Library technical services are the ongoing maintenance activities of a library's collection, including the three broad areas of

collection development Library collection development is the process of systematically building the collection of a particular library to meet the information needs of the library users (a service population) in a timely and economical manner using information resources ...

cataloging In library and information science, cataloging ( US) or cataloguing ( UK) is the process of creating metadata representing information resources, such as books, sound recordings, moving images, etc. Cataloging provides information such as auth ...

, and processing. Technical services are the infrastructure that enable the user's experience of many library services and are typically performed "behind the scenes."

Collection development

*Identification: locating potentially worthwhile items to add to the collection. *Selection: deciding which of the identified items to add to the collection. *

Acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

: securing items for the collection, including the purchase of books,

databases In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases spa ...

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

s, and multimedia materials for a library's collection.

Cataloging

*Description: creating and adapting records for library materials and licensed content, allowing users to search and discover these resources in the library catalog. These records, often based on

MARC standards MARC (machine-readable cataloging) standards are a set of digital formats for the description of items catalogued by libraries, such as books, DVDs, and digital resources. Computerized library catalogs and library management software need to st ...

and available for online public access, include descriptive elements—such as author, title, and subject—to assist users in identifying relevant resources to meet their needs. *Classification: indexing and arranging the items acquired in a manner that will aid the end-user in locating materials in the collection. Materials are often organized by established classification systems, such as

Dewey Decimal Classification The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), colloquially known as the Dewey Decimal System, is a proprietary library classification system which allows new books to be added to a library in their appropriate location based on subject. Section 4.1 ...

Library of Congress Classification The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is a system of library classification developed by the Library of Congress in the United States, which can be used for shelving books in a library. LCC is mainly used by large research and academic librar ...

Processing

*Physical processing: labeling, binding, repairing, and otherwise preparing items for storage in a manner that allows for easy retrieval and maintenance over time. *Preservation: maintaining and repairing both print and electronic materials. The former includes repairing damaged books, binding journals into hardcover volumes, and reformatting print materials to digital. The latter includes

digital curation Digital curation is the selection, preservation, maintenance, collection and archiving of digital assets. Digital curation establishes, maintains and adds value to repositories of digital data for present and future use. This is often accomplished ...

, where archivists work to preserve electronic materials from data deterioration, and periodically migrate data from older formats to newer one.

Related systems and services

Technical services may also include a range of activities broadly related to the above core functions: from security processing (using

RFID tag Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromagn ...

s or similar), to

interlibrary loan Interlibrary loan (abbreviated ILL, and sometimes called interloan, interlending, document delivery, document supply, or interlibrary services, abbreviated ILS) is a service where patrons of one library can borrow materials and receive photocopies ...

services, to maintaining the library's

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

resources, such as servers, staff and public computers,

scanners ''Scanners'' is a 1981 Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan. In the film, "scanners" are psychics with unusual telepathi ...

, or the

integrated library system An integrated library system (ILS), also known as a library management system (LMS), is an enterprise resource planning system for a library, used to track items owned, orders made, bills paid, and patrons who have borrowed. An ILS usually is co ...

software that facilitates circulation.

References

External links