Organization and structure of cataloging units in academic libraries research project

Presentation given at the ALCTS Heads of Cataloging Interest Group meeting at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting, Atlanta, GA.

Organization and Structure of Cataloging Units in Academic Libraries Research Project American Library Association Midwinter Meeting Heads of Cataloging Interest Group January 23, 2017 Liz Woolcott Head of Cataloging and Metadata Services Jeremy Myntti Head of Digital Library Services The State of Cataloging/Metadata ● Rapid change in cataloging field ○ Rules ○ Framework ○ Expectations (Internal/External) ○ Mode of delivery ○ Skill sets ○ Personnel ○ Structure of cataloging units ○ Budgets How are cataloging units in academic libraries navigating these changes? The Survey When : March and April 2016 Who : Academic library employees with knowledge of the structure/organization of cataloging unit Where : No geographic boundary set intentionally (although questions were US-centric) What: Questions asked about the following • Institution: type and size • Library size: staff, budget, collection • Cataloging staff, hierarchy, faculty status • Cataloging tasks, outsourced tasks • Future plans for restructuring, task allocation, skills development Website https://catalogingunitorg.wordpress.com/ Survey response rate Respondent demographics Type of Academic Institution Institutional Student FTE Library Collection Size Library Annual Budget Full-time Equivalent Library Staff FTE Cataloging Department Multi-Library System ● ● ● ½ of respondents in multilibrary systems 10 or more libraries in their system Library system supported most commonly by 1 cataloging unit or 5 or more cataloging units Unexpected outcomes Fewer normal distributions More bimodal distributions Tasks Completed https://goo.gl/48IkJg Future Skills for Catalogers Professional Cataloger Titles Most Common Professional Titles Catalog/Cataloging Librarian 54 Metadata Librarian 29 Head of Cataloging and Metadata Services 9 Head of Cataloging 8 Head of Technical Services 8 Electronic Resources Librarian 7 Technical Services Librarian 7 Cataloger 6 Cataloging and Metadata Librarian 6 Systems Librarian 6 Discovery Metadata Librarian 5 Serials Cataloger 5 Paraprofessional Cataloger Titles Most Common Paraprofessional Titles Library Assistant 54 Library Specialist 16 Library Technician 13 Cataloging Assistant 12 Library Associate 18 Library Technical Assistant 9 Cataloging Specialist 8 Metadata Specialist 8 Cataloger 6 Copy Cataloger 6 Cataloging Technician 5 Senior Library Assistant 5 Hourly Staff Titles Most Common Hourly Staff Titles Student Assistant 22 Student Worker 17 Cataloging Assistant 13 Library Assistant 8 Technical Services Assistant 8 Library Specialist 7 Cataloger 6 Student employee 6 Graduate Assistant 3 Cataloging Unit Name Most Common Cataloging Unit Names Technical Services 79 Cataloging 76 Cataloging and Metadata Services 14 Metadata Services 12 Cataloging and Metadata 8 Metadata 7 Current structures 7Layer Profile of Structure • Layer 1: Library Director • Layer 2: Assistant Library Director • Layer 3: Division Head • Layer 4: Coordinator or Head of Cataloging Unit • Layer 5: Cataloger or Subject Specialist • Layer 6: Technician, Copy Cataloger, or Library Assistant • Layer 7: Student or Hourly Assistant 7Layer Profile of Structure • Student FTE: 25-30K • Unit Name: Cataloging and Metadata** • Collection Size: 1-5M • Division Name: Technical Services • Annual Budget: $5-$10M* • ILS: Sierra • Library Staff FTE: 100-150+ • Cataloging Utility: OCLC Connexion • Multi-Library System: Yes • Digital Repository help: Yes • # of Libraries: 5 or 10+ • Digital Library: CONTENTdm • # of Cataloging Units: 1 • Institutional Repository: D-Space *Not known by most respondents • Outsourcing: Yes ** Unit description varied: unit, department, services, etc. 7Layer Profile of Structure Avg.Cataloging Unit Employee FTE • Faculty Status: Faculty, Tenuretrack • Professional Title: Catalog Librarian, Principal Cataloger Professional 4.2 Para-Professional 7.8 Hourly 2.5 • Para-professional Title: Cataloging Specialist, Cataloging Technician 14.5 • Hourly Title: Student Assistant, Metadata Student Assistant Total 6 Profile of Layer Structure • Layer 1: Library Director • Layer 2: Assistant Library Director • Layer 3: Coordinator or Head of Cataloging Unit • Layer 4: Cataloger or Subject Specialist • Layer 5: Technician, Copy Cataloger, or Library Assistant • Layer 6: Student or Hourly Assistant 6 Profile of Layer Structure • Student FTE: 30-40K • Collection Size: 1-5M • Annual Budget: $10-$20+M* • Library Staff FTE: 150+ • Multi-Library System: Yes • # of Libraries: 10+ • # of Cataloging Units: 2 • Unit Name: Cataloging and Metadata Management** • Division Name: Technical Services • ILS: Millenium or Symphony • Cataloging Utility: OCLC Connexion • Digital Repository help: Yes • Digital Library: CONTENTdm • Institutional Repository: DigitalCommons • Outsourcing: Yes *Not known by most respondents ** Unit description varied: unit, department, services, etc. 6 Profile of Layer Structure Avg.Cataloging Unit Employee FTE • Faculty Status: Non-Faculty, but with continuing appointment Professional 5.5 Para-Professional 9.1 • Professional Title: Metadata Librarian Hourly 4.4 • Para-professional Title: Library Assistant Total 18.9 • Hourly Title: Student Assistant, Library Assistant 5 Profile of Layer Structure • Layer 1: Library Director • Layer 2: Assistant Library Director • Layer 3: Coordinator or Head of Cataloging Unit and Cataloger/Specialist • Layer 4: Cataloger and Technicians, Copy Catalogers, or Library Assistants • Layer 5: Student or Hourly Assistants 5 Profile of Layer Structure • Student FTE: 10-15K, 40+K • Unit Name: Cataloging and Metadata** • Collection Size: 1-5M • Division Name: Technical Services • Annual Budget: $1-$20+M* • ILS: Voyager or Aleph 500 • Library Staff FTE: 150+ • Cataloging Utility: OCLC Connexion • Multi-Library System: Yes • Digital Repository help: Yes • # of Libraries: 7 • Digital Library: CONTENTdm • # of Cataloging Units: 5+ • Institutional Repository: D-Space *Not known by most respondents • ** Unit description varied: unit, department, services, etc. Outsourcing: Yes 5 Profile of Layer Structure Avg.Cataloging Unit Employee FTE • Faculty Status: Faculty, tenure track Professional 3.4 Para-Professional 5.1 • Professional Title: Metadata Librarian Hourly 1.9 • Para-professional Title: Library Assistant or Library Associate Total 10.2 • Hourly Title: Student Assistant, Library Associate 4 Profile of Layer Structure • Layer 1: Library Director • Layer 2: Assistant Library Director • Layer 3: Coordinator or Head of Cataloging Unit and Cataloger/Specialist • Layer 4: Cataloger and Technicians, Copy Catalogers, or Library Assistants 4 Profile of Layer Structure • Student FTE: 10-15K • • • • • • Collection Size: 1-5M • Annual Budget: $1-$5M* • Library Staff FTE: 11-30 or 71-100 • Multi-Library System: Yes • • # of Libraries: 2, 3, or 10+ • • # of Cataloging Units: 1 • *Not known by most respondents ** Unit description varied: unit, department, services, etc. Unit Name: Cataloging** Division Name: Technical Services ILS: Sierra Cataloging Utility: OCLC Connexion Digital Repository help: Sort of Digital Library: CONTENTdm Institutional Repository: Digital Commons Outsourcing: Yes 4 Profile of Layer Structure Avg.Cataloging Unit Employee FTE • Faculty Status: Faculty, tenure track Professional 2.4 Para-Professional 2.9 • Professional Title: Catalog Librarian, Cataloging Librarian Hourly 1.0 • Para-professional Title: Library Assistant Total 6.3 • Hourly Title: Student Assistant 3 Profile of Layer Structure • Layer 1: Library Director • Layer 2: Coordinator or Head of Cataloging Unit and Cataloger/Specialist • Layer 3: Technicians, Copy Catalogers, or Library Assistants 3 Profile of Layer Structure • Student FTE: 10-15K • Collection Size: 100K-1M • Annual Budget: $1-$5M* • Library Staff FTE: 11-50 • Multi-Library System: No • # of Libraries: 2 or 3 • # of Cataloging Units: 1 *Not known by most respondents ** Unit description varied: unit, department, services, etc. • • • • • • • Unit Name: Technical Services** Division Name: Technical Services ILS: Voyager Cataloging Utility: OCLC Connexion Digital Repository help: No Digital Library: CONTENTdm Institutional Repository: D-Space and Digital Commons • Outsourcing: No 3 Profile of Layer Structure Avg.Cataloging Unit Employee FTE • Faculty Status: Faculty, tenure track Professional 2.1 Para-Professional 2.0 • Professional Title: Cataloging Librarian Hourly 1.0 • Para-professional Title: Library Assistant Total 5.0 • Hourly Title: Student Assistant 2 Profile of Layer Structure • Layer 1: Library Director • Layer 2: Coordinator or Head of Cataloging Unit and Cataloger/Specialist 2 Profile of Layer Structure • Student FTE: less than 1K • Collection Size: 10K-100K or 1-5M • Annual Budget: less than 1M* • Library Staff FTE: 1-30 • Multi-Library System: Yes • # of Libraries: 2 or 6 • # of Cataloging Units: 2 *Not known by most respondents ** Unit description varied: unit, department, services, etc. • • • • • • • Unit Name: Technical Services** Division Name: none ILS: Sierra Cataloging Utility: OCLC Connexion Digital Repository help: No Digital Library: CONTENTdm Institutional Repository: D-Space, Digital Commons, or CONTENTdm • Outsourcing: No 2 Profile of Layer Structure Avg.Cataloging Unit Employee FTE • Faculty Status: Faculty, tenure track and Faculty, non-tenure track Professional 1.4 Para-Professional 1.4 • Professional Title: Cataloging Librarian Hourly 1.0 • Para-professional Title: Library Assistant Total 3.7 • Hourly Title: Library Assistant Change In Structure Current Hierarchy Layer Chang e in numbe r of layers from 10 years prior 2 Layer 3 Layer 4 Layer 5 Layer 6 Layer 7 Layer Total -2 layers 0 2 0 1 0 0 3 -1 layer 3 4 4 4 0 0 15 Same 5 7 17 17 7 7 60 +1 layer 0 1 5 7 6 5 24 +2 layers 0 0 0 2 2 2 6 +3 layers 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Total 8 14 26 31 16 14 109 Reductions in Hierarchies Currently Happened as a result of: 2 or 3 layers Reductions in upper administration (outside of cataloging unit) 4 layer Reductions in upper administration (outside of cataloging unit) OR merging internal layers (technicians with para-professional, professionals and unit heads) 5 layer Redefining entire structures (merging all of tech services into one unit) or merging internal layers (professional and para-professionals OR para-professionals and hourly employees) Expansion of Hierarchies Currently Happened as a result of: 3 and 4 layers Increases in external upper administration (usually Assistant Dean/Assistant University Librarian level) 5, 6, and 7 layers Restructuring into team-based groups under a unit head or division leader, also adding in Assistant Deans/Assistant University Librarians or Division Heads Broad Trends • Structures and organizational hierarchies are in flux • Three main shifts: • Grouping all tech services into single reporting unit • Splitting cataloging units into other library units, usually: • • Electronic resources • Acquisitions • Collection Development • Special Collections/Archives • Digital Initiatives Developing team models based on skill sets • Shifting structures result of increased demand for e-resources and digital collections • Cataloging staffing shifts = Loss of positions outright or refocus of staff • Increasing emphasis placed on para-professional and hourly employees • Heavy reliance on outsourcing Organization and Structure of Cataloging Units in Academic Libraries Research Project https://catalogingunitorg.wordpress.com/ Liz Woolcott Head of Cataloging and Metadata Services Jeremy Myntti Head of Digital Library Services