Saddleback College
Save time and money while still honoring your inner perfectionist
“Our holdings are more accurate than ever before because with Record Manager we’re only updating holdings in one place versus multiple places.”
Emily Crabb
Library Technician, Division of Online Education and Learning Resources, Saddleback College
Library Technician Emily Crabb is one of only two staff members responsible for all technical services at Saddleback College Library. When she started in 2015, she was new to tech services—her previous experience was in circulation at public libraries. “Being organized really helps,” Emily said. “I really like cataloging, and I have an excellent teacher, Lydia Tamara,” (formerly Welhan), Saddleback’s Technical Services Librarian. Even so, taking on a new role can be daunting. “I really enjoy the challenge,” she said. “And WorldShare® Record Manager has made it so much easier.”
A system with shared records was an entirely new concept to Emily, and she admitted that enhancing that first WorldCat record was a little nerve racking. “I wanted to get it right,” she said. WorldShare Record Manager helps make sure she does. When the library orders an item, Emily goes into Record Manager and finds the best possible record in WorldCat® to match it. “It’s rare that we’re unable to find a record that matches,” she said. “We typically don’t have to create new ones except for our in-house, custom text books.” While the item is on order, students can already see it in their search results. Once the item arrives, Emily confirms the record, has Lydia review it, and prepares the item for circulation.
“Record Manager has built-in tools for formatting and standards, and the OCLC Community Center is a one-stop shop for training and support. It’s everything I need in one place. And that’s so amazing to me.”
If Emily has cataloging questions, she goes over them with Lydia when reviewing the records. “I’ll ask about codes and leader fields, typically. And the wide variety of how content notes are formatted still baffles me,” she explained. “But Record Manager itself is really user friendly and intuitive.” She especially likes Record Manager’s built-in tools. “Staff time is saved by having bib standards and formats and the RDA toolkit integrated into the system,” she said. “I’m not having to jump around between websites as much or pull out the manual as often. I love that.”
Services used by Saddleback College
- Hosts library workshops on topics such as conducting research, finding articles, and citing sources
- Provides access to 110 databases
- Processes an average of 735 items annually and maintains 1,098 course reserves
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