradford Lee Eden
Review of the Literature: Technical Services Redesign and Reorganization by Laurie Lopatin
What Is Technical Services?: Perspectives from the Field and from LIS Education by Pat Lawton and Deborah Rose-Lefmann
Staffing Trends in Academic Library Technical Services by Kathryn Etcheverria and Vicki Toy Smith
Change and Adaptation in the Technical Services of a Group of Mid-sized Academic Libraries: A Fourteen-Year Perspective by Pamela Cline Howley
Quality Cataloging with Less: Alternative and Innovative Methods by Mary L. Mastraccio
The Name and Role of the Cataloger in the 21st Century by Nadine P. Ellero
Case Studies
Redesign of Database Management at Rutgers University Libraries by Ruth A. Bogan
Successfully Merging Workflow and Personnel in Technical Services: A Management Perspective by Ann Branton
Workflow Analysis as a Basis for Organizational Redesign at McMaster University Library by Cheryl Martin
Centering Technical Services: Developing a Vision for Change at Union College by Annette M. LeClair
Merging Departments in a Small Academic Library by Rhonda R. Glazier and Dr. Jack D. Glazier
Creating Career Paths for Cataloging Support Staff by Karen Letarte, Charles Pennell, and Shirley Hamlett
Navigating Toward the Future, Building on Our Strengths: Reorganization and Change at Emory University Libraries by Susan Bailey
Technological Change and Technical Services: A Case Study of a Mid-Sized Research Library by Karen M. Ramsay
Personnel Turnover as the Impetus for Change by Martha Ann Bace and Patricia Ratkovich
Shifting Duties and Responsibilities of Technical Services Staff by Karen J. Davis, Tina Demetracopoulos, and Daryle Maroney
Technical Services between Reality and Illusion: Reorganization in Technical Services at the Ohio State University Libraries: Questions and Assessment by Magda El-Sherbini
Shuffling the Deck: Two Reorganizations at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst by Patricia S. Banach
Redesigning Technical Services in an Accademic Law Library by Andrea Rabbia
National Cataloging and Indexing Program for United States Government Publications: Innovative Responses to Challenges Created by Online Publishing by Thomas A. Downing
A Vision for the Future: Cornell University's Geospatial Information Repository by Elaine L. Westbrooks
About the Author :
BRADFORD LEE EDEN is Associate University Librarian for Technical Services and Scholarly Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Review :
"Brad Eden has pulled together a rich compilation that extensively covers the topic of restructuring technical services....Taken as a whole, the book collects in one place an impressive body of experience, insight, evidence, and practical guidance on technical services redesign, staffing challenges, work-flows, and issues of quality, as well as lessons learned about initiating and leading change. Of immediate use to library leaders who are considering change in technical services are the numerous models for reorganization offered by authors....[a]n excellent sourcebook for ideas, examples, and key references to the library literature."-Library Resources & Technical Services
"It is a well-bounded soft cover publication, with an excellent index, including author names. Innovative Redesign and Reorganization of Library Technical Services is excellent value for money, and is highly recommended to all library technical services staff members, management, and LIS educators."-The Electronic Library
?Beginning with a comprehensive review of the literature, the essays examine definitions of technical services, discuss staffing trends, and consider the role of the cataloger in the 21st century.?-American Libraries
?Brad Eden has pulled together a rich compilation that extensively covers the topic of restructuring technical services....Taken as a whole, the book collects in one place an impressive body of experience, insight, evidence, and practical guidance on technical services redesign, staffing challenges, work-flows, and issues of quality, as well as lessons learned about initiating and leading change. Of immediate use to library leaders who are considering change in technical services are the numerous models for reorganization offered by authors....[a]n excellent sourcebook for ideas, examples, and key references to the library literature.?-Library Resources & Technical Services
?In a time when many libraries are faced with shrinking budgets, reduced staffing, and the need to offer access to an ever-increasing array of information resources, techinical services professionals must examine their existing methodologies and practices and look for innovative ways to accomplish their goals. They will find Innovative Redesign and Reorganization of Library Technical Services of great assistance in this process, since what emerges from the papers in this volume is not only an insightful look at why we are where we are today, but a fascinating glimpse of what our future can be.?-The Serials Librarian
?It is a well-bounded soft cover publication, with an excellent index, including author names. Innovative Redesign and Reorganization of Library Technical Services is excellent value for money, and is highly recommended to all library technical services staff members, management, and LIS educators.?-The Electronic Library
?Reorganizing and redesigning technical services departments is a hot topic....This edited collection provides an in-depth examination of these issues and others that are affecting technical services, including retirements and personnel turnover, a disconnect between the needs of libraries and the number of qualified catalogers completing library school, changing roles of support staff, and the outsourcing of cataloging.?-portal: Reviews
?This book would be most useful as a reference source addressing specific topics or types of organizations.?-Technical Services Quarterly
"Reorganizing and redesigning technical services departments is a hot topic....This edited collection provides an in-depth examination of these issues and others that are affecting technical services, including retirements and personnel turnover, a disconnect between the needs of libraries and the number of qualified catalogers completing library school, changing roles of support staff, and the outsourcing of cataloging."-portal: Reviews
"Beginning with a comprehensive review of the literature, the essays examine definitions of technical services, discuss staffing trends, and consider the role of the cataloger in the 21st century."-American Libraries
"In a time when many libraries are faced with shrinking budgets, reduced staffing, and the need to offer access to an ever-increasing array of information resources, techinical services professionals must examine their existing methodologies and practices and look for innovative ways to accomplish their goals. They will find Innovative Redesign and Reorganization of Library Technical Services of great assistance in this process, since what emerges from the papers in this volume is not only an insightful look at why we are where we are today, but a fascinating glimpse of what our future can be."-The Serials Librarian
"This book provides both theoretical and practical information that will aid technical services librarians in adapting to the changes necessary in order for their departments to continue to exist in the 21st century. Recommended to all technical services librarians (academic and public) and LIS educators."-Library Journal
"This book would be most useful as a reference source addressing specific topics or types of organizations."-Technical Services Quarterly
