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Update to the Databases A-Z page

By Lindsay Ure, on 14 March 2024

An updated Databases A-Z page will be launched on Tuesday April 23rd. This post provides more information about the new page.

The look and feel will be very similar to the current page. Changes to highlight are:

  • A new alert box at the top, to be used for key messaging, e.g. technical issues, or updates.
  • Changes to the search filters, which will allow users to:
    • search by keyword within “Subjects”, “Vendors” and “Database types”  (in addition to selecting from a drop-down list as they do now)
    • select more than one option from within a search filter, for example “Art” and “Biomedicine and Health” within the Subject filter
  •  New or trial databases will be flagged when they’re added to the database list so that they appear in a New / Trial databases box in the sidebar on the right

Below is a screenshot of the new page, showing a keyword search for “history” in the Subject search filter. Users can then click on one or more of the resulting subjects to view relevant databases.

The URL for the page will change to https://library-guides.ucl.ac.uk/az/databases, but there will be an automatic redirect in place so we won’t need to worry about broken links initially. Those of you who maintain skills materials might want to identify any instances of images/videos of the Databases A-Z page that might need updating ahead of the new academic year, as well as any links to the page, as while the redirect will be in place, we don’t want to rely on that longer term.

Following the April launch, there are some additional, optional features we’ll be exploring, in consultation with Site Librarians and Subject Liaison Librarians. We aim to do this over the Spring and will be in touch with relevant colleagues about that at a later date.

If you have any questions, concerns or feedback following the launch of the updated page, please contact Sarah Gilmore via lib-eresource-help@ucl.ac.uk.

Cataloguing Practice at the IOE Library

By utnvmoa, on 9 February 2024

This post is about running a short course for colleagues on cataloguing.  I’ve written it to let people know what we offer, and to discuss too the benefits of sharing expertise for those giving as well as those receiving.

We started running introductory training courses on cataloguing in the IOE Library almost by accident.  Back in mid-2014 a member of staff working in Library Acquisitions in SSEES joined the ‘Peer Shadowing Scheme’, a brief joint IOE and UCL entity before the two institutions merged, and came to the acquisitions section of the IOE Library.  While with us, the shadower asked if he could see how we went about cataloguing too.  We showed him and gave him some to do.  The experience was very positive.  Our first student took to it so well he got a job as a cataloguer at LSE.

Since then a total of 21 library services colleagues have been through 28 courses.  Some have done both general and ebook cataloguing, some both those plus work on metadata for the IOE’s Digital Education Resource Archive (DERA).  Mostly this has been post-pandemic. In the chart below, LCCOS of course means ‘the rest of LCCOS not including the IOE’, just to be clear.  I make the distinction between IOE and rest of LCCOS simply to show how we’ve cast the net more widely over time. In addition to what’s on the chart, Tom Meehan (Head of Cataloguing and Metadata) has also been offering cataloguing practice courses and has seen 7 students (3 in 2022 and 4 in 2023). To find out what the boomerangs are doing on the chart by the way, you’ll have to read a bit further.

So what do we offer?  It’s not shadowing, it’s practice.  The student is given an introduction to the theory of cataloguing and its application here, shown an actual catalogue record or two, then given typically three items to take away and catalogue from scratch, plus a lot of links to documentation for reference.  A feedback session is scheduled on the practice records that result.  After another round or two of practice cataloguing and feedback, if the student wants to do more, we suggest they find items to practise on, then check the catalogue record to compare and if they have questions to ask us.

Those are the bare parameters but the course can be tailored according to what the student wants.  Some may simply want to know what cataloguing is and how it affects other areas of library work, others may have some items in their area of work which they want to be able to catalogue themselves with our guidance. Some may want to add knowledge and practice of cataloguing to their skill set for their own development (and their CV).  Some may even think they want to be a cataloguer, and others may just want an excuse to get away from their own desk for a while (it happens!).  All of the above is fine with us.

Three of the five of us in the IOE cataloguing team are directly involved in offering cataloguing practice.  Kristina Macdonald joined me doing this in April 2022.  She says she was motivated by wanting to gain confidence when explaining our work to colleagues, and a strong desire to demystify cataloguing which she feels is often a gatekept area of library work. And since last year Christina Egan has also been keen to offer an add-on course practising ebook cataloguing as well as our work managing the metadata for records on DERA. Christina cites her love of teaching as the main reason she wanted to join in – she says having that element to her role keeps her happy professionally. As her line manager, I’m happy about that! Plus there’s now Tom Meehan joining in too, and the three of us at the IOE and Tom all liaise on what we’re offering and how it works.

Five temporary staff have taken the course and three people (two of them temps) went on to take jobs either as cataloguers or involving a significant amount of cataloguing.  All three of those jobs were outside of UCL, but I can prove we’re not about providing an escape route: two who did the course and then went on to land a cataloguing job elsewhere, ended up a few years later getting cataloguing jobs back here at UCL. So that’s two boomerang students.  We don’t do the courses as a long-term staffing strategy of course, but well-trained new starters has turned out to be one of the benefits.

It’s also very good for us.  Having to explain what we do, how, and why, makes us think about our own practice, and all these new people coming in and asking questions gives us lots of fresh perspectives.  Those who’ve done the course and go back to their roles here in LCCOS will also have gained some understanding of our work and how it fits in or doesn’t with theirs, which can improve communication between different sections of the library.

A few years ago for a presentation I came over all Venn trying to illustrate how librarians feel about cataloguing knowledge (reproduced below).

How things might ideally be when library staff from other sections meet cataloguers.

 

How I fear they sometimes are.  (This will vary from individual to individual of course.)

I hope our Cataloguing Practice courses are helping bring those circles together.

Nominate a colleague or team for a UCL Education Award

By Angela Young, on 5 February 2024

Do you know a colleague or team within LCCOS that makes an outstanding contribution to support students’ learning? Consider nominating them for this year’s UCL Provost Education Awards.

The UCL Provost Education Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of staff and how they have enabled excellent practice or facilitated innovation in teaching and learning. Several LCCOS colleagues had success in last year’s awards (See LCCOS colleagues win UCL Education Awards).

How do nominations work?

Any staff member can make a nomination and submit it first for consideration within their Faculty or Vice-Provost’s Office. Each Faculty or VP Office can then put forward up to a total of 8 nominations for the awards, with a maximum of 6 individual and 6 team nominations.

There are new award categories this year, to align with UCL’s ambitions for Education Excellence:

  • Innovating
  • Enhancing belonging
  • Improving the student experience
  • Celebrating education
  • Impactful partnerships

We are now inviting nominations from across LCCOS. To nominate a colleague or team, please download and complete the nomination form (Word document) on the UCL Education Awards webpage and send by email to Angela Young.

The deadline for submission of nominations to LCCOS is midday on Wednesday 20 March 2024, to allow time for consideration on submission by the Pro-Vice-Provost (LCCOS), and in turn by the Office of the UCL Vice-Provost (Faculties), for the overall deadline of Tuesday 9 April.

Why nominate a colleague or team?

This is your chance to ensure your colleague or an LCCOS team gets the acknowledgement they deserve, so they can be rewarded and celebrate in their achievements whilst highlighting to the wider UCL community the impact that LCCOS staff have on the experience and success of our students. Nominations can be from any colleague, not just from managers, so take the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate your peers, or more junior or senior members of staff, either as an individuals or as a team, from your own team or beyond.

Congratulations to a new LCCOS HEA Fellow

By Angela Young, on 29 January 2024

Jo BainesMany congratulations to Jo Baines (Academic Liaison Librarian / Archivist – Special Collections) who has achieved the award of HEA Fellow, through UCL Arena Fellowship, which is testament to Jo’s commitment to professionalism in supporting learning and teaching in higher education.

Why apply for HEA fellowship?

HEA fellowship is a nationally recognised award and can be great evidence for your CV or when applying for jobs. In addition to gaining post-nominals, the process of applying for fellowship means you reflect on your teaching and work to support learning and develop your skills, identify areas for your future development and enhance your support of students so contributing to the user experience. There are various categories of fellowship depending on your role and experience, including Associate Fellow, Fellow and Senior Fellow, so it’s relevant to all sorts of roles across LCCOS. UCL Arena Fellowship provides an accredited route to HEA Fellowship and is free for UCL staff. Why not make working towards HEA Fellowship a development goal in your appraisal this year?

LCCOS support for HEA fellowship

Did you know that there are monthly peer-support meets for colleagues in LCCOS who are interested in applying for HEA fellowship? Jo found the meets invaluable for providing encouragement and support, as well as motivating her to get on with her application and get it submitted. Jo will return to a meet soon to share her experiences and what worked for her.

We also have an LCCOS Teams site for sharing friendly tips, asking questions and providing peer support and motivation for getting started and getting on.

How can I find out more?

The UCL Arena Fellowship website and Moodle course are great places to get started with finding out more, or attend a UCL Arena Fellowship initial guidance session. To join an LCCOS HEA Fellowship support meet, or be added to the Teams site, please contact Angela Young.

Adding the Bain Graffy Film Collection to Explore

By Thomas P Meehan, on 12 December 2023

We have just completed a project to convert the Bain Graffy Film Collection metadata from a set of HTML pages on the SSEES website to MARC records on Alma and Explore. This means that the collection can now be searched alongside the other library materials and handled in much the same way as other video records.

What is the Bain Graffy Film Collection?

The Bain Graffy Film Collection consists of approximately 14,500 films on around 11,000 DVDs, Blu-ray discs, recorded discs, and VHS videos at SSEES Library. The collection was created, added to, described, and indexed for many years by Professor Julian Graffy and Cameron Bain, after whom the collection is named. Cameron Bain sadly died in 2014 but Julian Graffy still submits detailed records to the project.

Converting the Metadata

Professor Graffy submits records in Word format. For many years these were converted by Library staff, largely by Vladimir Smith Mesa, to static HTML pages, one for each physical item. While consistent, easily readable, and well indexed by separate index pages, these did not conform to a formal metadata schema or file format.

With the old server needing to be replaced it was decided to try to move the many web pages to some kind of database. We tried several methods including a web form, conversion to an Excel spreadsheet using python, and lastly conversion to MARC records using Marcedit software. Marcedit is commonly used in libraries- including UCL- for editing large numbers of records in bulk, especially ebook records, but is also capable of converting non-MARC data to MARC and performing powerful textual transformations.

The eventual process involved obtaining HTML and Word documents from Gill Long; each HTML file contained data for one physical item with one or more films on it. I then combined these files in Word so there were one hundred per file and passed these Vlad. Vlad did two important things to the Word documents: firstly, he made sure that every film- rather than each video or DVD- could have its own record on Alma; second, he marked up each element by prefixing the necessary line with a label, such as “Director: “. By explicitly marking up data, this made it much easier for any script to “read” the file and what each part of it meant. For example, it is much clearer in the second example what the title is without having to rely on it being formatted a certain way.

Example original HTML file Example Word file edited by Vlad

Call number: DVD-2000


STOLPER, Aleksandr
Dni i nochi [Days and Nights]

Mosfil´m, 1944; released 28 August 1945
Screenplay: Konstantin Simonov, from his story of the same name
Photography: Evgenii Andrikanis
Production design: Morits Umanskii, Sergei Voronkov
Music: Nikolai Kriukov

 

Call number: DVD-2000

Director: STOLPER, Aleksandr
Title: Dni i nochi [Days and Nights]

Production: Mosfil´m, 1944; released 28 August 1945
Date: 1945

Screenplay: Konstantin Simonov, from his story of the same name
Photography: Evgenii Andrikanis
Production design: Morits Umanskii, Sergei Voronkov
Music: Nikolai Kriukov

 

I then converted the word documents to a basic format Marcedit could read (.mrk) then used a number of transformations (essentially, fancy cut-and-pastes) to change the labels to MARC fields. In other cases, I could just use the formatting where it was consistent (e.g. a number followed by “ minutes” is obviously a running time which can be fed into a 300 field, and anything in square brackets in the title form a translated title that can be moved into a 246 field).

The initial MARC file in Marcedit The record imported into Alma.
=LDR  01604ngm a2200445 i 4500
=008  010121s1945####||#|||############vlxx##d
=035  \\$aDVD-2000
=245  00$aDni i nochi
=246  33$aDays and Nights
=264  \1$c1945
=300  \\$a1 videodisc (87 min.) ; $c 4 3/4 in.
=500  \\$aFrom his story of the same name.
=500  \\$aOriginally released in 1945.
=546  \\$a
=546  \\$aIn Russian without subtitles
=590  \\$auclbaingraffy uclbaingraffydvd20002099 mrcbaingraffy20221130l
=700  1\$aAndrikanis, Evgenii,$edirector of photography.
=700  1\$aSimonov, Konstantin,$escreenwriter.
=700  1\$aStolper, Aleksandr,$efilm director
Screenshot of Alma showing the record converted to MARC format

The records were converted to proper MARC format (.mrc) so they could be imported into Alma, which created holdings and item data at the same time. Importing them into Alma automatically makes them available in Explore:

Screenshot of the record in Explore

The Get It section invites students and staff to contact SSEES Library where they will be able to view materials on-site. They are not currently borrowable.

The indexes created by Julian Graffy and Cameron Bain have been continued and are still really useful for finding films by country of origin and by genre. These web pages have been converted by Chris Carrington on Drupal and now point at the Alma record instead of the individual web entries. They will be maintained by Gill Long using data supplied by Julian Graffy.

Searching for Bain Graffy Items

Bain Graffy items can be found in several ways. In Explore, include the tag “uclbaingraffy” in the initial search to only search items from the collection. This is the search offered from the collection’s home page. You can also use the Collection facet to narrow down to the Bain Graffy Film Collection.

Screenshot of a search in Explore with the Bain Graffy collection selected as a facet

The home page also contains the indexes created by Professor Graffy where users can browse lists of films by genre, country of origin, and date of production. The results link to the records on Explore.

Next Steps

The collection is still being added to and making sure the flow of data is maintained to Explore and the indexes is the most important activity. Due to the quick and partly automated way the data was imported, there is some tidying work to be done, which Vlad has already made a good start on. We hope also to make some improvements to take advantage of the more standardised data format, such as implementing authority control, adding coded language information, or genre headings.

We need your help! Library Induction January 2024

By Angela Young, on 11 December 2023

Around 1000 new students join UCL in January 2024. These are a mixture of undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research students. Many of them are affiliate students (on degree programmes at other universities with some time spent at UCL) and / or international students.
The Library Services Induction Working Group invites all LCCOS staff to contribute to library induction events on Friday 5 January and Monday 8 January as part of our Library Induction Taskforce.
  • Support Services Fair: Help staff a stand, promote our services and answer questions. We need two people on each 1 hour shift on Friday 5th and Monday 8th January, 12.00-15.00, South Cloisters.
  • International student library seminar – 45 minute presentations with Q&A for international students so they know what to expect from our libraries. We need one presenter and one support person to usher attendees and help facilitate Q&A on Friday 5 January 12.15-13.00 and Monday 8 January 13.15-14.00.

To get involved, with consent from your line manager, please indicate the activities you would like to support on this form and we’ll come back to you to finalise your contribution.

Many thanks.

Angela Young (on behalf of the Library Induction Working Group)

LILAC conference 2024 – express your interest in attending

By Angela Young, on 5 December 2023

Deadline for expressing interest – 5pm Tuesday 19 December.

LILAC 2024 will be held at Leeds Beckett University from Monday 25 – Wednesday 27 March 2024. LILAC is a hugely inspiring and motivational conference, focusing on information literacy in libraries, and is relevant to anyone involved in teaching library skills or with an interest in information literacy. It comprises 3 days packed with seminars, workshops and lectures, a networking evening and conference dinner.

If you are interested in attending LILAC 2024, please complete the LILAC conference request form by 5pm on Tuesday 19 December and ask your manager to give consent by completing the manager’s consent form by the same date.

As the conference is costly, places for UCL LCCOS staff to attend are limited. The decision on who may attend will be made by the Staff Training and Development Oversight Group.

Eligibility for UCL LCCOS staff:

  • Priority will to be given to LCCOS staff who have never attended LILAC before or who have had an abstract accepted.
  • Applicants must have completed their probationary period at the time of application.
  • All attendees will be expected to contribute to ‘Lessons in LILAC’, a training and development activity to cascade training to colleagues as part of the eXperience eXchange – Library Skills in May 2024, an online staff training and development event for LCCOS staff involved in training and liaison activities.
  • Applicants must have line manager approval.

Please contact Angela Young with any questions.

UCL Sustainability Report 2021-22

By Michelle Wake, on 30 November 2023

Sustainable UCL has just released its latest Annual Report, for the period 2021-22.
As UCL’s President & Provost writes in the Foreword –

“Over the past decade, the drive and ambition of the UCL community to foster a sustainable future has elevated UCL to the status of a sustainability leader within the HE sector”.

Whilst acknowledging challenges, and that some factors outside of UCL’s control have enabled UCL to make progress in some sustainability areas, there is much to celebrate.

Highlights include:

  • 53% carbon reduction in building energy use in 21-22 compared to 18-19
  • 188 sustainability-related teaching modules and 115 climate-related modules, up by 46 from 20-21
  • UCL re-certified for international standards for energy & environment ISO 14001 / 50001
  • Green Impact and Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework had record participation.
  • 100% disposable-free hospitality service. Launch of Club Zero, a campus cup-returning scheme alongside a 25p disposable cup charge.

Our LCCOS Green Champions, and indeed all LCCOS staff, have been part of this success.

Going forward UCL will be developing a new ambitious Sustainability Plan and here in LCCOS we will continue to support this with our Strategy‘s commitment to “Prioritise sustainability in the way we work and develop”.

For more information on LCCOS and sustainability please visit our webpage.


Michelle Wake (Chair of LCCOS Sustainability Committee)
Site Libraries Manager & Senior Librarian, UCL School of Pharmacy

Professional Registration Questionnaire for LCCOS

By Craig Martin, on 28 November 2023

Aside from obtaining a formal qualification (e.g. Masters / diploma / apprenticeships), there are several options available to LCCOS colleagues who wish to advance their professional knowledge, experience and skills. This can provide evidence for your expertise and commitment to professional development in the sector through attainment of a professional qualification. This survey will give us an understanding of the current status and future aspirations of LCCOS colleagues in relation to these qualifications, which will inform how we can best support staff who would like to work towards them.

To get a full picture, we kindly request all within LCCOS complete the survey by 12th January 2024.

All responses will be treated in confidence.

Please get in touch if you have any questions.

Many thanks

Craig Martin, Subject Liaison Librarian
Angela Young, Head of Library Skills

 

 

Dates for LCCOS Leadership Surgeries November 2023 – Jun 2024

By Rozz Evans, on 17 October 2023

We’re delighted to announce the latest series of dates for our regular LCCOS Leadership Team surgeries.

LCCOS Leadership Group Surgeries

These surgeries are just one of several ways that colleagues are able to engage directly with senior managers if they want to.

You can raise issues and ask questions about any aspect of LCCOS or how it is run.  Suggestions for improvement are also welcome. You might want to share things that have worked really well in your job or team that you would like to see taken up more widely. We are always interested in your ideas!

One of the most important things about working for LCCOS is that no matter what our roles we are united by all wanting to do the very best job we can and provide a service we can all be proud of.

It is also an opportunity to raise problems, but please do make sure that you speak to your Line Manager first if your feedback is of a personal/sensitive nature or relates to another colleague or Library user.

You can attend on your own account, as a representative of a group or team, or come along in small groups.

Surgeries are currently scheduled to run via Teams, but sometimes it will be possible to conduct them face-to-face. Please feel free to request this if you prefer it and we will do our best to accommodate it.

The times and dates below all fall between 9.30am and 4pm, but we are very happy to arrange surgeries for colleagues who work evenings and weekends – please email me directly (rosalind.evans@ucl.ac.uk) and I will arrange it.

Site visits and meeting attendance

Members of the LCCOS Leadership Group are also available to visit sites and join team meetings. You can request this either via your section head, or by directly contacting the relevant member of LCCOS Leadership Group if there is someone specific you’d like to invite.

Online Feedback form

Finally, there is an online feedback form if you prefer. If you put your name on it, you will receive a response, but you can also post anonymously if you are more comfortable with this.

Scheduled dates

Dates are scheduled as below. Please email the named person to book as indicated. I will be sending out a monthly reminder via the lccos-allstaff@ucl.ac.uk mailing list.

  • 20 Nov:  10:00 – 11:00: Paul Ayris (Pro-Vice-Provost, UCL LCCOS) & June Hedges (Director of Liaison and Support Services; Deputy Director of Services) – email j.hedges@ucl.ac.uk 
  • 14 Dec:  14:00 – 15:00: Martin Moyle (Director of Services) & Lara Speicher (Head of Publishing, UCL Press) – email l.speicher@ucl.ac.uk
  • 17 Jan:  11:00 – 12:00: Andy Pow (Head of Finance, LCCOS) & Rozz Evans (Head of Collection Strategy) – email rosalind.evans@ucl.ac.uk
  • 16 Feb:  11:00 – 12:00:  Margaret Stone (Director of Digital Services and Service Improvement) & John Maisey (Head of Visitor Services) j.maisey@ucl.ac.uk
  • 19 Mar: 15:00 – 16:00: Karen Jeger (Head of Collection Services) & Peter Dennison (Head of Customer Service) – email p.dennison@ucl.ac.uk 
  • 22 Apr: 11:00 – 12:00: Paul Ayris (Pro-Vice-Provost, UCL LCCOS) & Sarah Aitchison (Director of Special Collections) – email s.aitchison@ucl.ac.uk
  • 22 May: 14:00 – 15:00: Martin Moyle (Director of Services) & Kate Cheney (Director of Site Library Services) – email k.cheney@ucl.ac.uk
  • 18 Jun: 14:00 – 15:00: Peter Dennison (Head of Customer Service) & Michelle Wake (Site Libraries Manager and Senior Librarian, UCL School of Pharmacy) – email m.wake@ucl.ac.uk

Do feel free to email me directly if you have any general queries, comments or questions about the LCCOS Leadership Surgeries.