The Technical Services Department (Acquisitions, Cataloging, Collection Development, and Systems) continued to accomplish its ongoing responsibilities with a minimum of staff, as well as to undertake new initiatives during the 1998/99 academic year.

The Acquisitions Unit (monographs, serials, current periodical room, and binding and processing) completed the year with two staff vacancies. Barbara Gavin (monograph orders) transferred to CCE in April 1999, and Jeannine Wilk (current periodicals) retired in June 1999. Remaining staff worked hard to maintain a continuous workflow in Acquisitions and expend the capital budget by the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

Michael Vocino, former Director of Libraries and Associate Dean, ended his sabbatical leave on June 30, 1999. He will rejoin the department on a 9 month appointment (at his request and granted by the provost) at the end of August. His initial workload assignment makes him a cataloger. We look forward to his return.

The Catalog Unit, also downsized in recent years, currently has 8 FTE faculty and staff. Newcomers to the Catalog Unit include Michael Cerbo (Nov. 1998) and Scott Briggs (May 1999). Pauline Moulson was promoted to Information Technologist, with 50% time devoted Systems Office. Cataloging also completed the year with no backlogs in current cataloging and undertook several new initiatives during the year.

Collection Development, with one faculty member, coordinates collection development with faculty subject selectors and academic departments. This unit examines budgetary and statistical issues in relation to library collections.

Highlights:

1. ABI/Inform--UMI ProQuest Direct: The HELIN libraries purchased for the first time an "aggregator database" of electronic journals: The ABI/Inform database of about 1500 business journals, which was loaded into HELIN's Innovative Interfaces (III) library system. UMI offers electronic "full-text" and "full-image" facsimiles of about 600 (40%) of these titles. In order to pay URI's share of the cost, the Library cancelled the paper version of most of the full-text, full-image titles to which we subscribed in paper. All HELIN libraries, including URI's Acquisitions and Catalog Units, cooperated to catalog the full-text, full-image titles in the HELIN catalog, creating links to the online journals in the database, and making electronic full text articles accessible to patrons with the click of a mouse. Patrons are thus able to access the ABI/Inform business journals wherever they have access to a computer, on campus or from home or other remote locations.
2. Other Electronic Resources: The Reference Dept. continued to shift reference databases from CD-ROM format to Web access when available and cost effective. Web titles are accessible from the Library's homepage and from the HELIN catalog. The Library also continues to purchase a variety of online journals, replacing and supplementing paper titles in the collection. New issues that must be addressed include:

Ordering: individual versus "consortium prices".

Setup in HELIN through IP addresses or passwording.

Negotiating with vendors on concurrent usage and license fees, etc.

Receiving: tracking URLs since there is nothing physical to "receive."

Cataloging, as standards for cataloging of this format are still in flux.

3. Cataloging Projects: All remaining Dewey monographs were recataloged into MARC format and entered in the HELIN catalog. Materials in Special Collections, including Rare Books and selected special collections, were cataloged and cataloging of the manuscript collection has begun. A cooperative project with the Music Library in the Fine Arts Building was undertaken, so that a collection of music CDs is now available in the HELIN catalog. All these projects bring to light specialized collections previously inaccessible to patrons.
4. Inventory Project: Circulation, Cataloging and Processing cooperated to begin a long-neglected inventory of the collection, with the recent purchase of III's "inventory module." This module uses electronic scanning of bar-coded volumes in the collection to be compared with an electronic shelflist to identify missing or mislabeled titles. The project is planned to be ongoing, with volumes corrected or withdrawn from the collection if they are in fact missing.
5. CRIARL Union List Project: CRIARL has moved its union list database of serial titles and holdings to an Innovative Union List module, compatible with other III library systems. Criarl libraries with III systems undertook a project to add "match points" from records in their local system to the Criarl Union List. URI has started on this project, but lack of staff has hindered its completion. Once completed, this project will allow for electronic updating of the Union List.
6. Systems Projects: Although woefully understaffed, the Systems unit kept the Libraries' many desktop computers and the CD-ROM network running; installed Virus--protection software, and checked all machines and software for Y2K compatibility. The III Electronic Reserves module was implemented during the year. Systems staff worked with CCE Library staff and Reserves to purchase equipment and start scanning and processing e-reserves. New III "Millennium" software was also installed on the HELIN Alpha computer. New services and updated programs including materials booking, patron initiated Interlibrary Loan, and Web Circulation. Other new III Millennium software enhancements will be implemented during 1999/2000.