Break in the clouds

Tuesday afternoon was the grand opening for the AU Columbus Center IRC. Open for business since mid- September, the ribbon-cutting ceremony was an opportunity to meet and greet the center staff and see students are beginning to take advantage of this new resource - and the newly renovated book store next door. It was fun to see a student using the new roll-top laminating machine ...

It was also a blustery weather day; forced to pull off the road and wait out a downpour on the way to Columbus, I was relieved when only rain persisted during my return trip. Exiting the interstate I noticed the clouds, sunshine, and a phenobright light reflecting in my side-view mirror. I pulled off the highway and saw a beautiful double rainbow breaking through the clouds.

Keeping up with tech services

The UPS driver continues to bring new orders the technical services. With the first - and second - start-up funds spent and cataloging under way, responsibility for these items circles back to me. Keeping up with our cataloger's brisk pace has been a daily challenge! Within three days she has cataloged activity books (sixteen different classifications), a collection of leveled book kits, and this afternoon the reference collection.

Building electronic access links to the collection is time consuming, especially since I elected to do so from catalog records prior to book order slips being delivered, and essential. The information it presents to the IRC Columbus Center Committee, translates to an immediately viable resource as end of year staff meetings in Columbus featured the blog and web page with mention of the LibGuide planned for the next few weeks.

The same, but different

The first wave of purchases for the AU Columbus Center IRC is arriving; cataloging has begun on book kits, reference books, and activity books. Fun factor aside, I was playing with the new puppets earlier, as items are placed in containers prior to cataloging it is obvious the new IRC will be unique, not a carbon copy of the current IRC. More importantly, that's how it should be. As noted on the IRC web site, the IRC collection "supports the teaching programs and curriculum of AU's Dwight Schar College of Education." Students at the Columbus Center will have different needs than traditional main campus users, as such the collection needs to adequately address and reflect this distinction.

In a previous post I mentioned the classification system / call numbers planned for the Columbus IRC would utilize simple word classification and numerical accession, with LC for reference. This will do more than make it simple for locating and shelving items initially; students will be able to use "other call number" in the catalog to have immediate access to only Columbus IRC items. Location codes have been added to the catalog allowing for search limits to be set by users. Cataloging has begun on the following items:

• Activity Books
• Book Kits
• IRC Reference

Using the other call number of "col activ" for activity books and "col bookkit" for book kits, it is easy to create links to these collections. Because location codes were developed for Columbus Circulating and Columbus Reference, users are also able to search in the traditional fashion and limit to a single collection. The IRC Reference link was created by using our catalog's word search option, placing an asterisk as the search term, and limiting the location to Columbus Center Reference (something I've previously used with students scanning the catalog for big books).

Corresponding web support for the new collections are following the same path, as collections are cataloged descriptions and links are placed on both the blog and web page. I've been a bit chagrined to discover my previous collection descriptions will not suffice. The basic bones of each provide a great template, but new information will accompany the new collection on the new support pages. That's how it should be, too.

Feast or famine

One of my instructors in the school library tract consistently evoked the wisdom of and end of year wish list, something prepared when the principal came to the library with an opportunity to spend a specified amount of money in a short period of time. It is a policy that has served me well over the years, allowing me on occasion to say, "Yes, buy this!" When my funds are spent, I routinely create a folder and hold requests for the next fiscal year. But I have wondered which would be worse, feast or famine; having insufficient budget funds or having to scramble to find something when a windfall opportunity arises. After this week, the wondering is moot.

Today was the first day of summer hours for the library, the first day of summer courses at Ashland University, and the first day of the final push to spend remaining budget funds for this fiscal (academic) year. I was on target to finish late last week, until receiving an exciting phone call about the status of the new AU Columbus Center IRC (info here, here, and here) and its collection budget. Unexpectedly the days, hours, and weeks spent preparing a budget proposal and collection overview became an exciting reality. Time and effort put forth gels as the collection begins to takes shape.

• Head of circulation traveled to Columbus to train staff members using OhioLINK and has become a touchstone for those charged with handling responsibilities of being an official OhioLINK pick-up point.
• Systems librarian traveled to Columbus to set up systems, load OhioLINK software, and trouble-shoot connection issues.
• Cataloging librarian created necessary location codes, will be cataloging all of the purchases, and developed a system of call numbers (accession and item type) that will make locating and re-shelving items simple for student workers.
• Acquisitions library ordered everything and managed multiple budget lines as different departments provided start-up funds.
• Technical services assistant is processing all of the collection items, many of them non-traditional in nature.

As a result of this particular feast, I have a bit of collection/resource envy. Why? The roll-top laminator slated for purchase is easy-load with a counter and the materials kits are all fresh and new. But for now, my car is loaded with Ellison starter sets and I will be in Columbus tomorrow for meeting scheduled for 9:30 am and we will be mapping the layout of the new IRC!