Colorado Depository Library Resources: Item Conversion Project (Sunset)

The Problem

The University of Colorado Boulder has sunset  the Government Documents Item Conversion Project. We have been given permission to use the remaining funds to support student employees in the production of a large list of government documents for assistance in withdrawal projects. In 2020/2021, the item conversion project was put on hold as staff were sent home during the public health crisis. In Fall 2021, the Alliance-funded cataloger left their position. In February 2022, members of CU Boulder’s Special Materials Cataloging section participated in a cataloging sprint to produce additional records for this project - resulting in an impressive 1660 item records and 818 bib records. However, we have determined that this approach is neither sustainable nor a good use of our cataloger’s time and expertise. Additionally, the Government Information collection at CU Boulder has lost all of its dedicated cataloging staff and is down to one staff member and two faculty - all of whom are assuming additional responsibilities. We simply do not have the capacity to continue the Item Conversion Project.

Moving Forward

We proposed to use the remaining funds to supplement our student employee budget. We will use those funds to process and compile hundreds of expired lists from past discard projects to create a comprehensive “do not need” list of documents. This list will allow those undertaking a large discard project to quickly compare their collections and skip the list-making process. 

Future Opportunities?

GoPIG should spend time considering future opportunities for collaborative Alliance-funded projects. 

Beginning in 2009, CU Boulder Government Information library started an ambitious goal of converting and fully cataloging entire Superintendent of Document stems. The benefits to Alliance member libraries were two-fold.

• First, in many cases, the only copy of a document in the state is housed at CU Boulder. The work performed by the item conversion unit helped CU Boulder create an accurate record of its holdings and facilitates discovery through Prospector.
• Second, a more accurate record also helped Alliance members in the Federal Depository Program make better informed decisions about their own Federal document weeding, shifting, and withdrawal projects.

The emphasis at CU Boulder shifted to item convert and fully catalog entire Superintendent of Document stems in order to accommodate the ingest of large collections from other Alliance libraries. The funding provided by 14 Prospector libraries supports the salary of one part-time cataloger in the Government Information Library at CU Boulder. Contributions ranged from $800-$2700 depending on the institution's size and need.

Here are all of the available Reports & Requests that have been presented to the Alliance Membership Meeting each year in March/April.