We are partnering with Jami Trenam and Jill Smith for this Minitex Conversation about Weeding in the Library. These library leaders will share their knowledge and experience with weeding library collections.
Digital Initiatives & Metadata News
The 23 Linked Data Things project organizers are pleased to announce that Things 16-19 are now published and available on the website. With help from new guest authors and returning authors, you can explore linked data from the public services side, pitfalls to be aware of to adoption, a linked data in archives project, and even set up your own Wikibase (the same platform that runs Wikidata)!
Minitex and the planning committee are seeking proposals for the 2023 Minitex Technical Services Symposium, taking place on October 30th, 2023. The theme is Creating a Sustainable Future in Technical Services. We welcome proposals about invisible labor, storytelling, cooperation, communicating value, responding to emerging technologies and standards, and more! Submit by the September 1st deadline.
Elissah Becknell joins Minitex after 13 years at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Elissah, a lifelong Minnesotan, will be devoting most of her time and energy to cataloging and metadata education.
Minitex is seeking a Cataloging & Metadata Education Librarian to join its Digital Initiatives and Metadata Education unit. The position is responsible for developing and delivering instruction and other professional development opportunities and for communicating the latest information on cataloging and metadata standards to library professionals in Minnesota and beyond. The position also manages the Minitex Contract Cataloging Program and supports the activities of the Minnesota Digital Library, a service of Minitex. THE DEADLINE TO APPLY IS NOW MARCH 17.
The 23 Linked Data Things project organizers are pleased to announce that Things 13-15 are now published and available on the website. Thing 13 explores linked data cataloging workflows from OCLC Research's Project Passage. Thing 14 looks at the Wikimedia Commons project, and Thing 15 delves into the ethics of linked data.
Minitex is offering RDA for Beginners, another free virtual class in the Cataloging Basics series, on April 12th. Presenter Lizzy Baus (Macalester College) will guide you through the basics and beyond, exploring the history, development, philosophy, and conceptual models of Resource Description and Access (RDA), the current cataloging standard.
This course is designed for student workers, volunteers, and full-time staff who need to find and evaluate MARC records to add to a library catalog. No prerequisites are required!
The 23 Linked Data Things project organizers are pleased to announce that Things 9-12 are now published and available on the website. When we presented at fall conferences, some of the feedback we heard was that the more examples of linked data in use we can provide, the better. With the exception of Thing 9. Ontologies, the rest of the Things explore connecting with others doing this work and learning about linked data projects.
Participants in the Name Authority Cooperative Program (NACO) contribute MARC authority records for titles, agents such as persons and corporate bodies, and places to the LC/NACO Authority File. Members also assist the Library of Congress with the File’s maintenance by reporting duplicate records and performing other tasks. Within NACO, groups of libraries can pool their resources to achieve these same goals without the overhead of yearly quotas. These groups are called funnels; in fact, about a dozen libraries collaborate in one such funnel here in Minnesota. The Library of Congress is looking to host an online NACO training workshop for invited guests in February 2023. Specific dates are not yet set. Minnesota NACO Funnel members are welcome to participate, as are libraries interested in joining the Funnel.
Education and support for staff who build, manage, and preserve digital and physical collections