Iowa OCLC Users Group
Annual Report for 2011-2012
The gavel was officially passed from Holly Youngquist to Deb Robertson on August 18, 2011. The IOUG board met 6 additional times during the year. Teleconference meetings were held on October 5, 2011; December 6, 2011; February 2 and 27, 2012; March 5, 2012 and April 18, 2012. During these calls the board discussed how to proceed with the organization. Two surveys were sent during the year to learn what Iowa librarian’s needs are with respect to OCLC and its annual user conference.
The first survey was developed to learn more about conference planning for the year’s to follow the 2012 conference. Links to the survey were posted on IA-LIB and IA/ACRL discussion lists. This survey was put together by Deb Fliegel and Heidi Pettitt with feedback from the board. The data gathered will help inform the board on planning the conference in 2013 and beyond.
The second survey was developed to learn more about what OCLC products/services are used in Iowa and how decisions were made when deciding to attend the annual conference. This survey was developed by Margaret Stangohr and Deb Robertson. Deb R. traveled to Storm Lake to work with Margaret. The full board gave feedback for editing and then links to the survey were sent out on Iowa discussion lists. Additionally, direct messages were sent to listed contacts of past and present member libraries. The board offered a gas gift card to the survey respondents that entered their contact information. The winner of the gift card was David Muhlena, Director National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library. The data gathered was shared at the annual meeting. This information will help inform the decision making process for the future of the organization.
On a sad note, the board had to report that long-time friend of the Iowa OCLC User Group, Marianne Malinowski, lost her battle with cancer. Marianne served as the board secretary for many years. Donations were made in her name to the Story County Animal Shelter or the Ames Animal Shelter per her families wishes.
The Iowa OCLC Users Group Pre-conference and Annual Conference took place at the Saint Francis Conference Center, at Briar Cliff University, in Sioux City, Iowa. The Preconference was held on Thursday, May 10th and the Annual Conference was held on Friday, May 11, 2012. There twenty-three registered participants for the pre-conference and thirty-nine for the conference. With the of the conference in Sioux City this year the board had elected to send invitations to librarians in neighboring Nebraska and South Dakota. This resulted in two extra attendees from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD.
The preconference presenter was Dreama Deskins, long-time Iowa library trainer and consultant. Dreama’s presentation was titled, What’s New in OCLC Cataloging?
The keynote speaker for the annual conference was Matt Goldner, the Product and Technology Advocate for the library community at OCLC. Matt’s talk was titled, Collaboration, What Can We Do Together?
Marilyn Murphy, from Mount Mercy University, shared her experiences and uses of their instance of OCLC’s WorldShare at the Busse Library. Barb Corson gave the Iowa Library Services/State Library Update.
The meals during the conference included an executive boxed lunch for the preconference. Assorted muffins and fruit were offered as participants arrived on Friday morning, a pasta bar with salad, bread sticks and brownies, and cookies and drinks were ready to grab and go at the end of the day.
The board offered two scholarships for all costs associated with attending the conference. Only one application was received. Deb Robertson and Heidi Pettitt served as the scholarship selection committee. The winner of this scholarship was Paula Coulthard from the University of Northern Iowa.
The business meeting held after lunch offered the following information:
The Treasurer’s report:
The financial position of the Iowa OCLC User’s Group is positive, with our current bank balance at $4,792. This balance is comprised of your annual memberships and conference registrations. You make the conference possible. In April we donated $50 each to the Ames Animal Shelter and the Story County Animal Shelter in memory of Marianne Malinowski.
Election results:
- Vice-President/President-Elect -- Susan Rappenwolf
- Chair, Cataloging Section -- Susan Green
- Vice-Chair, Cataloging Section -- Monica Rohde-Fulton
- Chair, Digital initiatives Section -- Kristen Smith
- Vice-Chair -- Vacant Chair, ILL -- Marie Harms
- Vice-Chair -- Vacant
These board members will begin their duties on July 1st with Heidi Pettitt as President, Deb Robertson as Past-President, Margaret Stangohr as Secretary, Steve Cox as Treasurer, Susan Moore as Webmaster, and Barb Corson as the Ex-Officio State Library Representative.
Thanks to those board members who will be leaving the board, Holly Youngquist, Deb Fliegel, Laura Riskedahl, and Florene Cork.
Announcements included two pleas from our secretary:
1. Be sure to have your Finance/Business Office update their vendor record for IOUG to Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, Iowa.
2. Update local contact information on next membership renewal form.
Following the board meeting the annual door prizes were given. The winner of the Nook Grand Prize from the board was Deb Hagemeier, from Augustana College, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The group broke into sections for section specific programming and discussion. The group then reassembled for a brief wrap up session.
SECTION REPORTS:
Cataloging Section – Deb Fliegel, Chair, Cataloging Committee
This year was a busy year for catalogers from changes in OCLC to the upcoming rollout of RDA in March, 2013. The pre-conference with Dreama Deskins entitled “What’s new in OCLC Cataloging?” provided an excellent overview and framework for further discussion in the Cataloging Section on the following day. Her commonsense and practical approach suggested opportunities for each institution to evaluate and manage the upcoming changes without undue stress. She clarified and explained terminology, institutional options, and how to best use cataloging tools and software. During the section meeting, participants shared their concerns and strategies for managing workflow improvements in their individual institutions. There was lively discussion on how to provide the best access to materials for our constituencies within the parameters of staff and budget.
Digital Initiatives Section – Laura Riskedahl, Chair, Digital Initiatives
The Digital Initiatives Section meeting convened with a discussion led by Laura Riskedahl, Head of Audiovisual at Coe College. The group reviewed information on the WorldCat Digital Collection Gateway and its effect on the usage/accessibility of local collections of primary sources through WorldCat. Information was also provided by an Iowa Library Services representative on the Iowa Heritage Digital Collections, which also aim to provide global access to local collections. The group again discussed the OCLC hosted “quick start” instance of CONTENTdm available to member institutions, and how each member library is currently using CONTENTdm to their advantage. The pros and cons of Omeka, an open source digital collection management system, were also discussed. Films on Demand, the streaming educational video database, were also contemplated as a resource for libraries. A representative from Briar Cliff University detailed his experience with Films on Demand, Internet bandwidth issues that it creates, and specific usage of the resource by professors.
Interlibrary Loan Section – Florene Cork, Chair, Interlibrary Loan Section
The OCLC Interlibrary Loan Section met on May 11, 2012 at Briar Cliff University at 1:15 pm until 2:30. There were 10 participants. We had a round robin discussion on several topics including the implementation of WorldCat Knowledge base, the use of Article Exchange, and “Get it Now.” Everyone contributed with their experiences in dealing with difficult patrons, library policies and delivery of materials.
Iowa OCLC User Group 2011-2012 Board Members:
- Deb Robertson, Briar Cliff University, President
- Heidi Pettitt, Loras College, Vice President/President Elect
- Holly Youngquist, Newton Public Library, Past President
- Margaret Stangohr, Buena Vista University, Secretary
- Steve Cox, State Library of Iowa, Treasurer
- Susan Moore, University of Northern Iowa, Webmaster
- Deb Fliegel, Carnegie Stout Public Library, Chair, Cataloging Section
- Susan Green, St. Ambrose University, Vice-Chair, Cataloging Section
- Laura Riskedahl, Coe College, Chair, Digital Initiatives
- Florene Cork, Buena Vista University, Chair, Interlibrary Loan Section
- Barbara Corson, State Library of Iowa, State Library Representative Ex-Officio
Respectfully Submitted, Deb Robertson, President IOUG 2011 - 2012