Libraries
by Ann Wolpert

Public Services
by Steve Gass

Collection Services
by Carol Fleishauer

Administrative Services
by Keith Glavash

Technology Planning and Administration
by MacKenzie Smith

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MIT Libraries
Annual Report FY 2005-2006

Collection Services

COLLECTIONS: New Needs and New Strategies

New funding for collections for FY2005-2006 enabled the Libraries to cover the costs of serials inflation, to expand collections in the life sciences in support of the significant growth in MIT programs, and to purchase backfiles of electronic content.

Significant additions to support the life sciences included the following:

• Biobase databases: Transfac, Transpath, and Proteome
• Brill Academic Journals e-Collection
• Current Protocols: Cytometery, Human Genetics, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Pharmacology
• Psycarticles

One-time funding enabled the Libraries to respond to feed-back from the Library User Survey, conducted in Fall, 2005. That survey revealed a very high interest in expanding “the historic depth of our online collection by providing more electronic access to older journals.” If it isn’t on-line, it doesn’t exist seems to be the perception of a growing segment of our user community. Funding was sufficient to purchase the following backfiles this year:

• Boston Globe, 1872 – 1922
• Elsevier Economics, Econometrics, & Finance
• Elsevier Organic Chemistry
• JSTOR Business Collection
• Royal Society of Chemistry archive
• Wall Street Journal, 1889 – 1987
• Washington Post, 1877 – 1988
• Wiley Biotechnology
• Wiley Materials Science
• Wiley Polymer

However, there are many more backfiles of journals and important indexing and abstracting sources, such as ISI Web of Science, available for purchase. We estimate $300,000 to $500,000 is needed to purchase those most critical to MIT’s programs.

Our growing recognition of the importance of obtaining retrospective electronic content, in combination with the emergence of a potential electronic archiving solution this year, led us toward a decision to begin a more aggressive shift to “electronic-only” versions of journals. “Print Journals Duplicates Cost Estimation ...,” a report prepared by the Head of Acquisitions and Licensing Services and the Head of the Engineering and Science Libraries, defined the savings that could potentially be realized.

Portico, an initiative launched by JSTOR with a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, offers an archival system (managed by a trusted non-profit) focused on the long-term preservation of electronic scholarly journals. It will provide access to electronic journals content in case of defined “trigger events” to member libraries. Elsevier Science and Wiley InterScience, two of the major commercial publishers, as well as several smaller commercial and society publishers have agreed to deposit their electronic journals.

The Libraries administration engaged the Faculty Committee on the Library System in discussion of the need for expending funds on backfiles to meet user demand, and the emergence of a reasonable solution to the archiving dilemma. Based on those discussions, the Libraries are planning to do a major reduction of Elsevier print subscriptions for 2007, and to invest the savings in backfile purchases. We expect to continue the reduction of print subscriptions with other publishers in future years, and we will join Portico early in FY07.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Many additions to existing manuscript and administrative records collections were received in the Institute Archives and Special Collections, and many gift agreements were signed for earlier deposits. In addition, the following new manuscript collections were received: papers of Alvin Drake (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science), Rosalind Williams (Science, Technology, and Society), and Lawrence Young (Aeronautics & Astronautics), and of the Biomedical Enterprise Center. Two oral history collections were also donated, those of former Vice-President William Dickson, and former Vice-Provost, Walter Rosenblith. The oral histories present unique personal perspectives on MIT from the 1950s through the 1990s.

Important gifts of published materials included those from Christiane C. Collins (monographs, pamphlets, slides, and also manuscript materials, recording the architectural design and structure of the works of Raphael Guastavino) and Thomas F. Peterson, Jr. (Annalen de Physik und Chemie, Series 2, 3, & 4, 1852-1923).

In addition, Mr. Peterson established an endowed fund for the special collections conservator position: The Thomas F. Peterson, Jr. (1957) Conservator. This endowment enables the Libraries to take a long- range comprehensive approach to the conservation needs of the significant special collections in our care. A symposium, featuring the new Peterson Conservator and the History of Science and Technology Librarian, was presented in recognition of the endowment on May 25th.

OPERATIONS

As usual, our staff was actively engaged in many significant initiatives designed to improve our processes for acquiring collections, cataloging and preserving them, and for responding to the changing environment in which we work. Only the most significant of these initiatives can be highlighted here.

Ex Libris ALEPH Library System – Migration to Version 16.02

The year started off with migration to a new version of our library system software during the summer of 2005. The migration was a major undertaking for staff in Acquisitions and Licensing Services and Cataloging and Metadata Services. Because this version was a complete redesign of all clients, the planning, testing, and troubleshooting was almost as significant as migrating to a new system. The previous serials client was discontinued and serials processing functionality was moved to the acquisitions module. The serials testing group provided training and documentation for system-wide staff who utilize the serials functionality. Training for selectors in the use of monograph acquisitions and budget functionality was provided by the Head of Monograph Acquisitions and the Financial Administrator.

The bibliographic record loader software used in previous versions was inadvertently left out of Version 16, mandating a “work-around” for cataloging staff for a period of eight weeks. The MARC Database Manager was responsible for testing the upgrade, setting up workflow related to temporary loss of functionality, implementing loader software and discovering and correcting errors. While the results were not as deleterious as they would have been without creative alternative procedures, a cataloging backlog was created that required special efforts to eliminate later in the year.

Utilizaton of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)

Staff members in Monograph Acquisitions were among the first ALEPH customers to utilize EDI to load order records and invoices for monographs. This will significantly streamline acquisitions functions.

SFX/Verde Working Group

A group of staff from throughout the libraries (co-chaired by the Web Manager and the Digital Resources Acquisitions Librarian) worked to envision an improved user interface for information resources provided by the Libraries. This new user interface will require a web-based electronic resources management system as back-end support, in place of our current Vera system. Therefore, part of the process is to investigate the capability of Verde (the ExLibris product co-developed with staff from MIT and Harvard). Two recommendations of the working group were accepted and endorsed in the June Library Council strategic planning retreat: to deploy an integrated-search tool (Metalib) and to acquire a simplified discovery tool – a metadata aggregator with guided navigation. The testing and analysis of Verde is not yet complete, due to delays in the vendor’s schedule.

Electronic Resources: Investigating Compliance Problems

Excessive use incidents reported to the Libraries by providers of licensed information resources have grown steadily from 2 in FY00 to 19 in FY06. However, many of those reported this year turned out to be spurious. The digital environment is becoming increasingly complex. New technologies such as Google Desktop’s crawler component, and the interaction of some versions of Firefox with some versions of Adobe, caused erroneous reports of excessive use. At the same time dynamically assigned IPs and private networks at MIT limit our ability to resolve cases. The actual impact on our users, however, has been significantly reduced because most providers now have adopted the practice of automatic shutdown and restoration of access without waiting for investigation of cause.

Metadata Services to the Institute

While the Metadata Services Unit continued its direct service to OpenCourseWare, this was a year when several other MIT bodies discovered the unit’s services. On-campus clients this year included:

• Podcasting@MIT – defined a recommended set of metadata elements
• MIT ITunesU – defined a recommended set of ID3 tags
• Reference Publications – recommended improvements to metadata used in the MIT Course Catalog and Annual Reports
• The Singapore MIT Alliance – published proceedings in DSpace and enhanced metadata records.

Cataloging: Series Headings and Classification

In the Spring, the Library of Congress announced a decision to eliminate most series authority control. The cataloging staff defined possible responses and outlined the impacts of each potential response on library staff and users. Divisional Libraries Group/Technical Services and Collections (DLG/TSAC) reviewed these responses and agreed to a one-year trial of a response that will maintain the classification pattern for existing classed-together series, but will rely on processing of headings by our authorities vendor for headings control.

The distribution in March of a report prepared for the Library of Congress, The Changing Nature of the Catalog and its Integration with Other Discovery Tools, suggested that many similar changes may be coming as catalog departments adjust to working within the framework of a broader, richer environment of discovery tools for users.

R2 Report: Print Workflows

The Libraries engaged R2 Consulting to review current technical processes carried out in relation to pre-
acquisitions work and receipt of print library materials. The motivation for this was the recognition that electronic resources are assuming greater importance for most user communities, but the bulk of our staff time and effort is still devoted to managing print collections. R2 presented its Observations and Recommendations on June 2. The Associate Director for Public Services and the Acting Associate Director for Collection Services (as of August 1) are charged with developing a process to assess the recommendations for implementation.

Five-Year Plan for the Library Storage Annex (N57)

While the in-house cataloging of serials in the DDC collection continues, the multi-year project to purchase catalog records for the monographs was completed in Summer, 2005. The completion of this major phase of the cataloging work, in addition to the removal of Archives and Gifts materials from the Annex (see below), opened new possibilities for use of the space. The Libraries defined a 5-year plan to transform the Annex into a facility that will function primarily as a document delivery center. Key elements of the plan include the following:

• complete collection review and cataloging and/or disposal of DDC serials and grey literature
• gradually concentrate non-monograph materials without digital equivalents in the Annex
• develop a prototype delivery service

Records Management Consultations

The Archives staff provided consultations regarding management of records to several major administrative offices, including the Department of Facilities, the Office of the Registrar, the Audit Division, the Office of Development Research Systems, and the Office of the Treasurer. Most significantly, they worked closely with the Technology Licensing Office (TLO) to develop record schedules, which were subsequently approved by the Vice President and Secretary of the Corporation, the Vice-President for Research, and the Institute Archivist. Simultaneously, the staff made special efforts to improve the intellectual and physical control of records transferred by the TLO and its predecessor, the Patent, Copyright, and Licensing Office, between 1980 and 2005.

Thesis Specifications

The first major revision of the thesis specifications in several years was undertaken in Summer, 2005. The revisions amended outdated references and addressed the need for clarification in several areas, including concerns expressed by the TLO about the need for greater clarity about copyright.

Digital Projects

A two-year planning position, Digital Projects Manager, was created in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. This position allows the Archives to take over greater responsibility for the digital theses program, freeing up Document Services to focus primarily on the scanning. In addition, the Digital Projects Manager is charged with planning two projects. One is focused on developing a robust, scalable, user-friendly, and sustainable replacement for the current e-thesis service of the MIT Libraries. The second is focused on developing a DSpace-based service that will enable systematic harvesting, archiving and online access for electronic technical reports and working papers. When realized, these projects will enable a significant transformation of traditional responsibilities of the Archives into the digital environment

Wikis

Collaborative website software (Wiki) emerged as a useful tool for communication, documentation, and collaborative work. A Wiki was set up in Acquisitions and Licensing Services to report status on orders for electronic products and the progress of working groups, and to distribute documentation. The Digital Projects Manager also created a Wiki for on-going distribution of information about the projects he is working on.

SPACE

Several space changes this year dramatically improved our ability to manage collections.

In Summer of 2005, the Gifts Program moved from the Gifts cage in the middle of Hayden basement into an expanded area formerly occupied by the Rare Books Room. This relocation provides increased staging space for gifts, improved lighting, and better ergonomics. It also enabled the Gifts Program to vacate space used in the Library Storage Annex, providing additional room for the Libraries’ stored collections.

Secondly, the Archives staff engaged in a special project to clear their collections out of the 4th floor of the Library Storage Annex. This included destruction of temporary records that had passed their retention period, moving still active temporary records to Iron Mountain, and moving 170 manuscript and permanent administrative records collections (over 3,000 boxes in all) to Harvard Depository. This was a time-consuming project, but it resulted in expanded knowledge and better control of the collections. The floor was emptied by June 30, 2006, and celebrated with a pizza party.

At the same time, a CRSP project resulted in several improvements to the Annex. A “weather wall” was constructed to contain the loading dock door and garage environment so that the stacks will not be exposed to such adverse shifts of temperature and humidity, pollution and dirt. This was a substantive improvement. In addition, the two bathrooms were upgraded and a quiet closed-off user space was created.

Finally, an anonymous donor provided funding for an exhibit space for the Institute Archives and Special Collections, utilizing an existing work room and a small piece of the adjacent digital instruction room along the 14N corridor. Planning for this project has begun with the engagement of an architect and a design firm.

SELECTED STATISTICS

• Purchased 22,343 monographs
• Managed 22,272 subscriptions
• Negotiated 33 licenses
• Responded to 403 problems with access to digital resources
• Cataloged 24,468 monographs, 698 music scores, 907 sound recordings, 2,338 MIT theses and technical reports, 1,061 print and electronic serials, 1,216 other formats
• Bound 18,810 volumes and repaired 2,295
• Moved 55,821 volumes to Harvard Depository
• Accessioned 327 cubic feet of administrative records and 196 cubic feet of manuscripts

It has been tremendously satisfying to be associated with highly productive staff who have met the challenges of dramatic change over the last eighteen years.

Carol Fleishauer
Associate Director for Collection Services