Margaret Maurer Assistant Professor, Catalog and Metadata Librarian Kent State University

1. Collaborating to Provide Experienced-based LearningALAO Technical Services Interest Group Spring WorkshopMarch 4, 2005, KSU Margaret Maurer Assistant Professor, Catalog and Metadata Librarian Kent State University ALAO Technical Services

2. SLIS and LMS Collaboration • Collaborating since 1999 • Shared responsibilities • Need for practical application of what is taught in the classroom ALAO Technical Services

3. Context for the Collaboration • Practical education for librarianship • Availability of courses in technical services and cataloging • Forces shaping curriculum development for library schools • Impact of temporary workers in technical services • Changing nature of technical services • Other economic factors ALAO Technical Services

4. Practical education for librarianship • A role for training • Requiring practical experiences prior to graduation in other professions • Some skills are more easily learned in the context of the library • Practica typically are limited in time ALAO Technical Services

5. Impact of temporary workers in technical services • Time spent orienting and training must be balanced by real benefits • The library must structure the student experiences to maximize the benefits for both the library and the student. ALAO Technical Services

6. Other economic factors • Financial support for libraries in Ohio is declining, and must be defended • The misguided notion that all cataloging can be outsourced • Impending retirement boom for technical services librarians • Lack of redundancy in cataloging departments • Fewer “junior” cataloging positions (the 2 year gap) ALAO Technical Services

7. Ohio TS Labor Force Survey – Preliminary Results • There will continue to be openings • There is a need for the continuing education of technical services and cataloging librarians • Candidate pools are perceived as smaller and less qualified ALAO Technical Services

8. More Preliminary Results • 6% of the respondents have conducted a TS search with no qualified candidates • Labor Force will be stable over the next 5 years • As of yet, few TS librarians have the word “metadata” in their job title or description ALAO Technical Services

9. Forces shaping curriculum development for library schools • Research orientation • Course loads in library schools • Teaching information science • Increasing complexity in cataloging itself • 2 years experience ALAO Technical Services

10. Availability of courses in technical services and cataloging • Fewer cataloging classes offered • Hands-on practice in library school • Re-integration of library schools and libraries ALAO Technical Services

11. SLIS / LMS Collaborations • Collaboration through Student Workers • Graduate Student Assistants • Practicum Students • Volunteers • Curriculum Collaborations • Additional Collaborations ALAO Technical Services

12. Graduate Student Assistants • The hiring process should be as professional as possible • Assess departmental needs before you hire • Don’t just use generic job requirements • Interview responsibly ALAO Technical Services

13. Graduate Student Assistants • Provide them with the tools to do the job • Provide an orientation • At severance, schedule an exit interview ALAO Technical Services

14. Practicum Students • If GSAs are temporary employees, then practicum students are very-temporary employees • The best practicum experiences happen when a good match is made between the needs and expectations of the student and the needs of the library ALAO Technical Services

15. Practicum Students • Cycle students through the same training materials, one after another. • Maintain a stable of projects • Provide necessary resources ALAO Technical Services

16. Collection Management Practicum Student Checklist • Preplanning for program improvement • Recruitment tasks • Selection processes • Equipment, software and workspace needs • Orientation materials • Expectations and methods of assessment • Training needs • Supervision, and • The student’s professional experience assessment ALAO Technical Services

17. Practicum Program Students Have … • Cataloged • Assisted with authority control • Written collection development policies • Copy-cataloged gift books • Reviewed license agreements ALAO Technical Services

18. Student Reactions to the Program “When I started I was a raw well-educated, well-meaning rookie .. Now I feel like a librarian.” ALAO Technical Services

19. Learning & Assessment • Students learn new skills • Students create a portfolio of original work • Students are evaluated • Students evaluate the program ALAO Technical Services

20. Volunteers (Students and Post-Graduate) • Be professional about attracting and retaining volunteers • Follow the same work rules for volunteers as you do for employees. ALAO Technical Services

21. Curriculum Collaborations • Yes they can tour your work area – there are ways to minimize disruptions. • Presentations in SLIS classes • Attracting future library professionals • Adjunct faculty ALAO Technical Services

22. Other Collaborations • Professional publications • Collegial relationships • Other adjunct instructors ALAO Technical Services

23. LMS ACTIVITY SLIS Gives Receives Gives Receives Practicum projects Student volunteers Graduate student assistants Potential staff recruitment Cooperative attitude at upper levels of management Research, publications, and conference presentations Students develop professional references and form the beginning of their professional network Relationship between SLIS library representative and library liaison Tours of technical services by SLIS classes Presentations by LMS Faculty in SLIS classes LMS Faculty as SLIS adjunct faculty Practical experience at assessment

24. ALCTS CETRC Mentoring Program • Education, Training, and Recruitment for Cataloging (CETRC), ALCTS Cataloging and Classification Section • http://library.ucsc.edu/mentoring ALAO Technical Services

25. Forthcoming article: Maurer, Margaret Beecher and Wicks, Don A. “Collaboration in Collection Management: A Convergence of Education & Practice.” Resource Sharing & Information Networks. 17(1/2). Projected publication date is 2005. ALAO Technical Services

26. Contact information Margaret Maurer, MLS Assistant Professor, Catalog & Metadata Librarian Kent State University Libraries and Media Services 370 Library, P.O. Box 5190 Kent, OH 44242-0001 330.672.1702 http://www.library.kent.edu/~mmaurer mmaurer@lms.kent.edu ALAO Technical Services