NYTSL New York Technical Services Librarians, est. 1923 |
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Introduction to Library Cybersecurity (June 22, 2026)
Member-Only Materials
Alan McCarthy-Behler, Senior Systems Librarian and Head of Information Infrastructure & Integration at New York University Libraries
This session describes the fundamentals of cybersecurity, including threats and remediation, to the steps of creating an institutional cybersecurity assessment and remediation plan. All information is derived from ISO cybersecurity standards and their real-world application at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Alan previously served as the Associate Museum Librarian for Systems. Through the use of classroom techniques, text-minimal slides, Q&A, and downloadable worksheets, attendees can leave with a clear path to addressing cybersecurity issues in institutional libraries.
Onboarding and Training New Staff in Technical Services (Jan 21, 2026)
Member-Only Recording
Stephanie Anderson, Assistant Director, Selection, at BookOps
Marlee Dorn Givens, Instruction Manager for Academic Engagement at the Georgia Tech Library
Sofia Slutskaya, Head of Resource Description at Emory University Woodruff Library
Technical services departments may be the most heterogeneous units in libraries. Ever-changing standards, a multiplicity of tools, and potentially high turnover rates from student workers make the task of training and developing staff skills particularly challenging. Luckily, libraries can adopt certain tools to help them navigate these turbulent waters. This trio of experts will show you how to ensure solid training, develop a learning mindset, and navigate the challenges inherent in the technical services field.
Let’s Dance! : Representing dance materials in RDA cataloging, NACO authorities, and Wikidata projects (Jun 12, 2025)
Emma Clarkson, Metadata Specialist at the New York Public Library
Samie Konet, Dance Audio and Moving Image Cataloger for the New York Public Library
Dance is an ephemeral art that appears in library and archival collections in a variety of forms: documentary video, performance photography, written notation, and more. The presenters, who work in different units within Special Collections Processing at the New York Public Library, will discuss several aspects of cataloging and increasing discoverability of dance materials. Samie Konet, a dance audio and moving image cataloger, will describe RDA cataloging of born-digital video recordings of dance productions from the Dance Original Documentation series, an ongoing preservation initiative of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division; Emma Clarkson, a metadata specialist for the Library for the Performing Arts, will describe her ongoing work in the NACO Choreographic Works Project. Both presenters will share ongoing Wikidata projects that mirror their library work into a publicly accessible linked data ecosystem, expanding the reach of cataloging and authority control work beyond the library catalog. The presentation will include time for a conversation with attendees about dance materials and description at other institutions, as well as a brief demo of how editing Wikidata can increase discoverability for the performing arts.
AI & Ethics: Considerations for Information Professionals (Jan 22, 2025)
Member-Only Recording and Slides
Kathryn Ruddock, Director of Digital Services at the University of Calgary
Ingrid Reiche, Digital Metadata Librarian in Libraries and Cultural Resources at the University of Calgary
Lori A. Perine, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Statistics, and Data Science at Montgomery College (Maryland) and a Research Fellow at the Advanced Information Collaboratory at the University of Maryland
The topic of artificial intelligence is inescapable in many spheres, and libraries, archives, and cultural heritage institutions are no exception. As organizations incorporate AI into their policies and strategic plans, and as the question “what if we used AI?” increases in frequency during our conversations with colleagues, it is becoming increasingly important for information professionals to be able to discern when and how to use AI, if at all, in our work. Additionally, amidst genuine interest in learning new technology and the frequent discussions of the boundless potential of AI, the inherent ethical considerations are often either downplayed or ignored completely. In this program, three speakers will present their own experiences working with AI for various library projects. They will share both the benefits and challenges of incorporating such technologies into their work, as well as considerations for mitigating potential harm and biases that the use of AI may introduce or proliferate in our systems, applications, and shared information landscape.
Getting Linked Data Off the Ground with Locally Managed URIs (Jun 13, 2024)
Member-Only Slides (PDF)
Jack O’Malley, Metadata Lead at the Frick Art Reference Library
An in-person workshop with Jack O’Malley, Metadata Lead at the Frick Art Reference Library. Unlock the power of linked data with our workshop, where participants will learn how to start modeling and publishing their metadata as linked data. In this interactive workshop, participants will have the opportunity to bring their own data to dynamically craft a static microsite using spreadsheets and open-source software. With hands-on activities, attendees will walk away with tangible tools for working with linked data. From beginners to advanced users, everyone can explore design, content, and user experience aspects of linked data.
Evolution in Technical Services Librarianship: A Panel Discussion (Dec 14, 2023)
Member-Only Recording
Gilda Chiu-Ousland, Head of Finance, Acquisitions, and Resource Management at Columbia University Law Library
Michael Santangelo, Deputy Director of Collection Management at BookOps
Annmarie Zell, Director at New York University Law Library
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, common pressures faced by all types of libraries included shrinking materials budgets, higher demands for collaborative study space over stacks, and more prolific digital options. In this program, three panelists will discuss how their technical services departments have transformed in recent years and their experiences adapting to these changes. Topics will include: changes in how physical resources are acquired and maintained, transforming staff job descriptions, collaborations and shared print collections with other institutions, and the challenges associated with each.
Breaking the Mold: Technical Services Collaborations on New Products & Standards (Jun 6, 2023)
Member-Only Recording and Slides
The Palace Project
James English, Director of Business Development at The Palace Project | Lyrasis
Nancy Lin, Sr. Data Projects Strategist at New York University Libraries
The middleware solution that allows for easy management of a library's eContent offerings from multiple licensed and open eContent sources, such as Proquest, Overdrive, Biblioteca, RBDigital, DPLA, and more. Palace is the user app, available for iPhone and Android, that gives patrons 3 click access to an entire collection of eBooks, audio books, and other eContent.
Share-VDE
Beth Picknally Camden, Director of Information Processing at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries
Michele Casalini, CEO of Casalini Libri
A library-driven initiative which brings together the bibliographic catalogues and authority files of a community of libraries in a shared discovery environment based on linked data. Share-VDE expanded its scope to embrace a wider community of over thirty institutions also from the art and music domains, building the Share Family.
Metadata, Users, and Discovery: A Panel Discussion (Jan 19, 2023)
Member-Only Recording
Brooke Sansosti, Business Analyst, Library Service Platform Team, NYPL
Heidi Webb, Head of Discovery and Technology Services, SUNY Upstate Medical University
Guy Burak, Librarian for Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies, NYU
In a one-hour discussion, three panelists with experience in cataloging, designing and administering discovery systems, and reference services will discuss the challenges of deploying descriptive metadata in discovery environments like Primo VE, Worldcat Discovery, and Blacklight. Topics will include: What metadata (and how much) is relevant to different user groups? What approaches can be used to manage metadata from a variety of sources? How can libraries understand their users' needs and create policies and workflows that work?
System Migration Stories: Alma & FOLIO (Jun 16, 2022)
Recording
A Pragmatic System Migration
Cathy Weng, Brown University, Head of Technical Services
“Systems migration”: two words that strike fear into technical services librarians everywhere. Yet NYTSL asks - what is the actual experience of migrating from one library system to another, and what does it look like for a library workplace? With this program, we present two speakers to discuss different systems which each inspired questions surrounding staff preparation, training, and roll-out. Regardless of your institution’s own migration journey, System Migration Stories seeks to demystify the process and spark conversation around one of the more pressing issues in technical services today.
Slides (PDF)
Cornell’s FOLIO Implementation: Moving into a System Under Development
Jason Kovari, Director of Cataloging and Metadata Services at Cornell University
With contributions from colleagues who led different aspects of the work, Jason Kovari will discuss Cornell’s June 2021 implementation of FOLIO, an open-source Library Management System on which Cornell has contributed to development. This talk will provide an overview of the approach taken to implementation for Cornell as-a-whole with a focus on details specific to technical services.
Slides (PDF)
Accessibility and Assessment in E-Resources Management (Dec 8, 2021)
Assessing VPATs, keyboard accessibility tests (vendor assessment)
Hana Levay, Collection Assessment Librarian at University of Washington
PDF accessibility, academic accessibility (internal assessment)
Andy Andrews, Accessibility Coordinator at University of Washington
Web accessibility is imperative for libraries, both in order to provide users with equitable access to online content and to ensure compliance with federal law prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Libraries are responsible for ensuring the accessibility of their own web content, and are increasingly incorporating accessibility considerations into their evaluation of licensed e-resources.
Slides (PDF)
Recording
Inclusive Description in New York City (May 26, 2021)
Inclusive Description at Columbia University Libraries: From “Change the Subject” to Action
Matthew C. Haugen, Rare Book Cataloger, Columbia University Libraries
Michele Wan, Special Collections Cataloging Librarian, Columbia University Libraries
"Changing the Subject” at Brooklyn Public Library and New York Public Library
Tomasz Kalata, Metadata Manager, Cataloging, BookOps (BPL/NYPL)
Steven Pisani, Assistant Director, Cataloging, BookOps (BPL/NYPL)
User-Driven Reparative Archival Description at New York University
Weatherly Stephan, Head of Archival Collections Management, NYU Libraries
Access as Method for Digitally Transforming Museums (Nov 10, 2020)
Andrew J Lau, an educator and archivist with interests at the intersection of information, culture, and technology
This webinar presents a case study of a digital transformation initiative at a major art museum based in San Francisco, CA, and how the initiative became a means by which to explore museum access through the lens of social justice and inspired by the social model of disability. The case study aims to illustrate how a conceptual understanding of access and inclusion might be operationalized in museum digital transformation projects. This presentation concludes with some lessons learned from the case study that participants might be able to apply for their own institutions’ digital initiatives.
The Bigot in the Machine: Bias in Algorithmic Systems (Jun 16, 2020)
Barbara Fister, a writer and Professor Emerita at Gustavus Adolphus College
We are living in an “age of algorithms.” Vast quantities of information are collected, sorted, shared, combined, and acted on by proprietary black boxes. These systems use machine learning to build models and make predictions from data sets that may be out of date, incomplete, and biased. We will explore the ways bias creeps into information systems, take a look at how “big data,” artificial intelligence and machine learning often amplify bias unwittingly, and consider how these systems can be deliberately exploited by actors for whom bias is a feature, not a bug. Finally, we’ll discuss ways we can work with our communities to create a more fair and just information environment.
Slides (PDF)
Recording
Transcript
Resources shared in chat
Shared Zotero library
Empowering Library Users through Effective Usability(Nov 19, 2019)
Junior Tidal, Web Services and Multimedia Librarian, CUNY City Tech
Usability testing and user-centered design can improve one’s experience of the web, but it can also empower library patrons. This discussion will examine usability as a method to improve library web services through a social justice lens. How can librarians incorporate the perspectives of users from underrepresented, oppressed, and marginalized communities into the design of our digital spaces? How can accessible, participatory, inclusive, and universal design methods be used to meet user needs?
Slides (PowerPoint)
Library of Congress Faceted Vocabularies (May 14-15, 2019)
Adam L. Schiff, Principal Cataloger at the University of Washington Libraries
The Library of Congress has developed a separate thesaurus of genre/form terms, which describe what a resource is, rather than what it is about. New MARC fields have been created for recording faceted data, including characteristics of creators and audiences, and time period or place of creation. This workshop and program will focus on the application of Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms (LCGFT) and Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms (LCDGT), with exercises to give attendees an opportunity to practice what they have learned. Hear strategies for retrospective application of faceted terms and for using faceted vocabularies to enhance discovery.
Wikidata (Nov 14, 2018)
Megan Wacha, Scholarly Communications Librarian, City University of New York
Luiza Wainer, Metadata Librarian, Princeton University
Over the past years, interest in potential applications of Wikidata, the structured data underlying Wikipedia, has steadily grown within the library, archives, and museum communities. Our program will feature two panelists whose work has bridged the gap between libraries and the Wikidata/Wikimedia community.
Web Archiving: Issues and Challenges (May 2, 2018)
Collaborative Web Archiving: Ivy Plus Libraries Web Collecting Program
Samantha Abrams, Web Resources Collection Librarian for Ivy Plus Libraries, stationed at Columbia University
Presentation (PDF)
The Elusive Art of Capturing Elusive Art: NYARC’s Art-Focused Web Archives
Deborah Kempe, Chief of Collections Management & Access at The Frick Art Reference Library of The Frick Collection
Presentation (PDF)
Why do we do it? Understanding the Research Value of Web Archives
Pamela Graham, Director of Humanities & Global Studies and Director of the Center for Human Rights Documentation & Research at Columbia University Libraries
Presentation (PDF)
Stringing Us Along: From Traditional Authorities to Identity Management in Library Technical Services (Nov 14, 2017)
Amber Billey, Metadata Librarian at Columbia University Libraries
Presentation (PDF)
Like Nailing Jell-O to a Wall: The Maintenance of LCSH (Nov 15, 2016)
Janis L. Young, Senior Cataloging Policy Specialist, Library of Congress’ Policy and Standards Division (PSD)
Presentation (PowerPoint)
Linked Data Efforts at Cornell University Library’s Technical Services (May 4, 2016)
Jason Kovari, Head of Metadata Services, Cornell University Library
Presentation (PowerPoint)
Linked Data Efforts at Cornell University Library (selective) : a snapshot in time
Implementing BIBFRAME: The UC Davis BIBFLOW Project (Nov 16, 2015)
Xiaoli Li, Co-head of Content Support Services, University of California Davis
Presentation (PowerPoint)
Disaster Recovery for the Digital Library (May 5, 2015)
Frank Monaco, Frank J. Monaco and Associates LLC, @ProfessorMonaco
Neil H. Rambo, Director, NYU Health Sciences Libraries and Knowledge Informatics
Presentation – Monaco (PDF)
Presentation – Rambo (PDF)
James G. Neal, Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian at Columbia University (Oct 28, 2014)
The Changing Faces of Technical Services (May 20, 2014)
Martin Kurth, Director, Knowledge Access and Resource Management Services, New York University Libraries
Charlene Rue, Acting Director, BookOps (the shared technical services collaboration between Brooklyn Public Library and New York Public Library)
Colleen Major-Pincus, Head, Electronic Resources Management: Operations & Analysis, Continuing and Electronic Resources Management Division, Columbia University Libraries
Authority Control in an Out-of-Control World (Dec 4, 2013)
Ethan Gruber, Web and Database Developer, American Numismatic Society
Daniel Starr, Associate Chief Librarian, Thomas J. Watson Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Rebecca Guenther, Senior Networking and Standards Specialist, Library of Congress; Metadata Consultant and Adjunct Professor, NYU Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Program.
Visualizing the Digital Future: A Panel presentation (May 23, 2013)
Jefferson Bailey, Strategic Initiatives Manager, Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO)
Jeffrey Lancaster, Emerging Technologies Coordinator, Science & Engineering Division, Columbia University Libraries
Jennifer Vinopal, Librarian for Digital Scholarship Initiatives, New York University
Linking Library Data: A Panel Presentation (Nov 19, 2012)
Cristina Pattuelli, Associate Professor, School of Information and Library Science, Pratt Institute
Ingrid Richter, Head of Systems & First Ledger Project Coordinator, New York Society Library
Trevor Thornton, Senior Applications Developer, Archives, NYPL Labs, New York Public Library
E-Books: New Links in the Chain: (Panel) (May 10, 2012)
Denise Hibay, Assistant Chief Librarian for Collection Development, New York Public Library
Susan Marcin, Licensed Electronic Resources Librarian in the Continuing and Electronic Resources Management Department at Columbia University
Barbara Rockenbach, Director of the Humanities and History Libraries at Columbia University
The Future of MARC (Nov 4, 2011)
Rebecca Guenther, independent consultant on metadata development and planning, formerly of the Library of Congress
NYTSL: In an RDA State of Mind (May 18, 2011)
Everett Allgood, Serials Cataloger @ New York University Libraries
Kate Harcourt, Director, Original and Special Materials Cataloging, Columbia University Libraries
Elizabeth O’Keefe, Director of Collection Information Systems, The Morgan Library & Museum
Sherman Clarke, Freelance and itinerant art cataloger, Alfred, NY
Who Owns Our Data? Intellectual Property and Information Organization (Nov 17, 2010)
James G. Neal, Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian at Columbia University
Communities of Interest: A New Model for Institutional Repositories (May 14, 2010)
Kate Wittenberg, Project Director, Client and Partnership Development at Ithaka
The Battle of RDA: Victors or Victims (Nov 2009)
Rick Block, Head, Special Collections Metadata and Cataloging, Columbia University Libraries; Adjunct Professor at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science, Long Island University and Visiting Associate Professor, Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science
DIY Digital: Local Initiatives, Local Support (Panel discussion) (May 6, 2009)
Joanna DiPasquale, Columbia University Libraries, Web Developer
Josh Greenberg, New York Public Library, Director of Digital Strategy and Scholarship
Jason Kucsma, METRO, Emerging Technologies Manager
Moderated by Angela Sidman, CUNY Graduate Center Library, Catalogue Librarian and NYTSL Secretary
The Reference Librarian’s Toolkit (Nov 21, 2008)
Thomas Mann, Reference Librarian, Library of Congress
Library of Congress Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control (May 9, 2008)
Robert Wolven, Director of Library Systems and Bibliographic Control at Columbia University
Libraries and the Free and Open Source Software Movements (Nov 9, 2007)
Edward Corrado, Systems Librarian, The College of New Jersey
AquaBrowser: The Queens Library Experience (May 11, 2007)
Frederick C. Fishel, Application Development Manager, Queens Library
More information: http://aqua.queenslibrary.org, http://www.medialab.nl/
steve: Social Tagging, Folksonomy, and Access to Museum Collections (Nov 17, 2006)
Susan Chun, General Manager for Collections Information Planning, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
More information: http://steve.museum, http://www.archimuse.com/papers/steve-nrhm-0605preprint.pdf
Making Your OPAC Work Well for You (Apr 28, 2006)
Brenda Reeb, Director of Management Library and Coordinator of Usability Program, University of Rochester
It Takes a Village to Manage Electronic Resources (Nov 4, 2005)
Rochelle Ballard, Digital Resources Coordinator, Princeton University Library
These Old Rules: Rebuilding AACR for the 21st Century (May 20, 2005)
Matthew Beacom, Metadata Librarian, Yale University
For more information: http://www.rda-jsc.org
Highway Building 101: Paving the Way to a Statewide Digital Repository (Nov 12, 2004)
Michael J. Giarlo, Network/Systems Administrator, Scholarly Communication Center, Rutgers University Libraries
For more information: http://www.njdigitalhighway.org/, and http://www.fedora.info/
Knowing a Hawk from a Handsaw: FRBR Basics, AACR and the OPAC (May 7, 2004)
Kate Harcourt, Asst. Head, Original & Special Materials Cataloging, Columbia University Libraries
Towards an Open Library of relational metadata: the experience of RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) (Nov 7, 2003)
Thomas Krichel, Assistant professor at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science, Long Island University.
For more information: http://repec.org, http://www.openarchives.org/ and http://openlib.org/home/krichel/
LOCKSS – Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe™: Digital Archiving of Electronic Journals (May 9, 2003)
Barbara Taranto, Director of Digital Information and System Design, The Digital Library, The New York Public Library
Carrie Bickner, Assistant Director of Digital Information and System Design, The Digital Library, The New York Public Library
For more information on the LOCKSS™ project: http://lockss.stanford.edu/
A Cooperative Shelving Facility for Columbia University, Princeton University and The New York Public Library (Nov 2002)
Eileen M. Henthorne, Executive Director, The Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP), Princeton, NJ
For more information, including links to other offsite storage facilities: http://recap1.princeton.edu/about/general.htm
Metadata: So Many Schemes, So Little Time: Harnessing the Proliferation of Metadata Schemes (May 2002)
Grace Agnew, Associate University Librarian for Digital Library Systems, Rutgers University Libraries
Reflections on Seriality (Nov 2001)
Jean Hirons, CONSER Coordinator, Library of Congress
Authority Control in the New Millennium: Reflections on the Library of Congress Bicentennial Conference & Thoughts on Future Directions (May 2001)
Sherry Vellucci, St. John’s University
Time X Cost = Enlightenment: Understanding the Nature and Impact of Technical Services Costs (Nov 2000)
Flo Wilson, Vanderbilt University Library
The Catalog, Next Generation: Access to Full Text Journals in Aggregator Databases (May 2000)
Karen Calhoun, Cornell University Libraries
Digital Libraries: Old Concepts, New Challenges (Nov 1999)
Beth Davis-Brown, National Digital Library Program, Library of Congress
Cooperative Cataloging of the Web: OCLC’s CORC Project (May 1999)
Eric Childress, OCLC
Implementing an Integrated Library System (ILS) at the Library of Congress (Nov 1998)
Barbara Tillett, Library of Congress
When Frogs Fly: Appropriate and Real Expectations in the Reorganization of Technical Services (May 1998)
Scott Wicks, Cornell University Libraries
Seeking Partners While Trekking Through the Electronic Wilderness (publishing electronic journals at AIP) (Nov 1997)
Thomas McIlrath, American Institute of Physics
Once and Future Cataloging: History and Opinion (May 1997)
Brian Schottlaender, University of California at Los Angeles
On AACR2 in light of Toronto conference to be held in October 1997