Technical Services in the Age of the Digital Repository: How Catalogers Can Become Meaningfully Engaged in the Creation of Digital Content

Keywords

Institutional Repositories; Metadata; Technical Services; Digital Repositories

Abstract

As the roles of libraries have changed in the twenty-first century, so too has the roles of librarians particularly those in technical services. As less print materials are being purchased, the need for traditional cataloging has diminished. Compacted with consortial catalogs and services such as OCLC WorldCat improving the ease of copy cataloging, the responsibilities of traditional cataloging by librarians have significantly lessened. However, as content becomes more digital, technical services librarians are finding ways to make enormous contributions in the metadata creation process, the creation of digital derivatives of archival materials, and management of such digital content. This is particularly crucial in digital repositories at academic institutions as they contain a variety of digital objects such as archival materials, scholarly works produced by faculty or an institution, ETDs, teaching materials, and administrative data. Catalogers’ expertise is utilized for bibliographic control of these items, specifically in the creation of descriptive and analytical metadata. With knowledge of AACR2, LCSH, classification schemes, and subject analysis, catalogers have an advantage in the creation of meaningful metadata, particularly when using metadata schemas such as Dublin Core. Unlike computers and non-technical services metadata creators, catalogers are able to discern and create descriptive content with ease and finesse. And though bibliographic metadata is just one component in the description of a digital object, it certainly stands to reason that catalogers and technical services librarians are able to add information in other areas of metadata with a level of granularity that computers simply cannot. With the convergence of 21st century libraries with digital repositories and other forms of electronic content, it is clear that librarians with expertise in cataloging will be more vital than ever. Simply put, such librarians are crucial to the creation of metadata for locally curated digital content and management of digital repositories. As they redefine technical services tasks in the age of electronic resources, catalogers can no longer be seen as toiling over print shelf list cards and card catalogs but rather as innovators of digital content and bibliographic metadata. This presentation will further explore this topic with specific examples from various institutions.

Date Created

October 2012

https://works.bepress.com/sarah-norris/25/download/

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