Tag: operations
Winter 2016, Fiat Lux newsletter
The Winter 2016 issue of Fiat Lux, the Library’s newsletter, features stories about the Moffitt Library revitalization project and news about the Northern Regional Storage Facility.
New Look for Moffitt Library’s East Terrace
We are pleased to introduce the newest addition to the Moffitt Library project – the East Terrace.
The current renovation work includes a new entrance from Memorial Glade into Moffitt Library. We expect this entrance to be very popular, given its proximity to many other campus buildings, including Doe Library.
As plans evolved for the upper Moffitt floors, we considered the experience of students entering the building and expanded the project to enhance the lighting, seating and walkways on the East Terrace.
An outdoor coffee stand, brought to you by the same vendors as the popular FSM Cafe, will be available for grab-and-go coffee and snacks. As Moffitt will become food and drink friendly, with the opening of the renovated floors, students can enjoy their snacks outside or bring them into the library to work.
The rendering, provided by the project architects from Gensler, depicts an early vision of Moffitt’s East Terrace. We are in the early stages of planning; specific designs will be refined through the spring.
More information about the renovation can be found at http://moffitt.berkeley.edu
Post contributed by Jean Ferguson, Learning and Research Communities Librarian
Fall 2015 issue of Fiat Lux
The Fall 2015 issue of Fiat Lux, the Library’s newsletter, is now available online.
This issue features an essay on “possible dreams” by the new University Librarian Jeffrey MacKie-Mason, along with the honor roll of donors and highlights from 2014-15.
Introducing BadCat, the Catalog Record Help Desk
On Monday, August 23, 2010, the Catalog Department will implement the new process (see the July 21st blog entry: Catalog Record Help Desk – Internal Pilot) that will allow Library staff to submit catalog record problems via a web form that will feed into the FootPrints ticket system. Each FootPrints ticket will be distributed to an appropriate cataloger for resolution.
The name ?BadCat? was chosen through a Catalog Department vote, and may be defined as follows:
BadCat 1. Errors in the Library?s catalog; 2. Slang: an acknowledgment of such errors, as in ?Yeah, that’s my bad.? 3. Slang: ?cool, excellent person?; 4. Homage to Michael Jackson song about proving one’s toughness: ?Who’s bad?? 5. An epithet directed at a misbehaving cat or catalog.
The BadCat form will be accessible via the OskiCat Help Portal link on the Library Web Staff page.
Clicking on the OskiCat Help Portal link will take you to a page that contains links to forms used to report problems with electronic resources, Millennium problems and OskiCat issues, and beginning Monday, a link to BadCat: Catalog Record Help Desk.
Another option for accessing BadCat to report catalog record problems will be through the Staff View of OskiCat. Once BadCat has gone live, log in to MyOskiCat, search for a record, and then use the “Report a Problem” link at the top of the page.
The “Report a Problem” link takes you to the Help Portal, and from there you will be able to select the BadCat web form. The form will be partially populated with your contact information and the record number and/or title of the item.
Note: Unfortunately, there is no mechanism, at this time, for feeding information from the Millennium client directly into the BadCat catalog record help desk form.
The Systems Office will put BadCat into service this coming Monday, August 23rd. On Monday please wait to report any catalog record problems until you receive an email notifying Allusers that the system is ready.
Bernie 8/20/10
Catalog Record Help Desk: BadCat Coming Along Swell
After two months of BadCat going into production, we?re happy to say the project is experiencing success.
If you recall, during the pilot phase (July 21-August 20), Cataloging staff worked on old ?DCU? maintenance requests. During this phase, more than half of these back-logged requests were resolved. The remaining ?DCU? requests are being slowly incorporated into the ongoing current BadCat workflow.
Of the current BadCat workflow, more than 85% of new tickets are resolved within 2-5 days. Waiting for additional information from the ticket submitter is the primary reason other tickets take longer to resolve.
Tips for efficient maintenance requests:
· Use the BadCat form that’s linked from the OskiCat Help Portal on the Staff Web homepage.
? do not send maintenance requests to individual catalogers as this will only delay your request.
? Take advantage of using the auto-fill feature via MyOskiCat. See the BadCat FAQ for more details. http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/wikis/TechServices/index.php?n=Main.EverythingAZ?action=download&upname=BadCatFAQ.pdf
· Respond in a timely fashion when asked for additional information or for material relating to your BadCat request.
· Do not use the BadCat form to request purchase, cataloging, access assistance, or URL correction for electronic resources. These should be submitted to the Eproblem Report Form that’s linked from the Staff Web homepage.
BadCat Stats:
Average number of tickets received per week: 27
Number of tickets closed in past 12 weeks: 372
Number of active tickets: 72
How are we doing?
The Catalog Department encourages you to tell us about your experience using BadCat. Please add a comment (or a question) to this posting, or send an email to Lisa Rowlison de Ortiz, lrowliso@library.berkeley.edu
Update to Tracing Material Within the Catalog Department’s Workflow
I’m pleased to say that since the service went live in August 2011, the Catalog Department has been able to keep up with the many tracing requests that come in each week. As a result, we have enhanced both the BadCat tracing form and the Tracing Policy.
The form has been updated to include a 7th scenario for tracing urgently needed items, namely those not yet cataloged which have a Millennium order record received date 6 months prior to the current date. The form also now includes a field to include the Millennium order record received date. Both changes are reflected in the revised policy document which can be found either from the BadCat tracing form, or via the Catalog Department’s website.
Note: if you have recently viewed this document, you may need to hit the “reload” button on your browser to load the newest version, which is dated 2013/04/10 at the bottom of the document.
Thanks very much to Robert Smith, Michael Meacham, and Lisa Weber for working to get the web and procedural changes into place.
Regards,
Lisa
BadCat: What to Expect During the Authority Load Bibliographic Editing Freeze
Beginning today, Monday, July 9th and continuing for approximately 8-12 weeks, editing (including overlaying) of cataloged bibliographic records in Millennium will halt until the Marcive authority sending/processing/re-loading project is completed (for details on this project, please see Lynne Grigsby’s Allusers email with subject “Authority Control for Millennium records” sent on Monday, 11 June 2012 at 10:48 am). Within the Catalog Department, the primary effect of the bibliographic editing freeze will be a limitation on fulfilling bibliographic maintenance requests.
All is not lost. Other types of maintenance (e.g. holdings, item, URL) can be done during this period. The Catalog Department would like you to continue to send in your BadCat requests as usual during the freeze. The tickets will be triaged into those that can be resolved during the authority load project, and those that must wait until after the project is completed. Tickets in the latter category will have the status: Project Hold. This status means the requested maintenance cannot be performed until after the authority project is completed. These tickets will be put into the BadCat workflow once the freeze is lifted.
Shelving locations will continue to receive new materials. New catalog records (locally created, as well as records loaded from PromptCat and vendors other than SCP) can be added to the database during this period. SCP record loads will not occur due to the mixture of new, updated, and deleted records in their files. SCP loads will resume after the freeze is over.
As always, please write to the BadCat manager (Michael Meacham, mmeacham@library.berkeley.edu) before starting a project that is likely to result in more than a few maintenance requests. By letting us know about your project before filling in a multitude of BadCat forms, we will be better able to work your project into the maintenance workflow, resulting in better service to you.
Questions about Catalog Department services during the authority load project, should be sent to me at: lrowliso@library.berkeley.edu
Regards,
Lisa Rowlison de Ortiz
New Catalog Department Website
On behalf of the Catalog Department Managers’ Group I would like to introduce the new Catalog Department Website. The website has a clean look and is easy to navigate. Former TS wiki content has been updated and in some cases relocated (e.g. to Asktico). There is also new content which includes a well-developed training section, and a neat “Cataloging News” newsfeed.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/catalog_dept
Lead by Armanda Barone, the site was developed with help from Lisa Weber and Robert Smith. Please take a look through the website and let us know what you think! If you have suggestions for additional content, links you would like added, or information you can no longer find, let us know these things too.
Out with the old, and in with the new … In addition to sharing the new website, we also need to say good-by to the TechServices Wiki. As of 30 November 2011 it has been removed from service.
Many thanks go to Armanda, Lisa, and Robert for their good work.
Regards,
Lisa Rowlison de Ortiz
Catalog Department
Tracing Material Within the Catalog Department’s Workflow
The Catalog Department is pleased to resume tracing for urgently needed material that is within the Department’s usual 14-week workflow.
The service will be a part of BadCat, and tracers will be initiated through the BadCat webform. Under “Request Type”, select the “Trace Material” radio button. This will alter the form slightly so you may supply the information necessary to trace a particular title.
The tracing guidelines have been revised and updated. Please see the document “Tracing Material Within the Catalog Department’s Workflow.” The revised guidelines require that the material has been received (not merely on order), that a hold has been placed by the user, and that the BadCat form be filled out.
The BadCat FAQ has been updated to include information on placing a tracer. See especially page 4.
Finally, a very sincere thank you to Linda Kwong, Lorelie Crabtree-Mansur, and Michael Meacham for their stellar work. Updating workflows, policies, the BadCat web form, and the BadCat Footprints system are just a few of the many, many tasks that needed to be completed and integrated in order to get this project off the ground.
Thanks very much!
Lisa
Hold Off Edit Holdings Records Where Volumes are Split between Campus and the NRLF
Library Staff who Work With Holdings Records
Please do not edit Millennium holdings records (Library Has note) to reflect the split of volumes held at NRLF and those held locally. Procedures for this work are currently being written and will need to be vetted with the appropriate Library Councils and committees before putting them into production. If your Library Council or committee wishes to be among those to vet these procedures, please contact: Lisa Rowlison de Ortiz, Head of Serials Cataloging.
Background
In Gladis we had a “Library Has” note (SUM) that showed all volumes owned by a location. Displayed right below it was a “Storage note” (STO) note that indicated which volumes were at the NRLF. A patron could figure out what was on campus by deduction. If it’s in the SUM note, but not in the STO note, it’s on campus.
In Millennium, the campus item records are under the campus location and the NRLF item records are under the NRLF location. Each location shows what is held at that location (i.e., a statement of location, not ownership). When a patron sees a “Library Has” note under the campus location, it looks like all the volumes are on campus. They have to look farther down the display to see the NRLF location to really know what’s on campus and at the NRLF. The Systems Office has just completed running a program that placed a note under appropriate “Library Has” notes in campus locations that says “Some volumes stored off campus; see NRLF holdings below” This will at least give a heads-up to patrons that what they want may not be on campus.
The Catalog Dept. and NRLF are working on procedures for editing holding records for both campus locations and the NRLF. They will be ready for vetting soon.