Collection Strategies and Services
Collection Strategies and Services (CSS) identifies, procures, describes, manages, preserves, and supports the discovery and delivery of collections and information resources that sustain and stimulate intellectual inquiry, learning, innovation, entrepreneurship, and student success at the University of Maryland. CSS fosters the Libraries' leadership in technology, equitable and open access to information resources, and to responsible and effective preservation and curation of collections of a unique nature and high value to the campus, state, national, and global communities of research, teaching, and learning.
CSS consists of the following departments: Cataloging and Metadata Services, Collection Development Strategies, Open Scholarship Services, Preservation, and Special Collections and University Archives.
Cataloging and Metadata Services
The Cataloging and Metadata Services (CMS) department creates, enhances, and maintains high-quality descriptive metadata for the digital and physical resources acquired or created by the University of Maryland and high-quality authority records in the LC/NACO authority file. We contribute to the review and enhancement of discovery tools and systems used in the UMD Libraries, enabling access to materials through the creation and manipulation of MARC and non-MARC metadata. We collaborate with stakeholders on metadata needs for new collections and digitization projects, seeking to cultivate a seamless discovery experience. We support the discovery and research process through the use of bibliographic databases and knowledge bases and engage in database corrections and collection relocation. Our decisions and actions are informed by the international Cataloguing Code of Ethics. Through all of these activities, we support the teaching and research programs of the University.
Department members use a variety of schema and standards, contributing to their development and application. We share language and bibliographic format expertise and participate in local, regional, and national cooperative programs.
- University System of Maryland & Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) Metadata Committee, ILS Migration Cataloging Subject Matter Team, and ILS Migration Electronic Resources Management Subject Matter Team: share expertise in the USMAI consortium
- Big Ten Academic Alliance Cataloging Partnership: share language and format expertise across the consortium
- Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC): contribute high quality records and subject proposals conforming to approved standards, which are shared internationally
- BIBCO – including the Music Funnel: create and enhance bibliographic records for monographs
- CONSER: create and enhance bibliographic records for continuing resources
- NACO – including the NACO Music Project: create and enhance authority records for personal, corporate, series, and jurisdictional names, as well as titles for works and expressions
- SACO: propose new subject and genre headings and classification numbers
- Library of Congress Electronic Cataloging in Publication Cataloging Partnership Program: act as a virtual Library of Congress cataloging section to catalog forthcoming titles
- OCLC Member Merge Project: identify duplicate WorldCat records in the OCLC database and merge them
- PCC Wikidata Pilot Project: create and enhance Wikidata entities related to collections of interest at the University of Maryland while collaborating in a cohort of libraries on common best practices and shared resources
- Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC): edit, merge, and create SNAC records, increasing discoverability of UMD’s archival collections and their relationship to other archival collections worldwide
Collection Development Strategies
The Collection Development Strategies (CDS) Department identifies and selects materials, regardless of format to be purchased for the library's collection; develop and maintains close working relationships with the campus faculty; evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of subject collections systematically in order to provide written assessments of library holdings to support the instructional and research programs of the campus; formulate and implement collection development policies; review incoming materials from all sources, including approval plans and gifts and exchange; participate in the solicitation of gift materials; prepares and monitors the materials budget for the University Libraries.
The collections of the Libraries represent a vast variety of formats and languages, including books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, audio-visual materials, and information resources in electronic format. Collection Managers with designated subject responsibilities select these materials to provide direct support for the instructional and research programs of the university.
Collection Development Strategies includes Acquisitions, Continuing Resources, and Data Services and is engaged in the following activities:
- Identify and select resources, regardless of format to be purchased for the library's collection, including negotiating license agreements.
- Prepare collection materials for shelving and discovery.
- Develop and maintain close working relationships with the campus faculty and national and international vendors.
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of subject collections systematically in order to provide written assessments of library holdings to support the instructional and research programs of the campus.
- Formulate and implement collection development policies.
- Review incoming materials from all sources, including approval plans and gifts and exchange.
- Participate in the solicitation of gift materials.
- Manage fiscal processes, including preparing and monitoring the materials budget for the University Libraries.
- Manage the serials lifecycle.
- Curate usage statistics.
The collections of the Libraries represent a vast variety of formats and languages, including books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, audio-visual materials, and information resources in electronic format. Subject librarians with designated subject responsibilities select these materials to provide direct support for the instructional and research programs of the university.
Acquisitions, Continuing Resources, and Data Services are responsible for licensing activities in the UMD libraries.
Open Scholarship Services
Open Scholarship Services (OSS) is a front-facing program within the University Libraries, administered by the Associate Dean, Collection Strategies and Services. The OSS Team leads campus-wide efforts to open, share, and preserve the University’s scholarship and research. The program serves to meet the needs of faculty members and graduate students interested in scholarly publishing, copyright, open access, and new or evolving methods with which to measure the impact of their scholarly works.
Preservation
The University of Maryland Libraries Preservation Department is responsible for the care and conservation of the Libraries collections across the system in all formats. In order to carry out these responsibilities, department personnel design and carry out a variety of programs and projects. These include environmental monitoring and amelioration; disaster prevention, planning and response; consulting with and advising curators and collection managers; collection needs assessment; conservation of both general and special collections; and replacement and reformatting of severely damaged or deteriorated items. Preservation collaborates with colleagues across the Libraries, with other schools and departments throughout the university, and with vendors of preservation-related goods and services to complete its work.
Special Collections & University Archives
Special Collections and University Archives collect and provide access to material related to the history of the University of Maryland, the state of Maryland, literature and rare books, and American history and culture, especially as it relates to labor, mass media, and the performing arts. Use our books, manuscripts, photographs and audio/visual materials to enhance your research.
Personnel listing for Special Collections & University Archives