*Cross posted to multiple lists.*

ALCTS e-Forum: Consortial Cataloging: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Sharing Data

February 27-28, 2018

Moderated by Cynthia A. Romanowski and Natalie Sommerville

Please join us for an e-forum discussion. It’s free and open to everyone!

Registration information is at the end of the message.

Each day, discussion begins and ends at:

Pacific: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Mountain: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Central: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Eastern: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Many libraries are members of a consortium with a shared catalog or discovery environment. Shared catalogs provide a way for library users to discover and access resources beyond the local institution. They also provide opportunities for member libraries to gain efficiencies in staff time and to have cleaner data and bibliographic records through sharing of catalog records. Despite the benefits of shared cataloging, it can present challenges vis-a-vis setting priorities around database maintenance and around retrieving collection metrics. Participants of this e-Forum will have an opportunity to discuss the opportunities and challenges in sharing cataloging and discovery within a consortial environment.

Moderators

Cynthia A. Romanowski is the Technical Services Librarian at Governors State University (GSU). GSU is a member of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries of Illinois (CARLI), which consists of 134 libraries, with 86 libraries participating in a shared catalog. Cynthia is the chair of the CARLI Technical Services Committee and has more than 10 years of experience cataloging in a consortial environment.

Natalie Sommerville is the Team Lead for Monographic Original Cataloging at Duke University Libraries (DUL). She has worked extensively within DUL Technical Services on MARC metadata maintenance. DUL is a member of the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN), which consists of the libraries at Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Natalie has been active in TRLN around discovery shared bibliographic records initiatives.

What Is an e-Forum?

An ALCTS e-forum provides an opportunity for librarians to discuss matters of interest, led by a moderator, through the e-forum discussion list. The e-forum discussion list works like an email listserv: register your email address with the list, and then you will receive messages and communicate with other participants through an email discussion. Most e-forums last two to three days. Registration is necessary to participate, but it's free.

For information about upcoming e-forums, please visit http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/e-forum

How to Register

You must register your email address to subscribe to or access an electronic discussion list on ALA's Mailing List Service. Once you have registered for one e-forum, you do not need to register again, unless you choose to leave the list. Find instructions for subscribing and unsubscribing online. (http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/e-forum/sympa)

If you have any problems, please contact alcts-eforum-request@ala.org.

*Posted on behalf of the ALCTS Continuing Education Committee.*