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Author: Jenny Levine

Summary, June 2021 Core e-Forum, “Does Better Training Lead to Greater Job Satisfaction?”

In the June Core e-Forum, participants were asked to discuss the relationship between job training and job satisfaction. The discussion also addressed ways to organize a successful training program and using instructional design methods to improve technical services training. The first day’s discussion revolved around more general questions about the nature of on the job training and participants’ own roles in on the job training. The purpose of the second day was to address more specific topics of training structure and organization, and to examine the link between successful training and job satisfaction. It was obvious from the lively discussion on Day 1 that we all are almost always engaged in on the job training and feel strongly about its nature and organization. Themes that consistently emerged were cross-training, documentation, continuity, understanding the reasons for changes, but also preserving institutional memory. The following questions were asked and answered many times…Continue Reading

New Core Jobs: July 28, 2021

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Browse new job openings on the Core Jobs Site

Cataloging/Metadata Librarian, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA Acquisitions Librarian, Marquette University Libraries, Milwaukee, WI Cataloging and Metadata Librarian, Marquette University Libraries, Milwaukee, WI University Librarian, Capilano University, North Vancouver, WA Librarian, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA User Experience and Digital Projects Librarian, Texas A&M University Libraries, College Station, TX Branch Manager II, Mid-Columbia Libraries, Kennewick, MA Head of Library Systems, Virginia Tech University Libraries, Blacksburg, VA Head of Support Desk Operations, Virginia Tech University Libraries, Blacksburg, VA Cloud Infrastructure Engineer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries, Cambridge, MA Senior Electronic Resources Librarian, Rice University, Fondren Library, Houston, TX Visit the Core Jobs Site for additional job openings and information on submitting your own job posting.

New Version of Cataloging Correctly for Kids

Cataloging Correctly for Kids book cover

Cataloging library materials for children in the internet age has never been as challenging or as important. RDA: Resource Description and Access is now the descriptive standard, there are new ways to find materials using classifications, and subject heading access has been greatly enhanced by the keyword capabilities of today’s online catalogs. It’s the perfect moment to present a completely overhauled edition of this acclaimed bestseller. This new sixth edition guides catalogers, children’s librarians, and LIS students in taking an effective approach towards materials intended for children and young adults. Informed by recent studies of how children search, this handbook’s top-to-bottom revisions address areas such as: how RDA applies to a variety of children’s materials, with examples provided;   authority control, bibliographic description, subject access, and linked data; electronic resources and other non-book materials; and cataloging for non-English-speaking and preliterate children. With advice contributed by experienced, practicing librarians, this one-stop…Continue Reading

Summary, May 2021 Core e-Forum, “Advocacy for Implementing Faceted Vocabularies”

During the May 2021, Core eForum, ‘We Faceted our Seatbelts, Now What? Advocacy for Implementing Faceted Vocabularies in Public Facing Interfaces,’ we hoped to open a wide discussion on implementing faceted vocabs, perceptions of how those headings should be used or displayed, and what making use of these vocabularies can accomplish for institutions and collections metadata. There were some, albeit unintentional, thematic developments over the course of the 2 days, and we hope this report offers some glimpses of that development. For instance, we posed the question of whether inclusion of faceted terminology was perceived as duplication of LCSH terms present in the display for a resource’s metadata. Many feel there is duplication, and many are simply open to considering the topic. One interesting thing is that even though the term may look the same to the user, that the term coming from a faceted vocabulary is actually different. But…Continue Reading

New Core Jobs: July 21, 2021

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Acquisitions and Electronic Resources Librarian, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY Director of Public Library, Town of Needham, MA Librarian II ~ eResources & Discovery Librarian, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD Head, Scholarly Communication & Data Services, UNLV University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV IT Library Portfolio Manager, Multnomah County, Portland, OR ILS Manager, Charleston County Public Library, Charleston, SC Manuscripts Archivist, Ohio University Libraries, Athens, OH Development Officer, Charleston County Public Library, Charleston, SC Visit the Core Jobs Site for additional job openings and information on submitting your own job posting.

2021 John Cotton Dana Awards Announced

John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award Recognizing and Rewarding Excellence in Strategic Communications

~ Eight Libraries Awarded $10,000 Grants from H.W. Wilson Foundation  ~ The 2021 John Cotton Dana (JCD) Award winners, recognized for their strategic communications efforts, have been selected. The John Cotton Dana Awards provide up to eight grants for libraries that demonstrate outstanding library public relations. The award is managed by the American Library Association’s Core Division and consists of $10,000 grants from the H.W. Wilson Foundation. The grants highlight campaigns feature a wide variety of strategies including: civic engagement programming, a virtual story time with more than 800 million views, a virtual Open House to celebrate a three-year renovation, and an awareness media campaign to highlight pandemic services. Other winning campaigns include the launch of a local artist music streaming site that had to retool mid-campaign as libraries closed, a Park & Connect Internet access campaign, a 2020 Census campaign that increases the county’s self-response rate and a library…Continue Reading

Telling the Technical Services Story: Communicating Value

The real-world initiatives and straightforward advice in this collection will embolden technical services managers and administrators to demonstrate the value of their work to stakeholders throughout their organization. Technical Services isn’t the hidden discipline it once was. Even so, despite all the cross-departmental interaction, misconceptions about the work are all too common. It’s incumbent on technical services staff to take a proactive approach by communicating to others their value to the library and institutional mission. Spotlighting several successful initiatives, Telling the Technical Services Story will give you the guidance to bolster communication within departments, across the library, and campus-wide. Listen to a podcast featuring the editors or read a sample from the book (PDF). Available now, Core members receive a 10% discount when purchasing this title.

New Core Jobs: July 7, 2021

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Browse new job openings on the Core Jobs Site

Director of Consortial Library Systems, Five Colleges of Ohio, Oberlin, OH Network Administrator, Missoula Public Library, Missoula, MT Integrated Library Systems (ILS) Administrator, County of Orange, CA Research Librarian, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Pullman, WA Visit the Core Jobs Site for additional job openings and information on submitting your own job posting.

New Issue of Information Technology and Libraries

Read the June 2021 issue of Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL). In his Letter from the Editor, Ken Varnum provides an update on the expansion of ITAL’s editorial review process, as announced in the March issue. This issue inaugurates what we plan to be an occasional feature, the “Core Leadership Column,” to which we invite contributions from members of Core leadership. In the first of these columns, incoming Core president Margaret Heller writes about “Making Room for Change through Rest,” in which she highlights the need for each of us to recharge after a collectively challenging year. It is joined by two other regular items, our Editorial Board Thoughts essay by Michael P. Sauers, “Do Space’s Virtual Interview Lab: Using Simple Technology to Serve the Public in a Time of Crisis” and William Yarbrough’s Public Libraries Leading the Way column, “Service Barometers: Using Lending Kiosks to Locate Patrons.” If you…Continue Reading

Forum Registration Is Open!

Join us for the first ever in-person Core Forum, October 7-9, at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore! It’s an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and make new connections while celebrating the intersection and overlap of the core work we do. Learn more about our keynote speakers. Forum Features ⭐ 30+ sessions presented across 6 concurrent program tracks Access & Equity Assessment Buildings & Operations Leadership & Management Metadata & Collections Technology ⭐ Welcome reception ⭐ 2 days of thought-provoking sessions ⭐ 3 keynote presentations ⭐ Closing session ⭐ Poster Sessions ⭐ Tabletop exhibits ⭐ Dine-arounds ⭐ Game night ⭐ Unconference space for informal discussions Note: Lunch and dinner will not be provided. We will organize small group dine-arounds at nearby restaurants. Attendees will be responsible for paying for their own dining expenses. Participation is optional. Core Forum Early-Bird Registration Rates Ends September 6 $299 Core Member $329 ALA Member $399…Continue Reading