Con Library Technical Services: About TS

The Conservatory Library technical services staff handle aspects of collection management, description, and preservation. We use our knowledge of music, library preservation, local and international cataloging standards, and the library’s collection to ensure that items in the Conservatory Library collection can be searched online, accurately shelved, and maintained in good condition to be of scholarly and practical use to Oberlin College and Conservatory students, faculty, and staff, and to the larger world of library users, scholars, and performers.

Our activities include:

• Binding, labeling, and marking print materials
• Labeling, marking, and housing of audiovisual materials
• Evaluating physical materials for repair or replacement
• Adding full records to OBIS, the OCL catalog, from WorldCat, including creating or improving existing records in OCLC’s shared international catalog when needed
• Maintaining consistency in OBIS by updating names, titles, and subjects to conform to current authorized forms (bibliographic file maintenance)
• Maintain authority control feature in OBIS by adding or updating authority records for names, titles, and subjects, including creating or improving existing records in the Library of Congress shared national catalog when needed (NACO work)
• Supporting large-scale moves of collection items by updating labels and OBIS records
• Ensuring items waiting to be added to the collection are housed so they are protected and easily retrieved
• Hiring, training, and supervising student workers to assist us with routine tasks
• Following and anticipating developing metadata and systems standards at Oberlin, Ohio Five, OhioLINK, and nationally

Staff members also contribute to the collection by receiving material from Acquisitions, selecting new sound recording titles for purchase, evaluating condition of print material and scores for withdrawal or replacement, and participating in professional organizations. Within the OC Libraries, we regularly collaborate with DMS, AES, Conservatory Special Collections, and Conservatory Public Services to pool expertise and support OCL work.