Three to Get Ready (and Go Live!): System Migration in

Academic and Public Libraries

Mary Jane CongerHead of Cataloging

University Libraries University of North Carolina

at Greensboro

2

UNCG Environment University of North Carolina at Greensboro

– Enrollment: 18,771– Doctoral-granting, research-intensive institution– Established 1891– Over 100 undergraduate, 77 masters and 28 doctoral

programs University Libraries

– Includes main library (Jackson Library) and a separate Music Library

– Affiliates: Teaching Resources Center, Multicultural Resource Center and Interior Architecture Library

– Current holdings 2.47 million printed books – Access to 300,000 ebooks – Access to 44,000 journals electronically – 60 support staff and 30 librarians

Migration Facts and Figures• Our systems

– LS2000 in 1990, DRA in 1993, Sirsi in June 2005– WorldShare Management Systems in June 2013

• Total number of bibliographic records loaded: 1,244,504• Total number of items migrated: 1,513,527• Total number of patron records loaded: 26,893• Number of current circulation loans: 22,313• Began using WorldCat Local as public interface 6/12• Began filling out data migration questionnaire fall 2012• Ran numerous reports to identify problem areas between

fall 2012 and May 2013 and proceeded with clean up

Clean up of your data is essential

IT NEVER HURTS TO ASKWHAT IF?

KNOW THY HISTORY OF LOCAL CATALOGING

PROBLEM OF THE MASKED/SHADOWED/SUPPRESSED/HIDDEN

RECORDS

Devil is in the Details

Things that your current system handles very nicely may not work so well in your new system. Your job is to make sure you have as few surprises as possible. Test as much as possible in the new system and ask lots of questions.

Discovered a total of 3,099 bound together records

One Size Fits All

Often you can’t slice and dice the data the way you want to

What does the customer, patron, user see, is it helpful?

One of public services greatest concerns was faculty and students reliance on our custom made tool for finding any journal, whether in the stacks, online, on microfilm in one place. This was Journal Finder but Journal Finder was not compatible with WMS

Cataloging to the Rescue

Challenges of rearranging work flow

Cataloging went live on the new system June 4, 2013Acquisitions needed to finish out the fiscal year so needed to wait until July 1st

Cloudy with a Chance of

WMS, WCL, LHRs, LBDs, KBScope statement

Final Thoughts

• Know how your current system works• Ask lots of questions, never assume something

will work the same in the new system• Be friends with whoever runs reports on the old

system• Clean up data and evaluate work flows• Encourage patience, empathize with frustrations• Everyone handles stress of change differently,

acknowledge and plan strategies around that