Professional Development Opportunities
Academic Library Budgets 101
This introductory course provides background information on the vocabulary of budgets, identifies sources of data to create a strong proposal for ongoing and new expenses, and reviews some techniques for documenting budget activities for operational and planning purposes. Librarians and others taking the course will become familiar with standard elements of an operational budget and learn ways to expand critical data into planning tools.
February 1–28
Introduction to Rare Materials
Are you new to a special collections environment, or are you interested in moving in that direction? Learn more about the types of materials held by archives and rare book libraries. This course provides a general survey on the history and characteristics of some of the most common materials found in repositories.
February 1–28
LRM: A New Foundation for RDA & the RDA Toolkit
This course focuses on learning the new Library Reference Model (LRM) which is the foundation for the R3 (RDA Toolkit revision) and BIBFRAME 2.0. The LRM is an evolving model that merges the RDA foundational frameworks of RDA, FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records), FRAD (Functional Requirements for Authority Data), and FRSAD (Functional Requirements of Subject Authority Data). The LRM focuses on aligning terminologies with larger data communities of practice, refining the FRBR User Tasks, eliminating inconsistencies between the three models, and embracing linked data practices. This new model brings significant changes in how we think about data, to the RDA Toolkit, and to BIBFRAME.
February 1–28
Innovation in Libraries
Innovation in libraries is not a new topic, but it is a challenging one to address due to the many variables that can influence forward movement such as organizational and institutional cultures, lack of dedicated resources, and confusion about what it really means to innovate. This course will help participants build an innovation roadmap and examine such areas as sustaining a culture of innovation; building an innovation strategy tied to organizational values; moving from experimentation to action via stakeholder engagement, pilots/prototyping, and idea jams; and assessing innovation.
February 1–28
Introduction to XML
This course will provide an introduction to XML (the eXtensible Markup Language) and also introduce some basic tools for working with XML documents. The main goals of this course are for students to get comfortable with XML as structured data format, learn the basic rules and tools for working with XML, and learn about several XML standards used in the library, digital humanities, and publishing communities. Topics will include: understanding basic XML document structures and content models, XPath, XML Document Type Definitions (DTDs) and Schemas. The course will also provide an introduction to several more advanced topics, as time allows, including XML namespaces and Library of Congress XML markup standards that are relevant to electronic text resources and metadata management including Dublin Core, MARC-XML, and MODS.
February 1–28
Appraisal and Collection Development for Digital Special Collections
This course covers principles of appraisal and collection development for creating unique digital collections that form part of an institutional repository or digital special collections. Using archival theory and principles of digital curation, the student will gain the understanding necessary to select digital materials that are in line with institutional and community collecting guidelines and missions.
February 1–February 28
Licensing Electronic Resources: An Introduction
This introductory workshop will address the basic concepts of contract law (licenses as contracts) and offer a hands-on look at the components of a standard licensing agreement.
February 3–4, 1 pm–3 pm Central
$79 (MCLS member) / $159 (non-member)
Content Presentation: Diversity of Formats
How content is presented is critical to how frequently it gets used and understood. Technology has made a wider variety of content formats possible—data, text, video, audio—but presentation can be equally important in the more traditional formats, such as books and journals. How content is presented, emphasizing different affordances for different types of use, requires thoughtful design choices. For content providers, scalability is one major challenge. Meanwhile, those charged with preservation and future use must determine how best to migrate and house different formats, and everyone is concerned about making all formats readily searchable and discoverable. The speakers on this webinar will share their experiences of wrestling with the issues from a variety of perspectives.
February 10, 11:00 am–12:30 pm
$99 (MCLS member) / $199 (non-member)
Assigning Library of Congress Subject Headings
Practical experience in assigning Library of Congress Subject Headings as part of the cataloging process.
February 16–18, 1 pm–3 pm Central
$99 (MCLS Member) / $199 (non-member)
Copy Cataloging of Videos & DVDs Using RDA
Learn copy cataloging of physical videos and DVDs using RDA and other tools.
February 23–25, 1 pm–3 pm Central
$99 (MCLS Member) / $199 (non-member)
Serials Cataloging
This course focuses on the basic principles of serials cataloging, from understanding the nature and type of serials (including series and analytics), interpreting serial authority records, identifying a matching record/copy cataloging of serials, to original description of serials under RDA guidelines. This class will focus on practical description with a discussion of emerging trends in serials cataloging. Students will be immersed in serials cataloging, gaining a solid foundation in serials and serials cataloging. By the end of the course, students will: understand the terminology associated with serials and characteristics of serials and periodicals including how they differ from monographic records, with the ability to interpret series authority records and make decisions on treatment, as needed; expand upon searching and bibliographic record analysis skills, developing a critical eye towards a “good” serials record for copy cataloging with an understanding of RDA elements for serials, title changes, and when an original record is needed; develop skills to create RDA description for serials through analyzing records and practice-based exercises; explore emerging trends in serials as impacted by the Library Reference Model (LRM) and larger trends in publication.
March 1–28
Primary Source Pedagogy
This course will explore what "primary source" even means. It also assumes that they can be found everywhere—in museums, archives, or special collections; in circulating collections or subscription databases; on the open web, in private hands, or even in natural and built environments.
March 1–28
Transformative Agreements: Making the Move to Open Access
Gain clarification about Transformative Agreements—what they are, how they work, and the outlook for the future.
March 4, 1 pm–3 pm Central
$99 (MCLS Member) / $199 (non-member)
Building Trust: Credibility of Content
The information community is well aware of the need to establish that content is credible, authoritative, and trustworthy. However, communicating this is increasingly challenging in a world where technology can make fake information “plausible” or when the need for rapid dissemination precludes the usual safeguards of peer review. How can we communicate these important limits and nuances to those who search for and use the information we provide? How can we best handle provenance tracking? Who is responsible for, and who should be held accountable for, verification processes? Do we need better guidelines and, if so, who should be at the table negotiating those? In this webinar, experts across the information community will share their concerns and success stories.
March 10, 11:00 am–12:30 pm Central
Free (NISO member) / $135 (non-member) / $49 (student)
Original Cataloging of Digital Resources Using RDA
Learn to use RDA to do original cataloging of digital resources.
March 16–18, 1:00 pm–3:00 pm Central
$99 (MCLS Member) / $199 (non-member)
Authority Control: Creating and Maintaining Consistency
Authority control—the process of ensuring that all access points in a library catalog are used consistently—can be a great help to patrons using the catalog. However, it requires a great deal of maintenance and upkeep to be effective. This session will cover the basic principles of authority control. It will also provide guidance on how to clean up inconsistencies in your authority records and how to maintain consistency on a regular basis.
March 23, 10:00 am–12:00 pm Central
$95 (Amigos member) / $155 (non-member)