Joint presentation by Nancy Hershoff and Daniel Cromwell at the 2009 ELUNA Conference

1. Government Documents
Disposition Project Made Easy
with Aleph V.18
2009 ELUNA Conference
May 8, 2009
Presenters: Nancy Hershoff, Biscayne Bay Library
Florida International University
Daniel Cromwell
Florida Center For Library Automation

2. Florida International University

3. Florida International University
• First public, urban, research institution in Miami-Dade
• Opened for classes in 1972 with 5,667 students – the largest opening day
enrollment in U.S. collegiate history
• Has more than 38,000 students, 1000+ full-time faculty, and more than
134,000 alumni
• One of the 25 largest universities in the nation
• Ranked first in the nation among four-year colleges for awarding
bachelor’s and master’s degrees to Hispanic students
• Law School and Medical School
• Green Library, Biscayne Bay Library, Engineering Library, Law
Library, Medical Library, Pine Center Library,Wolfsonian Museum
Library, and digital Libraries

5. Florida Center for Library Automation
• Provides automation services that assist the libraries of Florida’s publicly-
funded universities in meeting their teaching and research objectives for
students and faculty.
• To achieve this mission, FCLA provides computer services that assist the
libraries in their daily operations and record keeping as well as providing
students and faculty with electronic access to scholarly materials.
• These services include the operation of a shared Integrated Library
Management System, licensing of electronic resources, and providing the
repository and support for digital versions of library-owned collections.
• FCLA is located in Gainesville, Florida, and is attached administratively to
the University of Florida.

6. Two federal depository collections
serving two distinctive congressional
districts
Green Library
Government Documents Department
Department Head + 1-2 librarians + 2 SLTAs
Biscayne Bay Library
Government Documents Section
Documents Librarian + 1 SLTA

7. Biscayne Bay Library Documents Section
1976 – established with 1 Documents Librarian, 1 SLTA
and student assistants
1977-1989 - high turn-over for the librarian position
1990 - Documents Librarian hired again
1997 – Documents Reference Librarian appointed
2003 – Both librarians departed
2004 – Weeding of federal depository materials started
2005 – Decision made to drop depository status and dispose of the collection
April, 2008 – Disposition project automated
October, 2008 – All records properly withdrawn/suppressed in Aleph, OCLC
holdings deleted
April, 2009 – Compilation of disposition lists completed

8. Federal Documents Disposition Project
Administrative Aspects
Technical Aspects
Lessons Learned

9. Administrative Aspects:
Why dispose of the collection?
1. Low usage, high cost, little publicity
Direct cost - $75-175 K annually
2. Budget reduction
3. Increasing availability of online resources
4. Duplication of efforts between campuses
5. Administrative realignment, centralization
of services and merger of collections
Types of materials involved
1. Print depository materials – monographs, serials, maps,
pamphlets
2. Electronic materials – floppy disks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, data
sets, online resources
3. Microform – microfiche and microfilm
4. Miscellaneous – local procedures, in-house created
manuals, VHS

10. Administrative Aspects (cont’d)
Volume – 19,689 unique bibliographic records, 112, 482 holdings records,
and 88,731 item records to withdraw/suppress in Aleph
96,487 OCLC bibliographic records to have holding symbol
removed from
Issues involved
1. Sheer volume
2. As little manual work as possible
3. Project leader with no prior experience in government documents
4. Database maintenance librarians’ concerns and worries
5. Shared bibliographic records between campuses and among
various collections
6. Compilation and distribution of disposition lists
7. Speed and efficiency
8. Equipment and shared drive – slowness and downtime
9. All steps are reversible

11. Administrative Aspects (cont’d)
Planning process
1. Use inventory method – work with laptop computers, extension
cords, hand-held optical scanners – time consuming, labor
intensive, idea abandoned
2. Effective Aleph searching and global change is the way to go
3. Batch delete FXN holding symbol from OCLC bib records
4. Disposition lists compilation and distribution, disposing of items
5. Equipment upgrade and staffing support
6. Resources dedicated to the project – 20% of 1 librarian, 1 SLTA, 1
OPS student assistant and 2 FWS student assistants

12. Technical Aspects:
Five types of activities in Aleph:
1. Retrieval and withdrawal of item records
2. Retrieval and suppression of holdings records
3. Retrieval and suppression of appropriate
bibliographic records
4. Retrieval and extraction of appropriate files
containing OCLC record numbers for OCLC holding
symbol removal
5. Compilation of disposition lists

13. Retrieval of item records for withdrawal:
1. Use the General Retrieval Form (ret-adm-01) under
Services/Items/General Retrieval Form
2. Name an output file
3. Retrieve by (1) sublibrary and (2) item collection
Sublibrary and collection names must be in all caps
4. Submit completed search form
5. Use output file as input file to run Items - Update Item
Records (manage-62) in order to set IPS to WD

15. FIBDC
WKRM

16. FIU50 Services-Items-ret-adm-01
FIBDC WKRM 156 items
7/10/2008
128003-001480
128003001480
128003001490
128003001500
128003001510
128003001520
128003001530
128003001540
128003001550
128003001560
128003001570
128003001580
128003001590
128003001600
128003001610
128003001620
128003001630
128003001640
128003001650
ADM System no. Item sequence no.
128003001660
128003001670
128003001680
128003001690
128003001700
128003001710
128003001720
128003001730
128003001740
128003001750
128003001760
128003001770
128003001780
128003001790
128003001800
128003001810
271605000010
275931000010
277247000010

18. wkrm
WD

19. BB Library US Documents Disposition Project
Item Withdrawal Report
8/21/2008
Collection Name No. of Items Global Change Run Time Duration
wkrm 1568/20/08, 2:08 -2:08 p.m. < 1 min.
ussst 1,4378/20/08, 2:09-2:10 p.m. 1 min.
usov 368/20/08, 2:10-2:10 p.m. < 1 min.
usmrd 3,0718/20/08, 2:11-2:13 p.m. 2 min.
usmic 1678/20/08, 2:14-2:14 p.m. < 1 min.
usmfc 34,8778/20/08, 2:22-2:32 p.m. 10 min.
usmap 5238/21/08, 8:09-8:10 a.m. 1 min.
usav 348/21/08, 8:11-8:11 a.m. < 1 min.
ref 918/21/08,8:11-8:11 a.m. < 1 min.
eric 2608/21/08, 8:12-8:13 a.m. 1 min.
us-01 10,0008/21/08, 8:20-8:23 a.m. 3 min.
us-02 10,0008/21/08, 8:30-8:33 a.m. 3 min.
us-03 10,0008/21/08, 8:36-8:39 a.m. 3 min.
us-04 10,0008/21/08, 8:40-8:44 a.m. 4 min.
us-05 8,0798/21/08, 8:46-8:49 a.m. 3 min.
88,731 < 36 min.

20. Retrieval of holdings records for suppression:
1. Connect to the FIU60 HOL Library
2. Use the Retrieve Catalog Records Form (ret-01)
3. Name an output file
4. Retrieve by sublibrary and collection names
Sublibrary and collection names must be in all caps
5. Submit completed search form
6. Use output file as input file to run Global Changes (manage-21)
in order to add (1) STA SUPPRESSED and (2) the WDN notes
to 852

21. wkrmhldg
852##
b
FIBDC
FIBDC
852##
c
WKRM
WKRM

22. FIU60 Services-Retrieve Catalog Records (ret-01)
FIBDC WKRM 76 holdings records
7/24/2008
000138761FIU60
000163716FIU60
000170827FIU60
000342838FIU60
000343248FIU60
000343483FIU60
00013876-FIU60
000343490FIU60
000343492FIU60
000343494FIU60
000343498FIU60
000343691FIU60
000344210FIU60
000344881FIU60
000344883FIU60
000345641FIU60
000351324FIU60
Holdings System No.
000352941FIU60
000366189FIU60
000368293FIU60
000386272FIU60
000386588FIU60
000404156FIU60
000422652FIU60
000429860FIU60
000434341FIU60
000448539FIU60
000477358FIU60
000514016FIU60
000519834FIU60
000526883FIU60
000531809FIU60
000531959FIU60
000532333FIU60
000534452FIU60
000534537FIU60
000534623FIU60
000534981FIU60
000559717FIU60
000562995FIU60
000564353FIU60
000564356FIU60
000564453FIU60

24. 852
#
#
$$xWdn 8/25/08 nh
STA
$$aSUPPRESSED

25. BBC Library US Documents Disposition Project
Holdings Suppression Report
8/27/2008
Collection Name No. of Holdings Global Change Run Time Duration
usav 288/25/08, 11:25-11:25 a.m. < 1 min.
ref 918/25/08, 11:50-11:50 a.m. < 1 min.
eric 4,3788/25/08, 11:52-11:56 a.m. 4 min.
usmap 5218/25/08, 12:21-12:22 p.m. 1 min.
usmfc 29,0428/25/08, 12:26-12:55 p.m. 29 min.
usmic 2,7428/25/08, 2:05-2:08 p.m. 3 min.
usmrd 1,2758/25/08, 2:12-2:15 p.m. 3 min.
usov 248/25/08, 2:23-2:23 p.m. < 1 min.
ussst 6,0698/25/08, 2:30-2:36 p.m. 6 min.
wkrm 768/25/08, 3:01-3:01 p.m. < 1 min.
us-1 10,0008/25/08, 3:02-3:11 p.m. 9 min.
us-2 10,0008/25/08, 3:44-3:52 p.m. 8 min.
us-3 10,0008/26/08, 8:20-8:28 a.m. 8 min.
us-4 10,0008/26/08, 11:08-11:18 a.m. 10 min.
us-5 10,0008/26/08, 6:17-6:32 p.m. 15 min.
us-6 10,0008/27/08, 8:00-8:10 a.m. 10 min.
us-7 8,2368/27/08, 8:50-8:58 a.m. 8 min.
112,482 < 118 min.

26. Retrieval of bib records for suppression:
1. Connect to the FIU01 (BIB) Library
2. Use the CCL query box to search for bib records.
Combine WSC, WST, and boolean operators to
retrieve unique bib records and save result sets
on server. WSC is the Keyword Sublibray/Collection
index. WST ist the Keyword Status index.
For example, the following search is
conducted to retrieve the depository maps collection
records at the Biscayne Bay Library:
wsc=fiudc usmap not wsc=fiudc not wsc=fielr
not wst=suppressed not wsc=fibbl not wsc=fibbl
not wsc=fibdc us

27. Retrieval of bib records for suppression (Cont’d)
3. Carefully examine records in saved file
4. Run Global Changes (manage-21) on saved files to add
Tag - STA, Subfield - $$aSUPPRESSED

29. FIBDC WKRM - Unique Records
wsc=fibdc wkrm not wsc=fibbl
CCL Search Keys wsc=fibdc wkrm
not wsc=fibbl
not wsc=fiugl
not wsc=fiugl not wsc=fiudc
not wsc=fiudc
not wsc=fielr
not wsc=fielr
not wst=suppressed
7 records
not wst=suppressed
001058092FIU01
000905724FIU01
001058092 – FIU01
000693448FIU01
000682450FIU01
Aleph System Number
000444109FIU01
000422233FIU01
000108503FIU01

31. bibwkrm
bibwkrm1
STA
$$aSUPPRESSED

32. BBC Library US Documents Disposition Project
Bib Suppression Report
9/18/2008
Collection Name Unique Record Cout Global Change Run Time Duration
wkrm 79/17/08, 3:39-3:39 p.m. < 1 min.
ussst 8129/17/08, 3:46-3:48 p.m. 2 min.
uspam 3309/17/08, 3:56-3:58 p.m. 2 min.
usov 49/17/08, 3:59-3:59 p.m. 1 min.
usmrd 5639/17/08, 4:00-4:03 p.m. 3 min.
usmic 6529/17/08, 4:03-4:04 p.m. 1 min.
usav 79/17/08, 4:05-4:06 p.m. 1 min.
ref 199/17/08, 4:08-4:08 p.m. < 1 min.
usmap 2269/17/08, 4:08-4:09 p.m. 1 min.
usmfc 4,5139/17/08, 4:35-4:48 p.m. 13 min.
eric 4,2579/18/08, 7:48-7:57 a.m. 9 min.
us 8,2999/18/08, 8:15-8:38 a.m. 23 min.
19,689 < 58 min.

33. Retrieval and extraction of appropriate files containing
OCLC record numbers for OCLC holding symbol removal:
1. Connect to FIU01
2. Use the CCL query box to conduct WSC searches.
3. Save search results on server and remember the file name.
4. Run Print Catalog Records-Columar Format (print-08) to
print OCLC record numbers of retrieved records.
5. Copy and paste printed lists into Excel files.
6. Submit a completed OCLC Batchload Order Form to obtain a
Project ID from OCLC.

34. Retrieval and extraction of appropriate files containing OCLC record
numbers for OCLC holding symbol removal: (cont’d)
7. Send Excel files to OCLC.
8. Receive OCLC batchload reports and review them.

35. Adjust the rep_tab_short table to add a
special “Report Format” to print the 035
(OCoLC) field only

36. OCLCwkrm
OCLCwkrm1

37. Compilation of disposition lists:
1. Create a tickler Macro, e.g.
DISPPOSITION LIST 10/03/08 TD10
2. Scan items and run Marco to insert tickler into bib.
3. Retrieve by tickler content every 200 items scanned.
4. Save retrieved results on server.
5. Run Print-08 (Print Catalog Records – Columnar Format)
over saved files to generate lists containing SuDoc number,
title, and year. Adjust the rep_tab_short table to extract
the 082 field. Preview printed lists in Aleph and then
copy and paste them into Excel.

38. 1. Set up a TKR browse index.
2. Use Macro Express to create
a macro containing the tickler
tag with desired field content
for tickler retrieval, e.g. TKR$$a
DISPOSITIONLIST 10/09/08 TD12.

39. Lessons Learned:
1. Initial assumptions and hypotheses need to be tested and
then modified or abandoned.
2. Allow ample time to “play” with the system.
3. Discuss projects with colleagues and reach out to
available experts for ideas and advice.
4. Flexible with timeline initially; haste makes waste.
5. Modify, modify, and modify work procedures.
6. Communicate, communicate, and communicate.
7. Archive all procedures and retrieved files.

40. Mission Accomplished!
Thank you!