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E-Resource Workflows in CORAL

A while back, I read the book “The Checklist Manifesto.” It was a very worthwhile read that was very relevant to libraries and librarians. That has been in the back of my mind as I craft workflows for our electronic resources. The books main premise, as summarized by Steven Levitt is simply this:

No matter how expert you may be, well-designed check lists can improve outcomes.

Two small details from that book have stuck with me.

First, useable workflows are short. Long checklists seem doomed to fail – it is better to break those up into smaller, more manageable lists. Many of the books examples are drawn from the airline and health care industries; it would be crazy to craft comprehensive workflows in those situations. So they have checklists for particular situations that, if need be, direct you to other checklists. I’ve adopted and adapted that idea here.

Second, checklists can either be READ-DO lists or DO-CONFIRM lists. READ-DO checklists are like recipes; you read something and then do something. DO-CONFIRM checklists reverse the order; do the things that need to be done and then confirm they are done. I think too many library checklists are READ-DO checklists when I believe that DO-CONFIRM lists are better suited to this part of library resources. Why? Because the diversity of library resources sometimes demand different things and because, often, the order of steps isn’t vitally important. I could be swayed on this – but right now I’ve been happy with my DO-CONFIRM checklist.

In CORAL, workflows are set for Acquisition Type, Format, and (optionally) Type. All of these fields can be defined in the admin setting of the resources tab. I’ve decided not to really discriminate based on resource type or resource format. So, essentially, we have four basic workflows for electronic resources. They are as follows:

Active Trial/Electronic/[Any]

This is the starting place for all new electronic resources and is the basic workflow when setting up a trial.

  1. Resource information is complete in CORAL.
  2. Organization information is complete in CORAL.
  3. Collection decision has been made.
  4. Appropriate Access Points have been determined and recorded.
  5. Pay invoice; gather license; change Acquisition Type in CORAL.

Paid/Electronic/[Any]

If after the trial period we decide to purchase  resource, I will change the acquisition type to “Paid” – this will trigger a number of different CORAL workflows based on the resource type. Here is the basic and general outline.

  1. Resource and Organization information is complete in CORAL.
  2. A copy of the invoice is saved in CORAL.
  3. A copy of the license is saved in CORAL and has been parsed for ILL rights.
  4. Appropriate access points have been created.
  5. Access has been checked from both on-campus and off-campus.
  6. SUSHI (or alternative statistic measuring tool) is in place.

Free/Electronic/[Any]

I’ve decided to add all of the free resources that North Park provides access to in CORAL for a number of reasons. First, I’d like CORAL to be a centralized and complete inventory of all our electronic resources. Second, if we are providing access we need to commit to supporting that access. Third, because so many valuable information resources are moving forward open access models.

  1. Title information is relatively complete in CORAL.
  2. Applicable access points (Catalog, Database pages, Libguides, SFX) have been created.
  3. Check access points.

Additionally, a few of these resources are actually cancelled print+online titles that guarentee perpetual access. Because the workflows are identical, I’d added these to this category with notes detailing the acquisition history. They are identifiable by having a resource type of “ejournal (single title)”. NOTE: If we start adding many open access titles to our list, I might have to specify what sort of “free” we are talking about; free because of a past subscription or free because it’s open access.

Cancelled/Electronic/[Any]

Right now, our “Historical” Acquisition type is for cancelled titles are trials that we decided not to purchase. In addition to changing the status as “archives” we have a one step workflow for these resources.

  1. All Access Points have been removed, disabled, or deleted.

Additionally, I note why the product was cancelled and/or why we opted not to purchase the product.

So that’s it. I have other workflows for the more detailed processes (adding a title to SFX, setting up SUSHI, etc.) but those exist best as separate workflows.

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Changing the LDR using MarcEdit

Just a quick update with a new workflow to add to this informal guide to my use of MarcEdit. The way our consortium (CARLI) displays format facets in VuFind recently changed and some of the MARC records for ebooks needed to be updated. One thing that needed to change was the “Bibliographic Level” in the leader needed to be changed from “d” to “a.”

I was unsure how to do this, but a simple google search resulted in Terry Reese’s helpful blog that explained the process and the function. I snapped a quick screenshot for future reference.

change LDR in MARC records

Unlike other subfields, the Leader is character specific and things cannot simply be deleted; they much be carefully replaced to preserve the order and spacing. The “Bibliographic Level” is recorded in the 7th position, so I ran this global change command and quickly made the switch to all 3,500 records.

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Bulk Importing Special Characters

I’ve been working on the North Park Archon project for the past few weeks and noticed a troubling trend. When I tried to upload the box/folder lists for our finding aids through the CSV import process, the system would reject all the special characters. Not outright reject them – just truncate the field before the character and move on to the next metadata sub-field.

Obviously, this was annoying and unfortunate – especially because I didn’t catch it until I had imported all the data.

It turns out that the problem was in the encoding language of the CSV document. For some reason, my default was set as ANSI; switching it to UTF made the difference and Archon’s scripts were able to import the special characters in the collection content field.

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Archon Procedures

For both internal and external audiences, I thought I would create and document a complete workflow process for the North Park University account of Archon. It might be long – you’ve been warned.

Installation and Initial Set-Up

As part of CARLI, we have opted to implement their hosted version of Archon; because of this, set up and installation was easy.

  1. Requested a “North Park University” repository to be created in both the test and production environments
  2. Requested login credentials for all NPU employees needing access.
  3. Because Archon is totally web based, no software or programs need to be installed or maintained.

Creating Classifications

Archon supports (but doesn’t require) collections to be grouped in classifications. For the initial set of collections, we created a Swedish American Archives of Greater Chicago (SAAGC) classification within the North Park repository and classification. Here is the link to that description and listing.

  1. In the Archon Admin platform, select “Collections” and then “Classification Manager.” Under the “88 North Park University” Classification, create child classifications to suit the collection needs.Classification Manager SAAGC
  2. Create a classification (or subclassification) to suit the needs of the collection. These classifications can be several levels “deep” and can suit a variety of collections.
  3. If there is pressing need, the following things could be edited to suit the needs of the collection. However, Archon’s default units seem to be well suited to our needs (and makes our metadata more consistent in the CARLI environment)
  4. Extent Units – Units of measure for the collection (boxes, cubic feet, folders, items, letters, linear feet, linear inches, photographs)
  5. Level/Containers – Units to define intellectual (Series, subseries) and physical divisions of the collection (Box, folder, item)
  6. Material Types – Used to define the class of the material (note – NOT the genre of the material

Creating Collections

Collections are basic building blocks of Archon and carry the bulk of the descriptive metadata. This page will walk through the process using Archon’s steps and process; a summary of the metadata will be posted below.

We have decided to make the metadata in bold required at North Park.

Collection Metadata – General

create collection

  1. Title – The given title of the collection (including the words “records, papers, collection, etc?)
  2. Enable Web Output
  3. Repository – North Park University
  4. Classification – Per the collection’s needs; created in the classification manager.
  5. Collection Identifier – Unique identifier – remember that collection identifiers are also inherited from classifications.
  6. Sort Title – Remove articles, etc. following standard cataloging rules.
  7. Normal date – Date range for the collection
  8. Inclusive Date – this automatically populates based on the normalized dates above.
  9. Predominant Date – add if predominant dates are different and/or important to the collection.
  10. Material Type  – select based on collection needs (defined elsewhere)
  11. Extent – Use cubic feet as the standard unit of measure.
  12. Finding Aid Author – Use the processing information field instead.
  13. Creator(s) – Documentation forthcoming.
  14. Primary Creator – Documentation forthcoming.

The general collection metadata must be saved before adding additional metadata.

Collection Metadata – Descriptive

collection manager descr

  1. Abstract – Documentation forthcoming.
  2. Scope – Documentation forthcoming.
  3. Arrangement
  4. Alt Extent Statement
  5. Biographical/Historical Note
  6. Biographical/Historical Note Author
  7. Subjects – Documentation forthcoming.
  8. Languages – Use Archon’s standard langauge coding.

Collection Metadata – Location

Documentation forthcoming.

Collection Metadata – Acquisitions

collection acq

  1. Initial Date Acquired (mm/dd/yyyy) – partial data (just the year) is fine and displays well in the public interface.
  2. Source – “Use this field to record the source from which the repository directly acquired the materials being described”
  3. Method – More of a free text version of the date and source field.
  4. Appraisal Info
  5. Accruals/Additions – [Note: displays publically with the heading “Acquired:” before the data.
  6. Custodial History – [Note: I don’t think this field displays publicly]

Collection Metadata – Restrictions

  1. Access/General – Use the general archival statement unless collection requires more specification. If only subsets of the collection are restricted, make a note here as well as on the individual box/folder/item.
  2. Use/Rights
  3. Physical
  4. Technical

Collection Metadata – Other Info

  1. Other URL
  2. Other Note
  3. Books
  4. Digital Content

Collection Metadata – Related Materials

  1. Related Materials
  2. Related Materials URL
  3. Related Publications
  4. Separated Materials
  5. Original/Copy Note
  6. Original/Copy URL
  7. Preferred Citation –

Collection Metadata – Finding Aid Info

  1. Rules Used
  2. Processing Information
  3. Revision History
  4. Publication Date
  5. Publication Note
  6. Written in

Collection Metadata – Summary of Essential Fields

  1. Title – The given title of the collection; including the words “records, papers, collection, etc.
  2. Repository – North Park University
  3. Classification – Per the collection’s needs; created in the classification manager.
  4. Collection Identifier – Unique identifier – remember that collection identifiers are also inherited from classifications.
  5. Sort Title – Remove articles, etc. following standard cataloging rules.
  6. Normal date – Date range for the collection
  7. Material Type  – select based on collection needs (defined elsewhere)
  8. Extent – Use cubic feet as the standard unit of measure.
  9. Creator(s) – Documentation forthcoming.
  10. Primary Creator – Documentation forthcoming.
  11. Abstract – Documentation forthcoming.
  12. Scope – Documentation forthcoming.
  13. Arrangement – A short description of the arrangement; more documentation forthcoming.
  14. Subjects – Documentation forthcoming.
  15. Languages – Use Archon’s standard language coding.
  16. Method of Acquisition– More of a free text version of the date and source field.
  17. Access/General – Use the general archival statement unless collection requires more specification. If only subsets of the collection are restricted, make a note here as well as on the individual box/folder/item.
  18. Preferred Citation –

Collection Content

Archon uses the term “Collection Content” for all of the descriptive metadata under the Collection level – i.e. box and folder lists. This information can be added and edited via the “Collection Content Manager” under “Collections” in the Archon Admin module, but this data can also be bulk upload as a CSV document via the “Database Management” tool under the “Archon Administration” tab.

Uploading as CSV

To migrate existing finding aids, the batch loading process is most convenient. It involves creating and manipulating data in Excel, saving as CSV, and importing into Archon. The first nine column headings are as follows

  1. Archon ID – based exactly on the classification and content. Cut and paste from Archon to avoid problems.
  2. Series – Create series heading only for very large collections.
  3. Subseries – Try to avoid creating these at all costs.
  4. Box – Create in Archon to reflect order on the shelf.
  5. Folder – Create in Archon to reflect order on the shelf.
  6. Item – Use minimally and only when needed.
  7. Title – Preserve folders titles as recorded; if descriptive data is needed from headings, append to the extant box title.
  8. Date – Record date following RDA guidelines.
  9. Description – Move additional descriptive information from title to descriptive field.

Here is a huge sample (saved as an Excel spreadsheet and not as CSV) for a visual sample and the rest of the column headings.

Because the fields will be determined by the series, subseries, boxes, folders, and items of the collection and none of those fields are required for the given

Manipulating in Archon

Documentation forthcoming.

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Getting Started with Archon, part 1

I’ve finally started uploading out finding aids to our CARLI hosted install of Archon and am really enjoying this whole process. Simply recreating the finding aids we currently have (as word documents) in Archon has gone pretty well.

I’m manually creating the Collection group from the current finding and then uploading the Collection Content (Box and Folder list) in small batches in CSV form via the Database Management tab.

One thing I’m noticing is that most of these finding aids have a long (very long!) arrangement section and no scope or description as such. It’s very rich metadata that I don’t want to lose, but it would be nice if there was a shorter description and scope note to aid researchers. Archon prioritizes these fields by having them display on the main landing page and that makes it important enough to consider. I’ll add that to the “next step” for Archon that I have planned.

One small by interesting question was how to format abbreviations, etc. in Archon. Migrating and populating a new database (especially by batch loading and manipulating data in Excel) allowed for some relatively global changes. So I’ve decided to implement some principles of RDA! Exciting, I know.

RDA and Archon

Looking to the future, I’ve decided to implement the following changes to our descriptive metadata following the recommendations of RDA:

  • The abbreviations “c.” and “ca.” will be spelled out as “approximately” for the box and folder lists.
  • The abbreviation “n.d.” will be written out as “Date not identified” when standing alone and “undated” when part of a list.
  • Months will be spelled out in full form; “August” instead of “Aug.” and so forth.

 Next Steps for Archon

Reviewing my previous post on Archon, my updated “next steps” now include:

  • Write short Scope and Abstract statements for each collection.
  • Apply language headings for the material.
  • Create and maintain creator records – doing authority control and supplying minimal descriptive information.
  • Choose and apply Library of Congress Subject Headings.
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Setting up Archon

After a long time of excitement, I have officially been tasked with setting up an implementation of Archon for North Park University. I thought it would be helpful to create a brief working guide to setting up this system and what sort of data cleaning needed to be done.

  1. Create a repository for each collection.
  2. Look at Extent Units Manager, Level/Container Manager, Material Types and confirm that all are appropriate for the North Park Collections.
  3. Create and maintain creator records and import the basic level of biography and history.
  4. Create and upload a CSV for each of the different collections with basic information for the broad collection.
  5. Create and upload a CSV for the content of each of the collections. Loosely apply a controlled vocabulary as well as adopt naming conventions at the point of upload..
  6. Preserve all of these files for easy import

And I’ve identified these as the next steps

  1. Choose and apply subject heading analysis using Library of Congress Subject Headings.
  2. Work with electronic resources librarian for custom CSS and styling.
  3. Controlling vocabulary for the container lists.

I’m really excited to get started on this project and will be sure to keep the blog updated on my progress!

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Adding, moving, and deleting fields using MarcEdit

Adding, moving, and deleting fields is easy using MarcEdit.

We want to move the vendor name from the 710 field to the 797 field. This command makes that switch: Tools>Copy Field

This doesn’t change the indicators at all; if they need to be changed, use the Tools>Edit Indicator Data to make that change.

Adding a new field is very easy; go to Tools>Add Field to make the addition.

That’s pretty easy! These same commands can be used to add any new field to all records. It get’s more complicated with reformatting fields and conditional logic, but the basic adding, deleting, and moving fields is very easy in MarcEdit.

 

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Changing call numbers for ebooks using MarcEdit

This is a partial, visual workflow to document local use of Marc Edit. This page details how to move call numbers from the 050 field to the 090 field and then append a constant “eb” to the end of the call number field.

Move the call number from the 050 to the 090.

Tools>Copy Fieldmarcedit1

Append “eb” to the end of the 090

Tools>Edit Subfield

marcedit2

 

 

By running a quick report within MarcEdit (Reports>Field Count), you can see how many records have 050 fields. If not all the records have call numbers, local practice should dictate the what happens next.