Today’s shift was spent in meetings with library personnel. First I met with Mary, a paraprofessional who works with government documents. Previously there was a separate government documents department, but they eventually merged with the Research and Instruction Department.

            McIntyre is a state depository and federal depository library. They receive about 2/3 of what the state distributes, and about half of what the federal government distributes. The print collection of government documents is maintained in a way that meets the needs of the courses that are offered at UWEC. For example, there are many state and federal resources about Native Americans, to serve the history and American Indian Studies courses on campus. As a matter of fact, one of the most valuable parts of this collection is the group of rare Native American census rolls kept on microfilm.

            With the onset of digitization, collection management has changed somewhat for the government documents. Librarians will analyze usage records to determine if students are still using the print resources. If they aren’t, those particular resources are weeded out of the collection. With government documents, weeding a collection isn’t as simple as just throwing unused publications out. The library has to first off the publications to other depository libraries. If no other depositories take the publications, only then can McIntyre throw them away.

            On the technical side of things, Mary taught me that government documents have difference classification schemes. The call numbers for both state and federal documents are based on the department that published them – A or AG for Department of Agriculture, for instance. The decimal systems are difference in state compared with federal documents. The two are therefore shelved separately, each according to their respective schemes.

            Next I met with Bryan, who is the head of library systems. Bryans’ job is to maintain the electronic infrastructure that keeps the library running. Not only does Bryan’s department serve patrons in the library, but also those who never physically enter the building (through the library website).

            Bryan spoke about the challenges of creating and maintaining a powerful and user-friendly website. First, financial resources are a major concern, which is no big surprise considering the current climate. He also said that in a university setting, technological decisions are often politically driven instead of based on user feedback, which can prove problematic when trying to create an interface that users like and can use effectively.

            Some of the things that the department is thinking about is embedding tutorials on how to search the catalog in the catalog itself; and trying to find a good and efficient way of providing e-book content to patrons. The main idea I came away with after meeting with Bryn was that his department is focused on making an IT infrastructure that is user-friendly and value-added for all patrons.

            Finally I met with Greg, the head of Special Collections, University Archives and Records Management. He describes his departments as a small library within the library. They do collection development, administration, and cataloging for their collections. Part of cataloging is creating finding aids – they contain traditional cataloging information, along with specific information on what documents are contained in what collection boxes.

            The archives is an area research center for the Wisconsin Historical Society, and 60% of what is in the collections is owned by that organization. The archives are made up of primary sources that are mainly concerned with the surrounding geographic area. However, a researcher at UWEC can request collections from any other WHS research center. Due to aggressive collecting early on, the WHS collection is considered the 3^rd most significant archival collection in the United States.

            The archives are climate-controlled for optimal document preservation and are separated into sections that include rare books and university documents. Just with other library departments, resource allocation is a concern for the archives. Greg pointed out that his department is often viewed as only being relevant to the history department. This misperception can affect how much money is allocated to Special Collections and Archives. Greg is trying to shake that reputation by developing relationships with other academic departments, and highlighting the vital role that his department plays in the education of a wide array of patrons – including students and community researchers.