5CRMWG Charge

Owned by Jennifer Eustis
Last updated: Aug 05, 2021
3 min read

Five Colleges Record Merge Working Group

 

Background:

The Five Colleges invested in the current integrated library system, Ex Libris’s Aleph, in 2005. It is now 14 years later and Aleph is showing its age. Though improvements continue, it is clear Aleph lacks crucial features. As a result of analyses and discussions on how to proceed, in 2018 the Five Colleges selected FOLIO as a beta partner with EBSCO and the FOLIO Implementation Team (FIT) was created. FIT decided to move to a single tenant system for FOLIO, meaning there will be one instance. Currently, there exist overlaps between bibliographic records reflecting what each of the institutions in the Five Colleges has acquired over the years. This working group was created to analyze and provide recommendations on the complex issue of merging records for the move to our new library service platform FOLIO.

Charge:

This working group will draft a recommendations document on the following: people, scope, merge preparation, merge workflow, matching algorithms, best practices/procedures, EAST, communication plan, vendor, and risks.

People

Recommendations should identify the key people involved in the project including those responsible for signing off on documents and/or parts of the project (i.e. sampling data, proceeding to whole project, vendor contracts).

Scope

Recommendations should include which bibliographic records will and will not be merged. Those records that are determined to be candidates for merging will fall within the scope of the recommendations on merge workflow, matching algorithms, best practices/procedures, communication plan, and vendor. If there are exceptions to the scope, these will be noted appropriately in the document.

Merge Preparation

Recommendations should include any clean up projects to be prioritized.

Merge Workflow

Recommendations should include the determination of when and how the merging of bibliographic records fits into the general migration workflow which includes any impacts on the migration.

Matching Algorithms

Recommendations should include an initial plan on how to match records within the scope of the merge project and provide determinations for selecting primary or winning matches, what data are to be merged (i.e. local fields, fields used for discovery).

Best Practices/Procedures

Recommendations should provide an initial path forward for consortial best practices and procedures in relation to technical services operations.

Merge & EAST (Eastern Academic Scholars’ Trust)

Recommendations should include an initial plan on how to deal with resources committed to be retained as part of the EAST program.

Communication Plan

Recommendations should include a proposal communication plan that addresses questions about the risks and issues that arise pre, during, and post merge.

Vendor

Recommendations will identify if a vendor should be used to help with the merge. If it is determined that work should be contracted out, recommendations should include the scope of work to be undertaken by the vendor and by the Five Colleges in addition to proposals from key identified vendors.

Risks

Recommendations should identify the risks and issues involved with the merge ranging from data concerns such as data loss or mismatches to supporting financially and administratively the merge project going forward.

Membership:

Steve Bischof, UMass Amherst (FIT Liaison)

Sharon Domier, UMass Amherst

Jennifer Eustis, UMass Amherst

Rebecca Henning, Amherst College

Colin Van Alstine, Smith College

Membership represents the following areas of knowledge: deep MARC21 expertise, archives and rare books, music, non-Latin scripts, serials, boundwiths. For these knowledge areas and other relevant topics to the merge, the working group can call on knowledge experts within the Five Colleges to assist in our tasks.

Lead:

Jennifer Eustis, UMass Amherst

Meetings:

Weekly meetings or as needed at the call of the Lead or the request of the FOLIO Implementation team. Other staff from the Five Colleges may be asked to join meetings when their specialized feedback or knowledge is needed.

Information Sharing:

Agendas and notes will be saved in the FIT Google Drive. Information will also be shared via the Slack channel #5crmwg. Additional updates to FOLIO Implementation Team as requested, and to all staff of the Five Colleges as appropriate.