CMS notes 2025

CMS 2025.11.04

Recording

Announcements & Updates

1. FOLIO Upgrade to Sunflower

   • Test tenant successfully upgraded; took over 48 hours.

   • Concerns about production upgrade timing due to length.

   • Speculating that a potential upgrade window could be during Spring Break (Feb 28–Mar 8) if length is indeed an issue.

   • In Test upgrade, reindexing issues persist; mapping inconsistencies between migrated and new records.

   • Dry run environment expected in January; production upgrade currently planned for early February 2026.

2. OAI Harvests & Performance Issues

   • Recent performance degradation in FOLIO linked to OAI harvests.

   • Coordination issues between EBSCO and PubCat.

   • Ongoing investigation and ticketing.

3. Upcoming Events

   • Group Sunflower Testing: Nov 11 in Red Cedar Instruction Room. Open to anyone interested.

   • WolfCon Debrief: Nov 10 at noon in BEAL Instruction Room.

   • All-Staff Meeting: Nov 5 at 10 a.m. Topics include federal compliance and AI strategy.

   • Library Faculty Assembly: Nov 19, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.

Technical Services Space Planning Discussion (Led by Kelly Sattler)

Kelly gathered input for redesigning the 1 West technical services space. Key questions include:

• Recording who works in 1 West.

• Who needs proximity to others?

• Work arrangements (full-time, hybrid, remote)?

• Space-sharing feasibility?

• Special equipment or ergonomic needs?

Feedback Highlights:

• Many catalogers work closely and prefer proximity (e.g., Ruth Ann & Cathy; Cathy & Tina).

• Special Collections materials require in-building workspaces.

• Oversized materials necessitate large desks and shelving.

• Lighting sensitivity is a concern; some prefer reduced fluorescent lighting or personal lighting setups.

• Accessibility needs include specialized monitors, mice.

• Concerns about shared workspaces due to scheduling and ergonomic differences.

• Touchdown spaces may be feasible with adjustable desks and personal storage.

Next Steps:

• Kelly looking to gather information by end of November.

• Joshua will assist with compiling information.

• Additional CMS Meeting time will be given to this discussion with those stationed in 1 West at our Nov. 18 meeting.

Cataloging Practice Update for Remote Storage

• Remote processing backlog: request to use “Unavailable” status instead of “In Process” for items sent to remote.

• Autumn and Joshua to follow up with Pearl and PubCat regarding default status implications (i.e. the potential to apply this practice more generally).

Cataloging Calculator Overview

• https://catalogingcalculator.com/

• Tool used for cutter generation, MARC code lookup, subject headings, and classification tables.

• Hosted by Kyle Bannerjee (former systems librarian, now at EBSCO).

• Not affiliated with official cataloging bodies; data pulled from LC metadata registry (id.loc.gov).

• Useful but should be supplemented with authoritative sources like ClassWeb, SHM and CSM.

• New features include keyword search for LCSH and classification tables.

CMS 2025.08.19

Announcements & Reminders

• Football Parking (Aug. 29)

  • Lot 11 and several other campus lots will close Thursday, Aug. 28 at 10 PM.

  • Work from home on Aug. 29 is strongly encouraged.

  • Coordinate with Joshua or Autumn if you need WFH options.

  • Leave requests for that day will be approved.

• Library Hours

  • Currently 8–5 schedule during present week between semesters.

  • Friday, Aug. 29 will be 8-10.

  • Full 24/5 schedule resumes Sept. 7.

  • Reminder: do not allow entry to students or visitors after closing hours; ensure doors latch properly.

NACO & Authority File Updates

• Resumption of NACO Work (Aug. 19):

  • LC completed migration of Name Authority File to Folio.

  • OCLC confirmed NACO record submission is reinstated via Connexion & Record Manager.

  • Turnaround time for distribution has improved (approx. 1 day).

• Key Changes:

  • Field 375 (gender): Eliminated from all authority records during migration. Not technically obsolete in MARC21; PCC advises not to use.

  • Unicode Support: Now fully enabled in authority records. Technical barriers are removed, but policy changes and documentation updates are pending.

  • RDA Conversion: Automatic conversion from AACR2 to RDA completed for all records where possible.

  • Family Name Authorities: Enabled as access points; controllability expected to improve.

  • OCLC Guidance: Continue following existing NACO policies until Unicode implementation and character handling issues are resolved (e.g. for Eszet).

• LC Catalog Updates:

  • Utilizing EBSCO Locate product.

  • New LC Authorities search and beta subject browse available.

• OCLC FAQ to LC’s Migration:

  • Available here.

Windows 11 Migration

• Several staff reported upgrading; noted issues with scrollbars and administrative settings.

• Workarounds and fixes available online (e.g., scrollbar width adjustments) via straightforward Google searches for solutions.

Cataloging Lab: E-book cataloging update

• Collaboration underway with Acquisitions (Robbie Carter) to scale up e-book cataloging capacity.

• New e-book processing matrix developed, modeled on shelf-ready workflow.

• Currently 809 uncataloged e-resources.

• Process involves checking records in eHoldings, OCLC, and inventory; removing vendor-supplied URLs; ensuring 776 field accuracy.

• API action being developed to suppress duplicate EBSCO records once cataloged (i.e. to prevent records from HLM being delivered for display in VuFind).

• Discussion of Cat7, Cat8, and Catman15 scripts to handle URL overlays and record updates.

  • Lucas helped edit Cat8 to meet a cataloging need from Nicole.

  • Cat8 utilizes mappings from Catman15 to override 856 field protection in Quickmarc, allowing incoming 856s to come through and old URLs to be wiped out.

  • Appears to apply to electronic access elements in Holdings records, as well.

CMS 2025.08.05

Announcements

• FOLIO Sunflower Release

  • Anticipated rollout in late August or September.

  • Includes the new Eureka platform, which will change how permissions are structured.

  • Existing permission sets will need to be reconstructed post-upgrade.

  • Planning for permission reconfiguration will occur at the Tech Services Team Manager level.

• Email from Jacquelyn (7/24)

  • Important memos about:

    • University-wide hiring policy changes due to budget constraints.

    • The role of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure (RPT).

  • Staff are encouraged to review the email carefully.

• Technical Services Restructuring

  • Discussions are ongoing following the TS Retreat.

  • Goal: streamline and better align unit structures.

  • No definitive structural changes yet; staff will be kept informed.

• New Hire

  • S.E. Pavlica will join CCaTS on August 11 as Electronic Resources Licensing Librarian.

  • No formal cataloging role, but they have some cataloging experience.

NACO Freeze

• NACO activities are paused until at least August 19 due to Library of Congress’ migration to FOLIO.

• What’s not allowed:

  • Submitting new authority records or editing existing ones in NAF.

• What’s allowed:

  • Saving records locally or in online save files (including for BIBCO and CONSER work).

  • Preparing edits for later submission.

• Internal review processes will continue as usual (i.e. you may save NARs to OSF and Tim & Joshua will review), with a plan to submit once the freeze ends.

CMS Department Overview for EC (Executive Council) Presentation

Joshua will present to EC on October 27, incorporating input from original and copy cataloging teams.

Prompted Questions for Reflection:

1. Major accomplishments over the past year.

2. Goals for the department over the next year and associated resource needs.

3. Suggestions for new or improved Libraries-wide programs/services.

Highlights from Discussion:

Major Accomplishments:

• Significant progress on the physical cataloging backlog.

• Initiated cataloging of firm-ordered e-books, including complex workflows.

• Refinement of serial analytics workflows.

• Continued harmful language remediation efforts, now more mainstream in practice.

• Cataloging materials held for 30-50 years or more; finally making the connections to move these along!

• Representation and analysis of Special Collections materials at the item level (versus lumped archival collections).

• Ongoing contributions to FOLIO development and stability through testing and bug reporting.

• Major cataloging projects for maps and plat books, improving discoverability.

• PCC activities including expanded BIBCO participation.

Goals for Next Year:

• Maintain momentum and support for backlog reduction and e-resource cataloging.

• Support for continued professional development—conference attendance, webinars, WolfCon, etc.

• Staffing priorities:

  • Refill two original cataloger positions (vacated by Janice and Kate).

  • Hire an e-resources metadata librarian and possible support staff for batch record loading.

• Reallocate capacity from acquisitions (due to fewer purchases) to support e-resource cataloging and metadata needs.

• Expand internal training and reallocation of work toward e-resources and Special Collections.

Library-Wide Ideas and Proposals:

• Technical Services space redesign to better support hybrid and collaborative work.

• Hosting a second Harmful Language Symposium, building on previous success.

• Cross-department FOLIO training to address user knowledge gaps (especially among liaisons).

• Enhancing the visibility and engagement with the "new books" area—suggested reframing to include newly cataloged (not just newly acquired) materials.

• Better understand how patrons interact with the catalog (e.g., what metadata is used, what records are discovered).

• Strengthen communication between cataloging and public services to align user needs with metadata practices.

CMS 2025.07.15

Announcements & Updates

• Folio Service Patch Upgrade

  • Upgraded from service patch 3 → 4.

  • Staff should clear cache and log back in to avoid issues.

  • Quick reminder that Folio-specific cache clearing is available.

    • Clearing cache for just Folio in Chrome:

      1. Click the menu icon to the left of the URL at the top of the browser (looks like two horizontal lines on top of each other with circles) 

      2. Click “cookies and site data” 

      3. Click “manage on-device site data” 

      4. Click the trash can icons next to the URL options that show up on the next window (should be ebsco.com and michstate-lm.folio.ebsco.com)

      5. Click “Done” 

• Windows 11 Upgrades

  • Some staff have upgraded, others delaying due to storage issues, etc.

  • Laptop users should self-install by August 1.

  • Desktop users will be migrated around July 21.

  • See email from Devin Laird from June 23.

• Folio Engagement Survey

  • Results circulated by Melanie (email dated June 24).

  • Feedback will inform future communication (also informing a presentation planned for WolfCon).

• Divisional Retreat Notes

  • Notes sent June 27 by Melanie.

  • Includes staff feedback and space-planning updates.

• Space Planning

  • DBI (office interiors) staff will measure cubes and spaces for future planning.

  • Expect visitors with measuring tapes in Tech Services area.

• Folio Contract Renewal

  • Renewal with EBSCO to be signed by September (likely a 3-year extension).

  • Negotiations focus on support features (MetaDB, Panorama, access to LSE (i.e. Kassie McLaughlin) support).

  • No plan to switch vendors in 2025 due to scale limitations.

June 19 Department Heads Meeting Highlights

• Budget discussion

  • Current Fiscal Year

    • $1M+ in cuts achieved via:

      • Reductions in collections budgets.

      • Holding open several positions.

      • Moving costs to endowments.

    • No filled positions eliminated this year (unlike other campus units).

  • Next Fiscal Year

    • Additional $700K in savings needed.

    • Considering further cost reductions (e.g., desk phone lines).

    • Will future retirements or vacancies undergo review before refilling?

      • Unsure, but Joshua speculates so.

  • Collections Impact

    • Significant cuts to Special Collections (≈75%).

    • Increased reliance on endowment funds & donations.

    • Expected shift of cataloging FTE toward e-resources & electronic packages and toward Special Collections backlogs.

  • Cataloging Staffing Implications

    • Staffing needs being watched with respect to where cataloging work ends up.

    • More time may be required on-site for special collections work.

    • Possible retraining/reskilling for e-resources cataloging.

  • Phones & VOIP

    • Desk phones are costly; exploring removal or migration to VOIP for savings.

    • Expect more discussion or news on this.

• Upcoming “Department Overview” Exercise

  • Each unit head will meet with admin to present:

    • Top 3 priorities for their unit.

    • Resources needed.

    • Future goals & initiatives.

  • Purpose: inform budget narrative, resource allocation, and provost-level pitches.

Presentations & Cataloging Highlights

• Metadata Justice Symposium (Oklahoma)

  • Happening Thursday; free registration available.

  • Presentations on subject headings, indigenous metadata, and zine thesaurus.

• Staff shared cataloging highlights (e.g., William Penn’s sister’s book inscription, unique cookbook notes from the 1930s).

CMS 2025.04.15

Announcements

• Awaiting confirmation of Ramsons upgrade to Production; still assuming the window between 5/12 and 5/16

Macros

Macros are a tool available in OCLC Connexion to add automation to one’s cataloging work. We reintroduced macros, reviewed sources for obtaining them, and quickly reviewed installation steps.

• Connexion 3.1 (the current version of the client) contains onboard macros.

• Updates have been made to these macros since our rollout of client v.3.1; if you have not updated your Connexion installation since fall 2023, you may want to update your onboard macro book to avoid errors; we reviewed steps for doing so.

  • See OCLC’s software download page with steps for downloading here.

  • Joshua can help with updates to your macros, if needed.

• Descriptions of OCLC’s onboard macros are here.

• Third-party macros are also available for download and installation. Steps for doing so may vary on the source.

  • Joel Hahn macros

  • Walt Nickeson macros

  • Princeton Chinese transliteration macro

CMS 2025.03.18

Recording

https://mediaspace.msu.edu/media/MSUL+Cataloging+and+Metadata+Services+Team+Meeting+and+Lab/1_8iddzag4

Announcements

• Thanks for contributions to SWOT analysis from Melanie; next steps TBD

• Test was updated to Quesnelia SP-10 yesterday, 3/17

• 1:1 meetings with me are ongoing; more slots next week

• Reminder: 1W power outage this Thursday, March 20

• Reminder: Joshua out March 20-24; again March 31-April 2

• LCSH terms re: Gulf of Mexico, Mt. Denali: infrastructure is in place to retain these terms across the several headings that contain them, and to forego use of new LCSH language describing these geographic features.

WorldCat issues re: records with 007

Several people had been having issues with WorldCat records failing to validate and therefore failing to export because of validation errors in Connexion related to the 007. By the time we had our meeting, this issue seemed to have resolved.

VuFind: CDAWG update from Feb. 28 meeting

• Ruth Ann Jones and Mike Erickson are cataloger representatives serving on CDAWG currently; they presented updates from the group’s most recent meeting.

• CDAWG seeking feedback on filter behavior: should filters be applied dynamically (as each one is clicked) or manually (select one or more filters and then click the “Apply” button)?

  • Mild preferences in CMS for dynamic, but deference to user preference where that is discernible

  • Discussed other design nuances to consider

• Non-Roman summaries in 520 will now display in catalog

• Summary is placed in further description tab; will move to a differently labeled tab

• Invalid ISBNs now display

• 024 fields for ISMN for music will be displayed soon

• Non-Roman publication statements in 880-264 will display soon, too

Walkthrough and introduction to pilot eBook cataloging workflow

Early in 2025, we rolled out a pilot workflow to start cataloging firm-ordered e-book in-house, directly into Folio, rather than accepting HLM-sourced records from EBSCO for these. This is an opportunity to provide fuller cataloging for some e-books compared to what EBSCO is able to offer, and to treat these in-house created e-book records with our monthly authorities processing to ensure well-formed headings and normalization with the rest of the Folio catalog. As a pilot, this workflow may demonstrate the value of this approach in order to support requests for further capacity in technical services to treat other e-resources similarly.

With guidance from Janet Baldwin, three copy catalogers (Cathy, Cherish and Tina) are working on this workflow, tackling around 300 titles per month in total. Cathy demonstrated the steps of this workflow to give colleagues a sense of what’s involved.

CMS 2025.03.04

Recording

https://mediaspace.msu.edu/media/2025-03-04+Cataloging++Metadata+Services+Meeting++Lab/1_ip99v81h

Announcements

• Prospective timeline for Ramsons timeline received

  • Test upgraded between 3/10 and 3/21

  • Dry run between 4/21 and 4/25

  • Production upgraded between 5/12 and 5/16

• Test being refreshed from Production on 3/5

• Scheduled internet outages in Main MSUL building

• Joshua away 3/20 through 3/24 and 3/31 through 4/2

• Joshua to schedule 1:1 meetings with catalogers individually to catch up on details about your regular work

• Planned power outages in Main MSUL building in week ahead

• ALA Core Interest Group week continuing this week; free online presentations, including many relevant to cataloging and technical services

SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) distributed by Melanie, soliciting feedback about what our strengths, weaknesses, etc. are for the division, especially with respect to the desire to pivot more capacity to e-resources work. We had questions and discussion about how to contribute to this request for feedback.

Microsoft Teams Walkthrough

Autumn has created some infrastructure for us as a unit in Teams: a group chat, tabs to track projects, etc. Autumn did a walkthrough of the UI for us.

CMS 2025.02.18

Recording

https://mediaspace.msu.edu/media/2025-02-18+Cataloging++Metadata+Services+Meeting++Lab/1_tin1uobf

Welcome Melanie McGurr

We welcomed the new Associate Dean for Collections and Technical Services, Melanie McGurr to this CMS meeting. Attendees introduced themselves and their work to Melanie.

Analytics Review

We had a group working meeting to review steps for working with analytics in Folio. There are several catalogers engaged in this work from varying directions: some cataloging new monographs that are analyzed volumes of monographic series; others working through a collected list of set-level monographic series bib records that need to have clean up done on the analytical linkages between their holding records and those of the analyzed volumes.

Documentation is here.

CMS 2025.02.04

Recording

https://mediaspace.msu.edu/media/t/1_vbaujx89

2025 CMS Meeting Cadence

• CMS Meetings: 1st and 3rd Tuesdays: 2-2:30

  • Formal space for staying in touch as a team, sharing need-to-know info.

• CMS Lab: 1st and 3rd Tuesdays: 2:30-3:30

  • Semi-structured time for sharing workflows, tools, how-to’s, etc.

• CMS Office Hours: 2nd and 4th Tuesdays: 2-3

  • Informal time to bring cataloging questions, get help troubleshooting, etc.

• All Hybrid on Zoom and in E118

Who Does What?

• Tina Andrews

  • Rush cataloging

  • Children’s lit copy cataloging

  • Cat sep copy cataloging (e.g. mono series on standing order, but cataloged separately)

  • Turfgrass copy cataloging

  • Non-print (DVDs, etc. except music) copy cataloging

  • Firm-ordered e-books