The Unlocking Collections Initiative Objectives Group interpreted its charge to include the need for online bibliographic control of both cataloged and uncataloged collections. The Group started with a review of the work of the Bibliographic Control Goal Group. The list of collections needing conversion or cataloging was expanded significantly, and details of the collection, availability of a source file, and its size and scope were added. Efforts were also made to also identify sources of copy.

The Group recognized that it would need to develop a scheme that could be used to prioritize the numerous collections. A significant accomplishment of the group was the development of list of criteria and a point system of weighing the various criteria. The list of criteria includes: existence of source file, usage, impact, elimination of staff costs, importance of collection, fit with Library's mission, uniqueness of collection, space, wild card (for Department Head), urgency, security, and risk of duplication. The Group also identified several environmental factors that are not in themselves criteria for prioritizing, but are factors to be considered: preservation, library systems support, and funding opportunities,

The majority of the projects under consideration are specific retrospective conversion or cataloging projects with a finite size, cost, and timeframe. However, there are also several high priority projects that are not part of the regular workflow, that require a permanent or long-term commitment of staff and resources. The completion of retrospective conversion has emphasized the need to have an ongoing catalog maintenance program. Three projects fall into the category of catalog maintenance.

Action Plan Recommendations

The Group recommended that a new advisory committee be appointed during the fall of 2002, and the new Committee finalizes the list of priorities during the spring of 2003. The Group suggested that an additional staff member be added to support catalog maintenance activities in July 2003 and that two staff members be transferred to post-recon catalog maintenance in January 2004. The Group also recommended an aggressive schedule for post-recon serials clean-up and holdings reconciliation to begin with a Pilot in early 2004.

The Group recommends moving forward with pilot studies and specification development for three high ranked uncataloged collections during FY 2004, and then moving forward with fully developed plans and budgets for FY 2005.

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