More Information
How would you describe your role at UCLA Library?
As the metadata librarian for open access, I have the opportunity to make openly available scholarly resources discoverable and accessible through UC Library Search for our UCLA community and beyond. This involves cataloging open access scholarly resources selected by fellow UCLA librarians, participating in UC-wide initiatives around managing open access resources system-wide, as well as being a part of cataloging organizations that work on standards and best practices for the cataloging profession.
What do you wish people knew about the work you do to support discovery and access?
It might not seem as exciting as making new resources available to users, but maintenance is a critical part of supporting discovery and access. And the environment in which we conduct maintenance can be quite complex. The data that appears in the Library catalog to support the discovery and access to millions of resources comes from not just librarians creating catalog records, but from so many other sources, including publishers, content aggregators and other libraries, to name a few. Having access to such a diversity of data sources means more resources for our users to discover, and also makes maintenance and troubleshooting not as straightforward as we’d sometimes like it to be. A broken link can sometimes be fixed directly by our department, or it can require opening support tickets beyond the Library to address the issue.
Why do you care about the work you do?
I think my position and the work I get to do with open access resources aligns with not just UCLA’s commitment, but the larger UC commitment to transforming scholarly communication towards a more open and equitable ecosystem. I’ve not only been able to catalog new open access resources for users to access, I’ve also had the opportunity to catalog resources we’ve only had in print, and that have become openly available since, meaning that users now have this additional, parallel access to our print collection that wasn’t available before.
How does your work benefit students, faculty and other researchers?
In addition to the above regarding parallel access to our print materials, a number of open access resources I’ve worked with are being cataloged for the first time. That is, publishers or organizations that create open access resources may not be participating in traditional publishing workflows that lead to these resources being available in our catalog, so by having a position such as the one I’m in that can dedicate more time to focusing on these resources, we can surface these resources for our user community to use in their research and scholarship.
Is there anything you want students, faculty and researchers to know about the resources you steward? Which resources are your favorite?
I don’t have a specific resource in mind, but taken together, I’m amazed at the diversity of open access resources that I end up working with, diversity in terms of geography, language, as well as diversity in terms of formats (beyond monographs and journals, such as from oral histories to digital collections, videos to music scores, etc.).
Any additional information or thoughts about your work that you’d like to share?
Cataloging can seem like a largely solitary endeavor, but I can safely say that my role has been characterized much more by collaboration and teamwork, with my fantastic Resource Acquisitions and Metadata Services (RAMS) colleagues, with colleagues at UCLA Library, and with librarians in the UC system and beyond. Their support of open access, along with our Library’s greater commitment to open access, have really allowed me to feel supported as I navigated this inaugural position at the UCLA Library in these last four years.
