Association for Library Collections & Technical Services Annual Report 2005–2006

Abstract

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) is committed to shaping and responding to all matters related to the selection, identification, acquisition, organization, management, retrieval, and preservation of recorded knowledge. ALCTS strives to provide this leadership to its members through education, publication, and collaboration. This year, the division focused its efforts and accomplishments in the following areas: education, collaboration through active involvement in policy formulation, publication, and organization. Education Continuing education has been a cornerstone of the services that ALCTS provides to its members. Because of its importance to ALCTS, the Education Committee (Karen Letarte, chair) sponsored an Education Action Summit during the Midwinter Meeting. Members from various division and section committees, the Council of Regional Groups, and other ALCTS leaders attended a half-day summit designed to move the ALCTS continuing education program into a higher gear. Maureen Sullivan facilitated for a thought-provoking afternoon, during which attendees talked about educational needs and the resources required to advance continuing education within ALCTS. We look forward to implementing some of the conclusions that were reached during the meeting. A number of new workshops were developed and delivered in 2005 and 2006. Among them are: * Basic Collection Development and Management * Principles of Controlled Vocabulary and Thesaurus Design, an ALCTS and Library of Congress Workshop * Metadata Standards and Applications, an ALCTS and Library of Congress Workshop * Metadata and Digital Library Development, an ALCTS and Library of Congress Workshop * Digital Project Management for the 21st Century, an ALCTS and Library of Congress Workshop Continuing workshops include: * Basic Subject Cataloging Using LCSH, an ALCTS/PCC Workshop * Rules and Tools for Cataloging Internet an ALCTS and Library of Congress Workshop * Web Course: Fundamentals of Acquisitions Collaboration and Policy Formation Collaboration and policy formation are key areas for ALCTS. Focusing on policy issues that affect our members is an important service that ALCTS provides. This year we passed two resolutions that address policy. The board passed the Resolution on the Distribution of Government Information by the Government Printing Office, which encouraged the Government Printing Office to work in close collaboration with the library and information communities to develop efficient and effective mechanisms for the dissemination and preservation of government information in digital form. We also joined the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Association of College and Research Libraries in endorsing the statement Urgent Action Needed to Preserve Scholarly Electronic Resources, thereby acknowledging the importance of the preservation of electronic journal collections. We extended a collaborative partnership with ARL in the area of digital preservation. This culminated in an ALCTS Forum on Digital Preservation at the 2006 Annual Conference in New Orleans. In the spirit of collaboration, the ALCTS board approved a new award, the ALCTS Outstanding Collaboration Citation, to encourage improvements and benefits in providing and managing library collaboration between libraries and individuals, vendors, and organizations that work with libraries. …