Finding Aids Report to LMC (9/22/04)

[format modified by dsl 10/26/05]

[1. Changes in Department Organization]

[snip]

2. Background

A little background … last fall I approached Meg with my idea for convening a group to talk about a number of issues related to our various finding aid projects--and specifically, how to take our various projects and create a sustainable program. Meg helped me bring a group a stakeholders and archivists together back in December. There was clearly an interest, and I was able to present myself as an interested party, but neutral with regards to best solutions. I continued to meet with a group through the spring. This report pulls together our goals and recommendations.

3. Problem

· My interest in this whole arena was peeked last summer when Jae Rossman came to me asking for help in trying to create a finding aid for the Arts Library… and she was having a very difficult time getting started.

· We have Finding Aid projects active in Beinecke, MSSA, Divinity and Music--each built on a different platform (or in the case of music outsourced for the EAD encoding) … and none of these units has structures in place to support other units.

Different platform -- different hardware and software

Considerable redundancy--not efficient from where I stand

Beinecke and MSSA are better positioned to maintain --though Beinecke's still uses software written by Ralph Franklin… but

Divinity is using something based on an outdated version of Wordperfect (I think 8.) and an XML conversion program that runs only with that version Wordperfect… and the student who wrote the xml conversion is in England.

(This is comparable to each unit maintaining and trying to enhance its own NOTIS based system (or maybe Geac for those of you who go back that far)

· So, if you are not a player, it is very, very difficult to become one. … especially if your unit or Library does not have the financial resources, they systems expertise, and staff to support it.

· We have also had some recent cases of selectors wanting to add manuscript materials to the collection, but for whatever reason, MSSA or some other unit with a Finding Aid set-up was not an appropriate place for them to be housed. A couple of my catalog department staff have found themselves creating collection level records in ORBIS for these materials for lack of the ability to create an EAD finding aid.

· It is far more difficult to pursue system enhancements in this de-centralized environment

· Finally, I want to go back to the presentation that Scott Gac gave to LMC last spring when he talked about the difficulties of using special collections at Yale. He spoke about our vast, rich collections, and the difficulty of knowing how or where to begin … trying to understand where he needed to search, and a general sense of frustration.

4. Why do we need a Finding Aids Program?

· Finding Aids are directly related to our strategic priorities --- integrated access and unlocking collections.

· The Finding Aids (whether they are paper or EAD) are the Library's primary access to a huge portion to the collection--the portion of our collection that includes some of our most valuable assets and primary source material. It is the ORBIS for a significant portion of our special collections.

· Timing --- there is a need to expand participation, and no good infrastructure to do it. (Susan Brady at Arts Library, a position posted BAC)

· We have applied to Mellon for a grant to help us (here at Yale) be more collaborative --- Rich could speak more about that.

· We have many collections worthy of funding and I would hope that developing a more formal finding aids program would position us to go after outside funding

5. Solution:

· I think (and the colleagues who met with me throughout the winter and spring would agree) that we can do this better.

· The sum is greater than the parts … during our discussions, one of my colleagues remarked that it would be a cosmological shift for us to think about special collections at Yale (as opposed to special collections at Beinecke, or MSSA, or Music, or Divinity). But, every time I look at the Unlocking Collections report, I am reminded that we have special collections throughout the Library and we need to create a structure to support those special collections … independent from the resources of any given unit, or school or departmental library.

· We can solve these problems that I have outlined. We have an incredible staff of archivists, experts in EAD, and the staff well-versed in the 'systems' side.

· We have talked in LMC a number of times about doing things 'smarter'--I think this is an area where we can pool our intellectual capital and make a difference.

6. What I need from LMC.

Most of you are stakeholders--directly or indirectly. Even if you do not do archival processing you acquire collections that you turn over to one or any number of the units that do house these materials … the same way your books and serials travel through the acquisitions, cataloging, shelf-preparation or preservation. And for those of you who have staff devoted to archival processing, I especially need your assistance and support for:

· Steering Committee to address the goals and recommendation outlined in the report