**Columbia University Libraries**

**ALA Round Robin June 2005**

**ALCTS Technical Services Directors of Large Research Libraries**

**Cataloging Reorganization:**

Original and Special Materials Cataloging is being reorganized into two
departments: **Original Serials and Monographs** Cataloging, and
**Special Collections and Metadata** Cataloging. The reorganization
recognizes a growing diversity in the former department's activities,
and a tendency towards specialization in knowledge and skill sets among
managers and staff.

**"Integrated" Systems:**

**LMS:** The core LMS will be upgraded to the **Voyager Unicode**
release in July.

**ERM:** Endeavor's **Meridian** e-resource management module was
installed in June, and will be fully implemented over the summer.

**Metasearch: MetaLib** was installed in June, with implementation
planned for the fall semester.

**Repository:** ProQuest's **Digital Commons** was implemented in June,
pre-loaded with dissertations and theses. We have begun to explore
relationships with academic units to incorporate working papers series
and other grey literature.

**Website Redesign:** The Libraries' main website is being extensively
redesigned, with a projected August roll-out.

**Digital Archiving/Preservation:**

We continue to explore several approaches to long-term preservation of
digital resources, for both locally-created and remote resources.
Columbia has joined the **LOCKSS Alliance** and expects to join the
**Portico** initiative, and we have contributed our first content to
**OCLC's Digital Archive**.

**Original Script enhancement:**

Over the summer we expect to use batch-matching against the RLG Union
Catalog to enhance about 30,000 romanized-only records, replacing them
with matching records that include original-script data. The records are
primarily Arabic and Hebrew, along with our earliest CJK cataloging.

**"Access Record" model:**

We have begin experimenting with a locally-developed "access record"
model for monographs, applied primarily to languages for which we lack
the expertise to do complete PCC/AACR2 cataloging, and selectively to
materials that are deemed not to warrant that level of effort. The model
is similar in intent to LC's access record model for electronic
resources, but relies heavily on cataloger's judgment to determine
inclusion and formulation of elements in the record. There is no
prescribed minimal data element set, and descriptive information may be
based on vendor or foreign MARC records without reformulating as AACR2.

**Integrated Tool for Selection and Ordering (ITSO):**

Columbia is one of the libraries interested in using the ITSO tool
developed by Cornell and discussed in their round robin report. We're
hopeful that discussions at ALA and beyond will lead to a feasible
framework for making this useful tool more widely available.

**Course Management:**

Through the SEPP program, Columbia has been participating in the Sakai
open source initiative. A library group has been formed to explore
further integration of library content with our current Courseworks
system (based on Prometheus) and to begin experimenting with Sakai and
contributing to developments in that arena.