A Survey on the Outsourcing of Cataloging in Academic Libraries

Abstract

The authors conducted a survey on outsourcing of cataloging in academic libraries in order to determine the extent of outsourcing being done in academic libraries and the overall success of such projects. The survey instrument included questions about factors that might affect the decision to outsource, what reasons libraries had for outsourcing or not outsourcing, what was being outsourced, and how vendors were chosen. Libraries were also asked to evaluate the success of outsourcing projects. The results show that outsourcing of cataloging is not a strong trend in academic libraries, but that libraries which outsourced were generally pleased with results. There also seems to be a correlation between size of collection and number of new titles cataloged annually and the decision to outsource.utsourcing has been a hot topic in cataloging circles in the last decade, especially since the Wright State University library made its controversial decision to outsource all of its cataloging operations to OCLC TechPro in 1993. This sparked many heated discussions regarding the value and quality of outsourced cataloging, as well as many articles describing outsourced projects. However, no one has determined the extent to which academic libraries actually outsource cataloging or the overall success of these endeavors. Therefore, we decided it would be both interesting and appropriate to conduct a survey to address these issues. Claire-Lise Benaud and Sever Bordeianu of the University of New Mexico are also researching outsourcing in academic libraries and include several general questions on outsourcing of cataloging in their recent survey. Because our survey focuses on cataloging in greater detail and includes an assessment of the results of outsourcing projects, our results should complement, rather than duplicate, their effort. Literature ReviewThe literature review mainly covers the literature published in the 1990's, since li�le was published on outsourcing in the 1980's (a finding borne out by the comprehensive literature review on outsourcing

Supply and Demand for Catalogers

“…In 1997, Libby and Caudle reported a smaller percentage of libraries participating in outsourcing. 73 The size of the collection and the number of current receipts were factors that affected the decision to outsource. Improved vendor quality, enhanced services, economic conditions, and priority changes may explain the wider acceptance of these services than in the past.…”

Table of Contents

“…Their argument against outsourcing also includes intangibles such as the quality of the service being provided and upholding the dignity of the profession, which should be factored into cost considerations and work decisions (Nuzzo, 1999). A survey on catalog outsourcing at academic libraries conducted in the late 1990s found that outsourcing was not a significant trend among academic libraries (Libby and Caudle, 1997). However, the study also found that larger academic libraries were more likely to outsource as the size and number of titles to catalog increased yearly.…”

Outsourcing library technical services – what we think we know, and don’t know

“…While the purpose of this study was to match up libraries interested in cooperating, it again shows that, even with cataloging backlogs in languages which present some difficulty in handling, not all libraries are willing to outsource. Libby and Caudle (1997) mailed a survey to 187 academic libraries in 1997, finding that 33 respondents either were currently outsourcing cataloging, or had done so in the past. The authors' statistical analysis confirms that there is a significant correlation between size of library collection and the outsourcing of cataloging, but not between number of professional librarians and outsourcing.…”