It's really helpful to do this, Buddy.  We have students in our mailroom who basically have to be there for deliveries, etc.  While not busy they work with lists of serial links in our catalog and check for holdings accuracy and actual access.  Certainly worthwhile.  Link checkers can spot broken links, but not whether we actually have access.  Good luck!

Alice Gormley
Serials Librarian
Marquette University
Raynor Memorial Libraries

414/288-7252
alice.gormley@marquette.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@list.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Pennington, Buddy D.
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 1:03 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] changing job descriptions - new responsibilities in the absence of check-in/claiming

One of the new tasks we are looking at implementing this year is having
students check access to the electronic journals that we subscribe to.
We are planning on doing this once per year in the late spring/early
summer when the grace periods have expired.  Currently we don't know
something has lapsed until someone is denied access to an article they
are trying to get to.

Buddy Pennington
Electronic Resources & Serials Librarian
University of Missouri - Kansas City
800 East 51st Street
Kansas City, MO  64110
Phone: 816-235-1548
Fax: 816-333-5584
Email: penningtonb@umkc.edu

UMKC University Libraries: Discovery. Knowledge. Empowerment.

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@list.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Graves, Tonia L.
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:58 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] changing job descriptions - new responsibilities
in the absence of check-in/claiming

For those who have ceased check-in and/or claiming, what types of
proactive processes are staff now doing to manage the electronic
resources?  Will you please describe any of the new
duties/responsibilities and the frequency with which these duties occur,
that have replaced old duties performed during check-in and claiming?

Tonia Graves
Electronic Resources & Serials Services Librarian
Old Dominion University Libraries
Norfolk, Va 23529-0256
(757) 683-4188 Phone; (757) 683-5954 Fax
tgraves@odu.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Colleen Valente
Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 10:23 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] changing job descriptions

In addition to the excellent points Rick has made, I want to add one
that I could never have come up with on my own. It took a long time,
valuable staff member to make me understand what was behind a lot of the
resistance to a very big organizational change that the library I worked
at then was undergoing. I had spent a lot of time listening, talking,
etc but still could not understand exactly, the level of resistance.
This wonderful staffer finally looked me in the eye and said, "We are
not afraid of new jobs. We are afraid of failing at new jobs".

Maybe everyone else understands that aspect. I had not understood it and
once I was enlightened, I was able to offer the kinds of reassurances
about training and retraining that were badly needed. This might very
well underlie the reluctance of  Mike's staff to move into the
electronic environment. They know they are competent at their current
jobs. What if they fail at the new ones? Reassurance, promises of
training/retraining, and, above all, assurance that they will be given
the time they need to learn might just do the trick.

Colleen Valente
Head of Technical Services
Library
Auburn University at Montgomery
Montgomery, AL
Ph: 334-244-3684
cvalente@aum.edu
________________________________________
Date:    Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:45:39 -0700
From:    Rick Anderson <rick.anderson@UTAH.EDU>
Subject: Changing job descriptions (Re: [SERIALST] Cease claiming,
checking in, binding)

One barrier for many of us in making these changes is an unwillingness
to
tell people that their jobs are going to have to change, sometimes in
dramatic ways.  Those conversations can be very, very difficult.  In my
experience, though, if you talk to people both publicly and privately
about
the reasons for the changes ahead of time, and if you listen carefully
and
respectfully when they raise concerns and demonstrate that you've taken
those concerns into account (whether or not you do exactly what the
person
wanted), the results are much better than if you either a) try to make
everyone happy or b) simply railroad your decision through without
getting
good input and listening to it.  (When I had to reorganize again because
of
budget cuts and layoffs, the process was much less satisfactory because
it
had to be carried out without all that good input from managers and
staff.)

Rick Anderson
Assoc. Dir. for Scholarly Resources & Collections
Marriott Library
Univ. of Utah
rick.anderson@utah.edu
(801) 721-1687

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