Remote Cataloging - Item-in-Hand

Contact: Jason Kovari

Unit: Cataloging & Metadata Services

Date last updated: 09/14/20

Date of next review: 11/20

Below, find steps involved in taking unprocessed materials off-site for cataloging. Two rules to bear in mind:

• Please, always use an abundance of caution. Supervisors will not specify an exact number of items to take home; instead, we request that each cataloger only takes home an amount they can safely carry.
• You should only take an amount of materials home that you believe can be cataloged within a one-to-two-week turnaround, depending on your on-site schedule. 

Steps involved: 

1. Recording items to take home

1. 1. Material is received and input in Voyager. This work is either done by Receiving and Inputting staff OR by the Cataloger for languages that the cataloger previously performed their own receiving (e.g.: Thai).
   2. Receiving and inputting includes the creation of a preliminary bib record, a Holdings record as well as an Item record.
   3. This step includes barcoding items.
   4. For reference, receiving procedures: https://confluence.cornell.edu/x/wQUvEw
   5. For reference, barcoding procedure: https://confluence.cornell.edu/x/ooPYEg
2. Checking out items
   1. Cataloger identifies materials they wish to take home for description.
   2. Cataloger brings materials to their supervisor for check-out; if supervisor is unavailable, another LTS staff member can check-out the material.
   3. Masks should be worn so that catalogers can avoid a 72 hour quarantine period for materials taken off-site.
3.  Carrying out items
   1. If a cataloger brings items home using a personal vehicle, the cataloger brings materials to a designated area inside of the Uris loading dock. If the staff used a cart to transport the items, the individual is responsible to wipe down the cart before and after use. The individual is also responsible to return the cart to the designated area in LTS.
   2. A designated area will be identified where catalogers can leave materials while retrieving their car; if using a shared book cart, cleaning procedures must be followed.
   3. If a cataloger is taking home only a small number of items, they may opt to carry these out via the Olin exit rather than the Uris loading dock.
   4. In both cases, use abundant caution to prevent injury.
4. Returning items
   1. Cataloger returns materials via either Uris loading dock or the Olin front-door.
   2. Cataloger puts materials on a cart in Olin 110; cart must be marked with a date of return and the cataloger’s name.
   3. The cataloger’s supervisor checks-in materials following a 72-hour quarantine period; those materials then go to Post-Cataloging Processing.

Cataloging Remotely with Item-in-Hand is a pilot. The pilot will be reviewed two months after initiation.  Supervisors are asked to review the above steps to detect needs for adjustment early. At the end of the pilot, SMTG will decide if the pilot is to be continued, revised, or suspended based on the outcome.