ULA Annual Conference 2025

For beginner catalogers, postcards present a special challenge. Although postcards are a growing collection area for many institutions, few postcard catalog records have been previously added to OCLC, requiring catalogers to create original records for the vast majority of the postcards their institutions collect. Additionally, due to a growing interest in postcards from hobbyists and individual collectors, cataloging postcards often requires applying specialized terminology to catalog records, in order to enhance the discoverability and descriptiveness of catalog records. This presentation aims to make cataloging postcards feel more approachable for beginners by breaking down sample catalog records, pointing out unique features of postcard records that often confuse beginners, and highlighting best practices for applying RDA and LC vocabularies. It will briefly define and differentiate between the most commonly utilized postcard-related jargon (like the difference between chromographs and lithographs, or the significance of Real Photo Postcards). It will even include suggestions for how to notate handwritten messages, date/time stamps, or other copy-specific information in local records.

To address issues with consistency, searchability, and collection management, a team at Eccles Health Sciences Library (EHSL) conducted a comprehensive assessment of the metadata in the Neuro-Ophthalmology Virtual Education Library (NOVEL) collection. We identified inconsistencies in field usage, naming conventions, and degrees of detail across sub-collections. This project aimed to streamline metadata practices, ensuring consistency, relevance, and adherence to library standards.

This presentation details the first comprehensive collection analysis of a medical library serving three campuses in the Intermountain West. The analysis focused on item record quality, metadata effectiveness, table of contents availability, and collection overlap/deficiencies. By examining electronic book records and comparing holdings across campuses, the study identified areas for improvement in resource discoverability and collection development. The presentation will share key findings, best practices, and lessons learned, empowering other libraries to conduct similar analyses and enhance their collections.

Scrapbooks from the 1960s Alpenbock Climbing Club were donated to the Library in 2006, but were only made publicly available in 2023. This presentation describes the challenges of a multi-author unpublished donation and my multi-step de-risking process so the library could publish the scrapbooks in the Digital Library. The digitized scrapbooks immediately received recognition. Scrapbook images were featured on the front-page of the Salt Lake Tribune and several other news stories highlighting the historical significance of these inspirational stories. This case study's process provides a framework for other complicated donations, especially for those working within a community.

In this session, three catalogers from BYU will present on interesting cataloging problems that we have come across in our work. One presenter will present on cataloging Captain Canuck and will address the challenges associated with cataloging comics. The second presenter will address her quest to identify and catalog a picture. The third presenter will present on cataloging oddities in digital objects.

The Presidential Papers, a group of collections spanning Utah State University’s (USU) 17 presidents, is frequently used for instruction, exhibits, and personal research as a major resource for USU history. As part of a large-scale remediation initiative within University Archives, the Presidential Papers project significantly improved access, discoverability, and use of high research value collections that document critical parts of university history. Through the examination of appropriate levels of description, implementing intellectual order, and developing workflows, this session explores how secondary processing is used to modernize and improve high-impact collections.

I’ve been a cataloger for 3 years, but I worked in reference & circulation for 6 years before that. While my cataloging work is often "out of the way" from the rest of the library, I've found ways to use my circulation/reference experience to benefit my current job, such as helping co-workers who reach out to me with questions regarding access to ebooks & other electronic materials.

Libraries are all at different stages of their foray into the preservation of digital material. Some trying to manage with minimal resources and staff, while others are finding an overwhelming task of sorting through the digital deluge. Finding learning resources and help can be difficult. Here are some of the resources and communities I have found most helpful in my work in Digital Preservation.