Quick Summary
My shock to learn that "meta" does not mean "most effective tactic available" is indescribable. This is just one of the many things I learned at this year's Technical Services Symposium. Join me on this week's edition of "A Newbie's Perspective" as I take on the Technical Services Symposium.
This week I had the opportunity to attend this year’s Technical Services Symposium. As someone who is still learning about the library community and the various components that make libraries such an essential resource, being able to attend this symposium gave me valuable insight into the roles of catalogers and metadata practitioners, and the overall importance of Technical Services.
The day started off with keynote speakers Kimberly Edwards and Tricia Mackenzie, co-editors of "Telling the Technical Services Story." During their presentation, they outlined the difficulties that technical service staff have faced in recent years. In the wake of funding cuts, Edwards and Mackenzie advocate for the importance of communicating the value of technical services. They offered a framework for doing so that incorporates everyday actions such as collaboration, support for colleagues in the field, and facilitating the development of ideas.
I split the rest of my day between a series of workshops that explored cataloging, metadata, and community building. The overarching theme that held all of these together was creating a sustainable future for technical services practitioners, and the importance of making behind-the-scenes work visible to the public. The first session I attended was “Unseen Labor: Metadata Work Meets Textile Art.” The presentation highlighted how textile art can be used as a way for metadata librarians and catalogers to form connections and develop a support system. The textile artists who participated gave voice to the value of their work as well as their shared struggles.
The following session, “And What Do They do Back There? Demystifying Technical Services Work,” highlighted St. Paul Public Library’s Materials Management Center, and their efforts to help patrons and public services staff conceptualize and understand the work technical services staff do. Their efforts took various forms, ranging from social media to videos detailing their daily work and its significance to libraries.
This is just a snapshot of this year's Technical Services Symposium. The sessions I described and all the rest will soon be accessible through video recordings. Attending in person gave me a deeper understanding of the work metadata librarians, catalogers, and other members of the technical services community do, as well as the value they bring to libraries and their patrons. I offer my thanks to everyone that made this event possible, especially Minitex’s very own Elissah Becknell, Sara Ring, and Dana Kocienda!
