Homeward Bound: How to Move an Entire Cataloging Unit to Remote Work

Editor's Notes

• #2 Hello and welcome to our session. My name is Becky Skeen and I am the Special Collections Cataloging Librarian at Utah State University and my co-presenter is Andrea Payant, Metadata Librarian, also at Utah State University. We wanted to share with you our experience of moving our entire cataloging unit to remote work last year during the early stage of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• #3 Here is the outline for what we’re going to be talking about today We’re going to give you the background and timeline for moving the USU Cataloging and Metadata Services Unit to remote work, then we will talk about the different phases we went through for cataloging materials and end with some lessons we learned from this experience.
• #4 Ok let’s start with a little background
• #5 In the summer of 2019 the Cataloging and Metadata Services Unit Head at Utah State University was informed that her sabbatical request for 2020 had been approved. Shortly thereafter Andrea and I were asked if we would be willing to serve as the temporary Co-Unit Heads during that time. We agreed and the planning started off and on until the end of the year when more intensive discussions about how to divvy up the responsibilities and transfer administrative powers to us began in earnest. The current unit head also wanted to finish up all the unit staff annual workplans and evaluations before she left. Andrea and I were to be co-unit heads from February 24 to August 24 of 2020. The original planning that we had discussed involved us moving ahead with current workflows and projects, much the same as we would had there not been a sabbatical. However, that all changed when a couple weeks after becoming temporary unit heads the COVID-19 virus spread to Utah. Rumblings about USU’s reaction to the outbreak began around March 6, by March 12, they had decided to cancel classes until March 18th when all classes moved online for the remainder of the semester. At that time, we were told that we needed to have our unit staff ready for working remotely at the same time classes went online.
• #6 So here is a simple timeline for how our remote cataloging activities progressed. We started with new workplans for everyone which required Andrea and I to find work that could be easily done from home by all of our unit staff members including our student technicians. Fortunately, we had started a multi-year research project in 2019 that had just come to a point at this time where a lot of computer work was needed to code the research data. Since there was such a short turnaround for getting everyone working from home, this coding was perfect to get everyone started on remote work while giving us time to figure out how to carry forward with the actual cataloging of materials. We ended up with three phases of how staff members were able to catalog items remotely.
• #7 Phase 1
• #8 Phase 1 began with modifying all individual workplans for remote work. As I mentioned in the previous slide, the first remote work responsibility was the coding of research data because it was a big enough project that we could immediately have all of our unit staff and student technicians working on it from home. Other job duties for this time included digital collection metadata, professional development, digital newspaper transcription, EAD guide remediation and ArchivesSpace ingestion. Then in May, we worked with the head of the Collection Management and Resource Sharing Unit to create a new workflow for cataloging Purchase on Demand items. It was decided that we would create a form in Airtable for Collection Management staff to fill out that would populate a spreadsheet that catalogers could then use to catalog materials. Airtable is a subscription cloud collaboration database that our library uses for many different aspects of our work. This process was used from May through July of 2020 and worked well for our staff in cataloging the items, however Collection Management decided it was unsustainable for them to continue this process. Fortunately this corresponded with the limited repopulation of the library so they could then be cataloged in person.
• #9 Another remote cataloging workflow that we set up, but ended up not using, was having the Collection Management staff enter the ISBN into the Sierra order records as part of their regular process, then having the cataloging staff run a Sierra report to identify the new acquisitions, and then cataloging those items. Once cataloged they would email a list of those items to Circulation who would then barcode, label, RFID, and check in the items.
• #10 And here is a workflow diagram of how that last process would have worked. New materials would come into CMRS, they would receive them and create the order records with ISBNs, then they would give the materials to Circulation while Cataloging staff would run reports to identify newly acquired materials, catalog those items, email a list of newly cataloged items to Circulation who would physically process and check in the items.
• #11 Phase 2 – which started in August of 2020 – began with a limited re-population of the library
• #12 So, for our unit (and the library) this limited re-population entailed a switch to a 25% staffing level in the library. This transition was planned out according to official CDC guidelines for disinfecting, social distancing, etc. First, we implemented a quarantine system – items dropped off to cataloging were labeled to indicate the date and time and staff and students would pick up, catalog, and process after 24 hours and our unit would similarly drop off newly cataloged materials with labels to indicate the date and time so they could use their unit’s quarantine processes as well We organized and planned weekly shifts for some of the staff and student workers. This included the creation of a shared, online calendar that others could access to be aware of who was physically in the building and for how long. The main priority for in-library staff was to track items coming into the unit and to catalog and process time sensitive materials, including purchase on demand, demand driven acquisitions, and hold materials. The cataloging performed in the library was based on level of cataloging expertise. For example, students trained in copy cataloging could track and process materials requiring less complex cataloging but if they tracked an item and began the copy catalog process but found the item needed original cataloging, they would assign the item to a remote cataloger with more expertise.
• #13 We added informational fields into the tracking system we have for all materials that come to our unit. So, if needed, this information could be used by staff to remotely catalog items. This additional information was the ISBN, publisher, year published, publisher location, pagination etc. along with an option upload photos of the item to assist with remote cataloging Items that in-person staff or student workers pass on to remote staff were then placed on a central holding shelf to await processing (i.e., affixing spine labels and property stamping)
• #14 Remote cataloger’s responsibilities were first and foremost to help catalog items coming into the unit, with the highest priority being given to time sensitive materials, new acquisitions, and batch processes – the lesser priorities included transfers, backlogs, withdrawals, those types of things… In addition to cataloging duties, depending on area of expertise, remote staff continued work on digital collection (Dublin core) metadata for new collections as well as remediation projects (all of which could be done remotely) Other remote projects included ArchivesSpace ingests and remediation as well as scholarship work, including gathering, analyzing, and writing about the coding project that our unit was engaged in throughout much of the COVID shutdown.
• #15 Phase 3, beginning in January this year, continued much like operations with phase 2 with some minor changes
• #16 We were able to fine tune some of our workflows First, we came up with an improved quarantine system by implementing a rotating cart arrangement. Three carts were placed in a central location near the entrance of our work area. Each cart’s shelves were labeled to separate rush items and non-rush items. One drop off cart was placed closer to the entry and was used by collection’s staff to drop off items. Each cart had a re-usable quarantine date labels that indicated when it was set aside to await processing the next day. There were also responsibilities outlined for staff or student workers depending on the timing of their shifts. For example, the last person in the unit for the day would take the main drop off cart, write the date of quarantine on the label, and move it away from the entrance and then place a new empty cart in its place to become the drop off cart. Then, and the first person in the unit the next day could take the quarantined cart and begin tracking and processing the items. Second, were able to increase shifts to accommodate more staff and student workers while still adhering to prescribed COVID protocols. The priorities remained the same to focus efforts on time sensitive items, new acquisitions and so on… The tracking, use of holding shelves, and other remote projects remained the same
• #17 Here is visual workflow of the hybrid remote/in-person cataloging system. Essentially, items are dropped off by collections staff, the early morning person takes the items dropped off and puts them in our Airtable tracking database and begins cataloging. Items that can’t be done and taken to circulation right away (like those requiring original cataloging) are assigned to a remote cataloger and placed on the central holding shelf. Remote catalogers receive notification via email when items are assigned and they catalog the books and update Airtable when the item is cataloged. The afternoon person in the library checks Airtable to see if any items have been cataloged remotely and are ready for processing then they proceed with physical processing, update Airtable and deliver items to circulation As of right now, other than the quarantine system, which we dropped doing a few weeks ago, we are using this system and will continue to do so until campus and library administration lift the current COVID guidelines
• #18 Switching our entire unit to remote work taught us some important lessons
• #19 It likely goes without saying, but we learned that communication was critical to being able to keep our unit working effectively from home. We tried our best to make sure our contact was frequent and transparent. For example, we passed on any and all relevant updates related to COVID from campus and library administration as soon as it was received. And we also made sure to disclose our decision-making processes and justifications as changes were made to workplans, workflows, and other practices for our unit. We also found that due to differing personalities and communication styles that it was best to use multiple methods of communication and not just one. For example, most of the unit was new to slack when COVID hit and we moved to remote work – some took to using it right away and preferred this, while others still preferred to primarily use email. We found early on that extra care, consideration, and sensitivity were needed when communicating as well, not only due to uncertainty and anxiety caused by the pandemic, but the stress and frustration caused by the transition to remote work as well. Which leads to another important lesson learned Effectively performing job duties, whether done remotely or not, is affected by individual’s health and wellness, therefore it was and is vital to implement and promote practices that support a healthy environment for staff. This was a priority on campus, in the library, and in our unit and we made sure everyone knew this was of utmost importance. We encouraged everyone to take whatever time they needed to relax and de-stress. We held weekly social meetings as one way for everyone to take some time away from their duties and just have fun visiting with their colleagues. We also created slack channels just for fun, non-work related stuff. Library administration also allowed for two and a half hours each week of dedicated time for health and wellness activity however people chose to spend that time. These measures were effective as they improved morale and alleviated, at least to some degree, the pressures of the pandemic and changing job duties.
• #20 We also learned how to implement more flexible workflows. As part of this we were able to adapt workflows to accommodate different levels of service which can be re-implemented at any time (which hopefully won’t ever be necessary again). But these new practices do include our current hybrid remote and in-person cataloging workflow which we will likely carry on using for the foreseeable future as our campus and library may allow for more permanent work from home options for staff and students. Ultimately, we (along with the rest of you at your respective institutions) were able to pivot our efforts to address the unique issues and circumstances that COVID necessitated, including moving an entire cataloging unit to remote work.