OBS-SIS at AALL Annual Meeting 2000

Program Descriptions

Libraries and vendors can now exchange orders, invoices, and claims over the Internet.  These exciting developments are made possible by EDI, Electronic Data Interchange, a technology that performs exchange of business data in standardized electronic format between systems.  EDI has greatly improved the efficiency and quality of library services.  However, it is still unfamiliar to the majority of law libraries.  What impact will it have on a law library's management when acquisition and serials processes occur in a paperless environment?  An information specialist and EDI expert will review the latest developments on the technical integrity of all EDI standards.  A law librarian will present her research on this technology.  A subscription agent will share his knowledge of incorporating EDI messages into the Library of Kansas State University, the first library to load annual serial invoices via the EDI interface.

Tight budgets and staff shortages make cooperative cataloging efforts essential.  Unrealized cooperative work exists in many of our local systems.  Why not share it?  In the past, only major research libraries could afford to contribute "authoritative" records to shared national files.  The Library of Congress now enlists all types of libraries to join in its cooperative work.  The expertise law catalogers possess in dealing with certain types of bibliographic and authority records would have a great impact on these cooperative efforts.  This program will assist law librarians in assessing the value of PCC component programs with regard to work taking place in their library.  Speakers will present an overview of the PCC and how its component parts fit together.  They will discuss training, the impact on daily workflow, and the benefits to be gained both by users of our library catalogs and by law catalogers.

Z39.50 offers enhanced user service and technical processing.  Speakers represent various parts of the Z39.50 world: librarians using Z39.50, representatives of major target databases and ILS developers.  The speakers will address the function of the attribute settings, interesting uses for Z39.50 such as simultaneous searches on multiple databases, instantaneous acquisition of bib records, instantaneous generation of ILL requests, and the standardization issues yet to be resolved in the application of Z39.50.  This program will address the likely result of various search strategies against LC, OCLC, and RLIN databases.  The audience will be asked to react to the question, "Are there ethical problems associated with the ability to acquire MARC records from any database with a Z39.50 server?"

An OBS-SIS task force, in recognition that the principles of core competencies are applicable to law library staff at all levels, not just law librarians, wrote sample core competencies for support staff in both technical and public services.  These core competencies describe basic tasks that all support staff are expected to carry out in their daily work.  Selected examples include being able to recognize how bibliographic information is presented, how library systems operate, and how legal materials are organized.  Librarians who are managers can use these core competencies to be more effective leaders in their departments as they hire, train, and evaluate support staff.  Speakers will include members of the OBS task force who wrote the sample core competencies being presented.  The program will conclude with a practical, real-life example of writing and using core competencies from a librarian who has done so.

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The Text Encoding Initiative and Electronic Legal Texts

The Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) is an international project to develop guidelines for the preparation and interchange of electronic texts for scholarly research.  Since the beginning of the TEI project, the need for standardized encoding practices has become critical as the need to use and, most importantly, reuse electronic text has increased for both research and industry.  The growing diversity of applications for electronic texts include natural language processing, scholarly editions, information retrieval, hypertext, electronic publishing, various forms of historical analysis, and lexicography.  The central objective of the TEI ensures that any text created can be used for any number of these applications and for more, as yet not fully understood, purposes.  The speaker(s) will introduce the TEI and its metadata component, the TEI Header, and discuss methods, tools, and issues surrounding the production of electronic versions of primary legal texts that will support academic research and legal practice applications.

Keeping informed of innovations and trends in the fast-paced world of integrated library systems is not easy.  The constant give and take between the needs and demands of your users and staff and changes in the field affect the use and implementation of your library's system.  Is your vendor setting trends or reacting to them?  Is your vendor receptive to your enhancement requests?  What features do other library systems offer and what are some of the problems they are dealing with?  Two nationally known library automation experts/practicing consultants will assess and compare existing library systems and answer questions about the latest trends and developments.  This program will take participants beyond their own systems, enabling them to make better decisions when negotiating with vendors for changes to their existing systems or dealing with system migration or new purchase situations.

Law librarians have been struggling with the format transfer of serials from printing to digital.  How does the library acquire and track these virtual resources?  After the license agreement is signed, how do you manage licenses and contracts of those resources?  Should electronic serials be controlled through local systems, and how would that be accomplished?  How do you maintain the library holding statement for the serials that the library doesn't physically own?  What does the digital environment demand for technical services librarians and support staff?  Two knowledgeable specialists will illustrate trends in legal serials development and provide strategies for the acquisition and quality control of electronic serials in the law library.

Committee and Business Meetings

OBS-SIS Committee and Business meetings are discussions open to both members and interested non-members.  If you wish to attend an OBS-SIS Board meeting, please contact an OBS-SIS officer in advance.

1999-2000 Board Meeting: Saturday, July 15, 4:00-6:00 PM 

TS/OBS/RIPS/CS Joint Reception: Saturday, July 15, 6:00-7:30 PM 

OBS/TS Research Roundtable: Sunday, July 16, 11:45 AM-1:00 PM 

OBS Business Meeting: Sunday, July 16, 5:00-6:00 PM 

OCLC/WLN Committee Open Discussion: Monday, July 17, 5:00-6:00 PM 

Education Committee: Tuesday, July 18, 12:15-1:30 PM 

2000-2001 Board Meeting: Wednesday, July 19, 7:30-8:45 AM 

Local Systems Committee Open Discussion: Wednesday, July 19, 11:45 AM-1:00 PM

Topic: "Alpha & Beta Testing" with Adrian White (Howard) and Regina Wallen (Stanford) as speakers.