HIT: Retrospective hindsight

[Lorna McCloud <lmccloud@CLSP.USWEST.NET>]

> I received some outstanding answers to my target request for hindight
> for retro.  Here are the (somewhat) edited replies in two parts, and thanks again 
>to all of you
> who answered!  We are working like crazy to get our records in order now for the 
>big day!
>
> > Lorna, our district sent off the elementary and middle school shelf list
> > cards.  I was the first in the district to have an automated card
> > catalog as my co-worker and I entered all our library's records into the
> > database.  The conversion checks the LC or ISBN # and then will replace
> > the record with subject headings, notes, etc., but it will not change
> > the call #.  I matched our records with Alliance Plus as we were using
> > Follett software at that time.
> >
> > Jacqueline Mohle
> > Librarian
> > Callaway High School
> > Jackson, Mississippi
>

> > Dear Lorna--this is from the perspective of 1990....be sure you have
> > weeded well and then weed some more; it is a shame to spend money on
> > books that you should have discarded.  what would I do differently?
> > tried to develop a support system of fellow librarians who had already
> > done the deed so that they could talk me through the decisions; realize
> > that it all takes more time than you can imagine; and, try not to
> > worry!....if you have a good conversion company, they will be able to
> > match your records to their database of MARC records and the list will
> > come back fairly clean.  Be aware that nothing will be perfect or go
> > absolutely well the first time--I still find errors once in awhile. part
> > of the problem is that when I first began, I knew nothing about MARC
> > records and so had no experience from which to draw in editing the
> > records.
> > Lois Roberts, Head Librarian, Bishop O'Dowd HS Library, Oakland, Ca
> > lrobert@odowd.pvt.k12.ca.us

> > I would have done a better job at preparing my shelflist.  They do not
> > fix anything.  Be sure you really do have that book and how many copies
> > you have.  You will need lots of help barcoding.  It is easy but very
> > time consuming.

> > I recently went through what you are doing now, but my card catalog was 
>probably even in worse condition than yours.  It was recommended to us
> > to photocopy title page and verso of every book.  The vendor we chose to do our 
>conversion worked directly from our photocopies. Fortunately, however, I only had 
>to work with a little over 6,000
> > books.  Still, we were completely automated within 4-5 months from the time we 
>started photocopying.
> >                                                 Laura Spencer
> >                                         St. Petersburg Christian
> >                                              lspence1@luna.cas.usf.edu

> > Although not 100% on your question, you might like to have a look at the
> > FAQ section on our website for information relating to steps involved in
> > automating your library. Although it refers to Australian conversion
> > specialists, the generalities apply (please note: "Stocktake" in Australia
> > equals "Inventory" in the US)
> >
> > Go to http://www.microfusion.com.au then click on SUPPORT and go to
> > Frequently Asked Questions...

> > If you want to write the correct call # on the card AND change the
> > spine label at the before you send in your cards, then it would work
> > just fine - except for that period of time between sending in the cards
> > and getting the automation system up and running.
> >
> >   On the other hand, the company will correct all of those bad subject
> > headings, incomplete cards, etc., unless it can't match the LCCN or ISBN
> > that you provided. We actually did our own retro, using Gaylord's
> > SuperCat cds and discovered that we got better results using the LCCN
> > than ISBN.
> >         Melissa Davis                   Librarian
> >         Splendora Middle School         Splendora I.S.D.
> >         26175 FM 2090                   Splendora, TX 77372
> >         Internet: mbdavis@tenet.edu     PHONE: (713)689-2853
> >                   mbdavis@lcc.net       FAX: (713)689-8702

> > Start with putting all books on the shelf in correct
> > dewey , fiction, easy , sc, etc. order.
> > determine what categories you want  f or fic, pb or not , easy or picture ,
> > bio or 921,  etc.  then take your shelf list draw by draw, section by
> > section and make sure you have a card for every book.  if you have a book
> > without a card , MAKE one.  if you have a card and no book , chuck it.this
> > is also a good time to weed as you go.  on each card , no matter what it
> > says you put the appropriate labeling that you want for that book. also on  the 
>card
> > include isbn numbers if found or LC number
> > Next just make sure that the card has basic infor, author, title , publ.
> > cd., subject.  in the end it will come back the was they find or how their
> > "HIT" is.   when this is done they should send you boxes to mail the list
> > off.  donot get rid of your standing cc yet. and do not use it for this
> > project.  just the shelf list.  if you don't have a shelf list.  good
> > luck the mad libber

> > I urge you to have all librarians consider some points BEFORE
> > they begin work on retrospective conversion.  As a librarian who seems
> > to get hired overseas for my knack of reviving a "dead" library, I
> > always have to face the problem that one of the main reasons it is
> > "dead" is that it has no catalog or a catalog that simply does not work
> >
> > Retrospective cataloguing requires a considerable commitment, both in
> > time and money.  Please ensure that the librarians are sure that the
> > school recognizes this and will provide positive support for the
> > programme.  This means $$$ for items like computers, bar code scanners,
> > printers, cd-rom drives and disks.  And, probably more importantly, it
> > means TIME to accomplish the task -  the teaching programmes, the
> > resource locating services, the daily routines, must be tailored towards
> > accomplishing the task.  Administrators and Teachers who expect that the
> > librarian can continue to provide the levels of service during the
> > process must clearly understand that they are banking on a future and
> > can not expect to spent today also.
> >
> > Be sure that this is COMPLETELY understood and DO NOT begin the project
> > until that is the case.  You will be doing yourself and the school a
> > real disservice if you begin without it.
> >
> > Earl Sande, Upper School Librarian,
> > International School of Tanganyika,
> > United Nations Road,
> > Post Office Box 2651,
> > Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
> > (e-mail : sandes@wilken-dsm.com)

> > I wish I had marked very clearly on the shelf list cards what
> > items had been purchased w/federal monies.
> > I wish I had insisted the school system buy two days of
> > intensive training for us instead of just one.
> > I wish our supervisor had told our principals that we needed a
> > week or whatver of class-free time (we elem are fixed sched) to
> > do the barcoding. It is manic and mistake-ridden to have it
> > done piecemeal between classes and by volunteers.
> > I wish I had indicated on my shelf list how I consistently
> > wanted av and software prefixed; i.e., VT for videotape on
> > EVERY card, same goes for equipment.
> > I wish I had separated my hardbound s.l. cards from paperback; I
> > interfiled them thinking I was doing the right thing but then I
> > had to go back and manually enter PB as a prefix for the
> > paperbacks so that patrons would know where to look.
> >
> > I am glad I weeded thoroughly.
> > I am glad I sent a card in for EVERYTHING--equipment, software,
> > etc.--now it is ALL barcoded.
> > I am glad we chose Athena! Nichols was very prompt w/the retro
> > con and corrected errors (there weren't too many) w/o
> > complaint.
> > Julia Steger, Librarian, Clifton Forge Elem Schools East and
> > West, Clifton Forge VA

> > They take your ISBN or LC # and search for a matching record.  They are then
> > supposed to put in YOUR call number (which didn't always happen).
> > Also, if  you have 2 accession numbers on one card, they will probably not
> > create 2 records.  I think the quality of the conversion depends on the 
>company.  The
> > libraries in my county who have been done more recently, through the
> > automation company, have had much cleaner records than those of us who
> > were done through an outside vendor.  Make sure you weed the old stuff first!
> >
> > Kathy
> > Kathy Hooper, Librarian
> > Greenwood Lake UFSD
> > Greenwood Lake, NY  10925
> > hoopsone@frontiernet.net

> >     If your conversion company is different from the producer of your
> > automation software, be absolutely certain that the two companies
> > communicate regarding the barcode requirements. I just discovered that my
> > barcodes generated by Brodart are not compatible with my Alexandria
> > software...
> >         Ideally, we should all spend lots of time studying and preparing
> > for conversion and automation, but most of us have to do it on the fly, so
> > these problems are going to catch us unaware. Good companies stand behind
> > their product and their work - that's one thing you should check out
> > before choosing your software and vendor.
> >         In your message you mentioned "preparing your shelflist for
> > conversion". Before you do anything, have a long conversation with a
> > qualified rep from your conversion company and find out what they require,
> > not what anyone else tells you. You may spend unnecessary hours doing
> > something that your company does not require. Then if your library
> > automation software company is different from your conversion company,
> > spend lots of time talking with them. If they aren't willing to take this
> > time to help you understand the process - change companies!
> >         Hope this rambling from a novice helps.
> >
> >     Karen McLachlan, Media Specialist   Internet: ehs_km@ncocc.ohio.gov
> >     East Knox High School               Phone: 614-599-7000
> >     23227 Coshocton Rd.                 Fax: 614-599-5863
> >     Howard, Ohio 43028

> >     Be sure ISBN or LC # are on as many books as possible. It picks this up.
> > If complete cataloging was not done on items for instance some old
> > videos were not done, it picked them up as books and filled in book
> > info. A printed sheet does come with items that were not picked up. Then
> > you are able to go back and hand fix these. We used Follett. The year we
> > converted  (retrospective conv. was done later due to the m.s.
> > forgetting about it) Follett used (we were told  ) summer help. Many,
> > many typos-took about 3 years to find them all. It is still worth it-all
> > new stuff must have the kinks worked out.
> > Andrea Gilbert
> > Enota Elem.
> > Gainesville, Ga.

> >     Weed, weed, weed, weed, weed, weed, weed!
> > Also, we had a company do our inventory before we sent out our cards.  If
> > someone is planning to have this done, my advice would be:
> > 1. constantly monitor what they are doing!  There were a group of people
> > working on our inventory; some were good, and some were awful!
> > 2. never ever leave your shelf list unattended!
> >     Winnebago told us to mark in the top right corner the number of copies we
> > had of any title. We usually got the right number of barcodes to go with
> > the title.
> >     People should know that if you have a multi-volume set (encyclopedia, etc),
> > you'll just get "X" amount of barcodes printed for that title, that is,
> > they won't be volume-specific. (They'll all say, for example, World Book
> > Encyclopedia).  This was a problem only when we had different editions of
> > the same title, for example, World Book 1996 and World Book 1997.  You
> > can't tell by looking at the pre-printed barcodes which barcodes go with
> > which set.  You have to scan the barcode to find that out
> >         If you are planning to have students or other volunteers help you place
> > the barcodes on the books, choose carefully!  We had some great students,
> > and then we had students who put the barcodes any which way (that drove me
> > nuts!! )
> >         Finally, don't try to barcode books when the library is open. We got
> > permission to close the library for two weeks at the beginning of the
> > semester to do this job.
> >
> > Rena Deutsch, Librarian
> > High School for the Humanities
> > New York, NY
> > renadeutsch@worldnet.att.com

> > When I automated the library with the Alexandria system from Companion
> > corporation, all we did was enter some very basic information for each
> > title into a template.  We entered the ISBN or LCCN (old old books) and the
> > title, author etc.  The beauty of this was that we worked from the books
> > and didn't even bother with the shelf list.  The information was then
> > loaded into Alexandria and I ran Brodart's Precision One for the MARC
> > records.  If there was a hit all the information was entered for the title.
> >  I don't know if Precision One works with other systems, but it's worth
> > infestigating.
> >
> > Good luck,
> > Randi Hermans
> > East Chilliwack Elementary
> > Chilliwack, B.C.
> > rhermans@chill.org

> > Lorna, When it comes to the correct CLASSIFICATION for a book, the company
> > that's doing your conversion will input your own call number on your shelf
> > list card.  They will not make any judgements about your choice.  If you
> > have books wrongly classified, I think you would be better off changing
> > what's on your shelf list cards before you send the cards in.
> >
> > On the other hand, the company will put standard SUBJECT HEADINGS as found
> > in the LC record, or whatever record the company is using for its matching
> > data base.  They won't put your headings in at all.  You will have to do
> > that afterward when the data is returned to you and put into your system.
> > You may want to highlight some of your special local headings that are
> > important to you if they are on your shelf list cards and add them when the
> > cards are returned. I
> >
> > DO ask that the cards be returned, and do keep the shelf list, at least for
> > the first few years until you are sure you don't need it.  Some people say
> > they regret getting rid of their shelf list, and I, newly automated, find
> > it helpful as a reference to see what's missing or what's been entered
> > wrong---even retrospective converters make mistakes.
> >
> > Joan Kimball
> >
>

> > Below are some quick responses to your various questions.  I really had a
> > pretty problem free time.  I have Winnebago, anbd used their conversion
> > service.  I asked for the closest hit, and did notask for any multiple
> > copies.  I found that while I had the ISBN and/or LCCN numbers, they
> > mattered little.  I also (in the whole conversion process) used Precision
> > One from Brodart.  That was invaluable, not only in cataloging non-hits
> > and old AV but also in teaching me the basics of MARC records.  Their
> > manual which comes with the program is superb.  I had taken one MARC
> > workshop, so the format was not foreign to me.  I would recommend that
> > ANYONE converting take one because understanding of that record can make

--
Lorna McCloud
Coordinator of Information and Technology
Jackson Elementary
Colorado Springs School District 11
lmccloud@clsp.uswest.net

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