Session Descriptions

DAY ONE

Wed., April 15 , 2020

9: 30 – 10:30 a.m. | Registration and morning refreshments

10:30 – 11:00 a.m. | Welcome and Announcements

11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. | Opening Keynote — Open Doors and Free Puppies

Keynote: John Chapman, Senior Project Manager Metadata Strategy and Operations, OCLC, Dublin, Ohio

The tools provided by the Wikimedia Foundation, including Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons, offer important benefits for libraries seeking to expose and connect their collections to the broader web environment. They also provide new opportunities – and direct challenges – to libraries and their paradigms of metadata creation. This presentation will explore the fit, and the friction, between the library metadata community, the Wikimedia community, and the users and enthusiasts they seek to serve. Attendees will gain an understanding of the benefits, challenges, and responsibilities that come with participating in this influential ecosystem.

Core Competency: Cataloging and Metadata

12:00 – 1:15 p.m. | Lunch and Networking

1:15 – 2:15 p.m. | Breakout Sessions 

MarcEdit for Absolute Beginners
(1:15 – 2:15 p.m.)

Presenter: Mike Monaco, Coordinator, Cataloging Services, University of Akron

Have you been hearing about MarcEdit and wondering if it’s something you should know about? This session will take you through a tour of the MarcEdit program to give you an idea of what you can do with it. This will be a basic overview for those who are not using MarcEdit, or only using it for one kind of task, and wonder if there is more they could do with it. Topics include: finding and installing the program; file formats and converting between them; MarcEditor – validate, edit, and analyze records; MarcEdit and Excel; the MarcEdit community.

Core Competency: Cataloging and Metadata

Centralize it! Collection Development and Management, All in One Place: A Panel Discussion
(1:15 – 2:15 p.m.)

Presenters: Kaitlin Booth, Acquisitions Librarian, Medina County District Library; Holly Kabat, Acquisitions Librarian, Medina County District Library; Chris Weaver-Pieh, Collection Resources Manager, Medina County District Library.

The selection, acquisitions, and management of Medina County District Library’s collection is fully centralized. The streamlined, responsive process has earned rave reviews from patrons and staff alike, who feel that the collection is relevant and exciting. With a focus on staff buy-in, clear written guidelines and transparency, the Collection Resources Department strives to anticipate users’ needs and support public service staff. This session will focus on the process of establishing new workflows, presenting them to staff and answering questions and concerns, and evaluating outcomes one year after implementation.

Core Competency: Collection Management

Playing Well with Others: How Cooperative Cataloging Prepares Us for Linked Data
Presenter: Misty Alvaro, Catalog Librarian, Columbus Metropolitan Library
(1:15 – 2:15 p.m.)

For over one hundred years, consortial standards, WorldCat, and other shared projects have been providing experiences fundamental to new collaborations like linked data. Not just for catalogers, this session explores how we can translate our current daily workflows — in authorities, public documentation, project management, and more — to prepare for future philosophies and environment.

Core Competency: Cataloging and Metadata

2:15-2:30 p.m. | Break and refreshments

2:30 – 3:45 p.m. | Breakout Sessions (Un-programs)

Global Village or Dumpster Fire?
The Technical Services Community Online
(2:30 – 3:45 p.m.)

Presenter: Mike Monaco, Coordinator, Cataloging Services; University of Akron

Email lists, Facebook groups and other social media communities for technical services librarians – blessing or scourge? Have you ever found just the answer you needed from an expert online? Or found yourself roasted for asking the “wrong” question? Let’s talk about the various online communities, and how to make the most of them, whether you are looking for advice, community, or just a sympathetic ear.

This is an un-program so be ready to share your stories of success, failures, or just encounters with trolls. Let’s share ideas about how to keep things collegial, avoid misunderstandings, and find the right forum for whatever you need.

Core Competency: Communication

Down and Dirty Collection Management
(2:30 – 3:45 p.m.)

Presenters: Karen Fischer, Collection Development Librarian, Mansfield/Richland County Public Library; Cassandra Peters, Assistant Director, Public Library of Mt. Vernon and Knox County; Kristie Lanzotti, Collections Development Coordinator, Toledo Lucas County Public Library

Every library requires a clear vision of the community it serves in order to meet that community’s needs. So how do we choose the materials our libraries provide? How do we manage the demand for our most popular titles? Our panel of collection development librarians will talk about the nuts and bolts of review sites, online ordering, holds ratios, and digital platforms in use at libraries large and small. Come prepared to discuss everything you ever wanted to know about collection management, but were too afraid to ask.

Core Competency: Collection Management

The Cataloger’s Tool Box
(2:30 – 3:45 p.m.)

Presenters: Barbara Satow, Catalog Librarian Collection Services, Cleveland Public Library; Erin Valentine, Catalog Librarian Collection Services, Cleveland Public Library

Pressed for time and working with limited resources, the modern catalog librarian is always on the lookout for ways to make his or her job a little easier. In this un-program, we’ll explore some of our favorite tips, hacks, work-arounds and out-of-the-box solutions to perplexing problems. Come to share your front-line stories, and maybe discover a new approach to solving some of your cataloging conundrums. And even of you’re not a cataloger, you may find a useful trick or two to incorporate into your workflow.

Core Competency: Cataloging

5:00 – 9:00 p.m. | Dinner and Board Games!
After dinner, enjoy a night of board games and fellowship hosted by the Retreat Committee. We will have a variety of board games and a cash bar. Please indicate if you will be attending the dinner when registering for the Retreat.

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DAY TWO

Thurs., April 16, 2020

8:30-9:00 a.m. | Light Morning Refreshments

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. | Breakout Sessions

e-Books: The State of Relations Between Libraries and Publishers
(9:00 – 10:00 a.m.)
Presenter: Michelle Francis, Executive Director, Ohio Library Council; Jay Smith, Director of Government and Legal Services, Ohio Library Council

Publisher embargoes on new e-book titles for libraries generated a heated response from library organizations in 2019. Join OLC Executive Director Michelle Francis for an update on restricted e-book access, the library community’s response, and forecasting of future trends in content licensing.

Core Competency: Acquisition

Getting to Know Your Team!
(9:00 – 10:00 a.m.)
Presenters: Kristi White, Technical Services Assistant Cataloger, Public Library of Mt. Vernon and Knox County (Main Branch); Dolly Hickman, Circulation Clerk, Public Library of Mt. Vernon and Knox County (Fredericktown Branch)

It’s a big myth that public services and support services staff don’t communicate with each other. This un-program features two moderators (a cataloger and a public service team member) exploring the many benefits of healthy communication between departments, as well as branches. Come join us and share your experiences building bridges and participate in a structured discussion with library staff from both sides!

Core Competency: Communication/Teamwork

Open Source Cataloging Rules: Leveling the Field
(9:00 – 10:00 a.m.)
Presenter: Misty Alvaro, Catalog Librarian, Columbus Metropolitan Public Library

Cataloging rules and subscription services cost big bucks, spurring fresh conversations about how we develop and share our standards. As national libraries around the world provide free and open access to their content, more libraries want consistent and equitable access to basic tools. This session will talk about the history of open access efforts to build and maintain free and accessible rules.

Core Competency: Cataloging and Metadata

10:00 – 10:45 a.m. | Break and refreshments (hotel check out)

10:45 – 11:45 a.m. | Breakout Sessions

Less Money… More Circ: How to Maximize e-Book and e-Audiobook Circ on the Cheap
(10:45 – 11:45 a.m.)
Presenter: Pam Matthews, Collections Manager, Cleveland Public Library

We all know the challenges—which seem to be getting more challenging by the second—of maintaining an electronic collection that doesn’t break the budget while still providing patrons with the titles they want. This unprogram will be a mediated “shout and share” of proven tips and techniques that do just that. Come ready to share your best suggestions and to learn from your colleagues.

Core Competency: Collection Management

Collaboratively Changing our Classification System
(10:45 – 11:45 a.m.)
Presenter: Violet Fox, Metadata Librarian

The pernicious biases in library classification schemes and subject headings have been well-established and discussed at length. Librarians can make suggestions for improvement to the Library of Congress Subject Headings, Library of Congress Classification, and the Dewey Decimal Classifications, but the systems can seem complex and opaque. Participants in this session will learn about the process to propose revisions to these systems and will work in small groups to strategize creating a compelling case for change. Attendees will leave the session with a new appreciation for the complexity of these systems and an understanding of both how to propose revisions as well as the need for collaboration to effect positive changes in our library classification systems.

Core Competency: Cataloging and Metadata

Building Responsive Collections by Improving Communication with Public Services Staff
(10:45 – 11:45 a.m.)
Presenters: Jennifer Young, Selection Librarian, Columbus Metropolitan Library; Tim Thompson, Selection Librarian, Columbus Metropolitan Library; Julie Arter, Librarian, Columbus Metropolitan Library

Robust communication between selectors and public services staff can be a challenge — but it is especially difficult for a large library system with 23 locations, centralized selection, and a separate Operations Center for technical services staff. Come hear how Columbus Metropolitan Library’s selection and acquisitions team facilitates regular information sharing, gathers timely and actionable feedback on patron needs, and identifies “missed opportunities” for circulation through structured collaboration with public services staff. We’ll discuss our various methods and communication channels, and we will share tools and techniques that are scalable for all types and sizes of libraries.

Core Competency: Collection Management

11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch, Networking, and Photo Booth

1:10 p.m.-2:30 p.m. | Closing Keynote – Moving Forward with 2020 Vision

Keynote: Wendy Bartlett, Collection Development and Acquisitions Manager, Cuyahoga County Public Library

“2020 vision” means an opportunity to widen our vision. Being proactive in Technical Services once meant leading on important issues within our own library’s wall and the greater library community. As we step off in to a new decade, global issues call us to “think globally, act locally” in order to ensure our libraries are ready not just to meet those challenges and opportunities, but to be able to anticipate and to understand them. We will in our time together, consider everything from tariffs on books and paper and the potential impact to turnaround times, to the widening gap in income disparities and how that impacts our decisions around service delivery. With great challenges come  great energy and opportunity- join us to discover where your energies will be best invested in the coming decade.

Core Competency: Strategic Planning

2:30 p.m. – ?  | Experience Columbus after the Retreat
It’s time to unwind and relax before heading home. Take a minute to explore what the city of Columbus has to offer! The Retreat Planning Committee will have a list of restaurants, parks and some fun activities for you to enjoy.