UC Libraries > Heads of Special Collections (HOSC) > HOSC – Progress Report – 2005-2006

HOSC – Progress Report – 2005-2006

Submitted 9/2006 by Melissa Conway, HOSC Chair 2006-2007, and Head of Special Collections, UCR

Statement of Purpose

The principal goal of HOSC is to ensure the continued excellence of UC systemwide special collections holdings, striving to avoid unnecessary overlap among collections and to make effective use of limited resources.

To accomplish this, we collaborate and coordinate efforts in acquiring, managing, preserving, and providing access to special collections materials in the UC system.

Our objectives include:

  1. Collection development: Develop collaborative collection development and collection management strategies, based on collection strengths and programmatic needs of the individual campuses.
  2. Resource sharing: Develop guidelines and procedures for sharing special collections resources among campuses.
  3. Access: Coordinate efforts to enhance access to special collections materials.
  4. Administration: Share information about policies and procedures in day-to-day operations, including areas such as patron registration, reading room service, acquisition of in-kind gifts, confidentiality issues regarding use of certain materials, and fee structures for use and reproduction of materials.
  5. Preservation: Identify preservation needs and coordinate preservation efforts relating to materials of various formats in special collections.
  6. Security: Share concerns and information about security issues, including access of staff and patrons to special collections materials, security features in facilities design and maintenance, and rapid communication among UC campuses regarding security alerts.

2005-2006 Goals and Objectives:

  1. Communicate and work collaboratively with other UC groups such as UCAC, PAG, and OAC committees, as well as national groups/organizations such as ARL and RBMS, on issues of common interest.
  2. Implement and monitor policies and procedures outlined in the UC Interlibrary Loan of Special Collections Materials Report.
  3. Work with CDL on digitizing projects that might involve special collections materials.
  4. Continue to work with OAC on collaborative projects such as Cal Cultures and submit guides/images to OAC.
  5. Explore ways to reduce processing backlogs, beginning with a survey akin to that taken by ARL, to determine similarities of materials and possible funding sources such as NEH.
  6. Develop a grant proposal to IMLS (for the next grant cycle, due 15 December 2005) to seek funding for a post-MLS fellowship program within the University of California, for the training of rare books/ special collections librarians.
  7. Maintain and expand content of HOSC web site.
  8. Continue to meet regularly (in person or otherwise) to discuss UC-wide Special Collections issues, as addressed in the HOSC Charge and Statement of Purpose, and explore ways to address them.

Goals and Objectives accomplished in 2005/06:

The group convened twice during the year, on November 15, 2005 at the California Digital Library (in person) and May 8, 2006 (conference call). Issues discussed included Interface Customization Tools, Digital Preservation Repository and Web Archiving, Calisphere and California Cultures/Online Archive of California, OAC markup, sale of digital objects, remedies for processing backlogs, and the BSTF report.

  • Towards the goal of implementing and monitoring policies and procedures outlined in the UC Interlibrary Loan of Special Collections Material Report, the report was submitted to CDC, by which it was endorsed, and passed to SOPAG. The Special Collections ILL program has been implemented on all campuses.
  • Towards the goal of working with CDL on projects that might involve special collections materials, HOSC members attended an all-day workshop at CDL on the following topics: Interface Customization Tools (Steve Toub); the National Digital Information Structure Preservation Project (Patricia Cruse); the Digital Preservation Repository (Patricia Cruse); Calisphere (Rosalie Lack); and Cal Cultures (Rosalie Lack).
  • Towards the goal of reducing processing backlogs, Bancroft Library proposed an EAD encoding service that would facilitate the submission of collection finding aids for presentation on the OAC. Several campuses also expressed an interest in the creation of METS digital objects. HOSC members also discussed Greene and Meissner’s American Archivist article on revamping traditional archival processing, and reviewed the Bancroft Library’s response with implications for local practice.
  • Towards the goal of writing an IMLS grant, the proposal was discussed in detail. Due to conflicting demands on the time of all HOSC members, the project was postponed. The feasibility of the project will be considered in the coming year.

2006-2007 Goals and Objectives:

  1. Communicate and work collaboratively with CDC and other UC, SOPAG-appointed, task forces and other common interest groups on special collections issues.
  2. Work with CDL on digitizing projects that might involve special collections materials.
  3. Continue to work with OAC on collaborative projects such as Cal Cultures and submit guides/images to OAC.
  4. Continue to explore ways to reduce processing backlogs, with projects such as the Bancroft’s EAD Encoding Services and the creation of a similar template for Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS).
  5. Explore the feasibility of a post-MLS fellowship program within the University of California, for the training of rare books/ special collections librarians.
  6. Maintain and expand content of HOSC web site.
  7. Continue to meet regularly (in person or otherwise) to discuss UC-wide Special Collections issues, as addressed in the HOSC Charge and Statement of Purpose, and explore ways to address them. Next proposed meeting is November 13, 2006, via conference call.