Vision Central Technical Services (CTS) seeks to be recognized as a team of experts who are central to the Library's mission and its digital future. We are known inside and outside the Library for our innovation, teamwork, productivity, and problem-solving skills. We work in an environment of respect, support, and continual learning. We see our departmental priorities as a reflection of the Library's priorities, supportive of the Library's mission, and evolving as the role of the Library evolves.
This document will be reviewed and revised, as appropriate, every two years.
Priorities
I. Content: Acquiring enduring access to both electronic information and physical artifacts
Providing enduring access both economically and efficiently requires CTS managers to find the best financial and customer service terms from library materials suppliers throughout the world, to harvest all available bibliographic description for import into our local catalog, and to develop or adapt new technologies to enhance workflow efficiencies and reduce processing time and costs.
1. Expedite orders for all access and materials within 48 hours of their identification for purchase.
2. Monitor existing orders to ensure timely delivery of materials.
3. Maintain positive relationships with vendors by ensuring fair business practices, including timely payment of expenses.
4. Aggressively seek the best library user access terms with information providers through firm, but fair, license negotiation.
5. Collaborate with collection development librarians to reduce processing costs by identifying new resources through methods such as approval plans.
6. Promote processing efficiencies through vendor-supplied MARC records, EDI invoicing and other innovative techniques.
7. Identify opportunities to leverage the costs of access negotiation, resource processing, and content purchase by joining peer institutions in consortial arrangements.
II. Services: Providing enriched access to information resources via a state-of-the-art infrastructure and innovative services
Seeking to improve and expand the Library's technology infrastructure for patrons who require ever more sophisticated electronic tools for scholarship, CTS fields an organization of information professionals who keep pace with current technology and lead the way in providing innovative services to our patrons.
1. Design and implement new technologies and services to increase the value and enable the use of digital and print collections by assuming a leadership role in metadata initiatives and providing support for reference linking.
2. Cooperate in planning and implementation of data management systems integration-Voyager/Encompass/Gateway. Maintain and continue Voyager implementation and upgrades.
3. By the end of 2003, greatly reduce or remove the CTS backlog of materials to be processed.
4. Respond energetically to Recon initiatives to increase the visibility of our unique and rich print collections.
5. Strengthen our technology infrastructure to support greater use of batch and macro strategies for routine processing.
6. Integrate more fully the acquisition, description, and access maintenance of digital and traditional resources, with priority accorded to electronic formats.
7. Position CTS to permit the continual retraining and reallocation of staff to accommodate the evolving CUL collection profile, with its increased focus on electronic services, and to develop, implement and use innovative technologies.
8. Evaluate and implement CUL database quality and enrichment policies and processes to ensure that the online catalog is a logical, seamless and intuitive searching tool. We define database quality in terms of user needs and expectations.
III. Outreach: Extending outstanding service to newly defined Cornell University clienteles
While continuing to satisfy the heightened expectations of our current clientele for expert development of systems for discovering and accessing library resources in all media, CTS seeks to expand our service mission to new clienteles within the university's sphere of interest.
1. Address the licensing implications of the Library's expansion of services to extended user communities by modifying license agreements as needed, expanding support of licensing activities, and providing licensing consultation to Cornell colleagues engaged in developing programs relying on digital resources.
2. Involve staff in all areas of CTS in an overall effort to enhance discovery of digital resources by key user groups.
3. Offer and promote metadata creation, management, and coordination services to CU digital content creators to enhance user discovery of digital resources.
4. Expand support of digital resource users by training additional staff in customer support activities to ensure prompt response to user and public-service reports of access problems.
5. Extend CTS expertise in digital resource architecture, research methodology, and program management to CUL efforts to assess the needs of digital resources users.
6. Engage in CUL distributed-learning activities by providing resource discovery consultation in courseware development.
7. Increase participation in professional societies that are involved in digital library development and non-AACR/MARC metadata by allocating resources to support presentations and publications by CTS staff.
Last updated: 9/7/04, 8:23 AM
