Librarian at Community of Christ, Minneapolis
Still from the Minneapolis Community of Christ LibraryThing catalog
In January 2015, I was named Librarian by the Minneapolis congregation of the Community of Christ. As librarian, I was placed in charge of the congregational library. The library collection contained around 500 items including monographs, serials, movies, and other documents.
My goal in taking on this role was to increase usage of the library. The biggest obstacle to usage had been a lack of access to the materials. The only way to find something in the library was by going to the church and physically browsing the shelves.
When I took over as librarian, the congregation had been without a librarian for many years. There were other professional librarians in the congregation but neither of them had been actively managing the library. One of them provided me with a Microsoft Word document listing a combined inventory of the congregation's holdings, the full Herald Publishing catalog, and his own personal church-related library.
In order to increase access to the materials, I decided to create a searchable catalog of the library's holdings. I started by looking for a catalog solution that would support a small library with zero standing budget. I researched catalog options for small libraries and determined that LibraryThing provided the most cost effective and sustainable solution for a small congregational library. There was a single one-time fee of $25 once the collection reached 200 entries. It was also a simple system that someone else could eventually take over. I set up and started populating the catalog which is available on LibraryThing at https://www.librarything.com/catalog/MinneapolisCofChrist.
While building the catalog, I also began conducting an inventory of the library. The collection included some historic volumes and documents in need of preservation as well as some old outdated materials that no longer support the needs of the congregation. My intention with the inventory was to identify the historic items, useful items, and items that could be weeded. After the catalog is fully populated and the inventory is complete, the congregation will need to determine a method for preservation of the historic materials (possibly including digital preservation) and the weeding of the outdated materials.
In August 2015, I moved away from Minneapolis. While the move means I am no longer able to work on the congregation's collection, I remain available to them for consultation.
My goal in taking on this role was to increase usage of the library. The biggest obstacle to usage had been a lack of access to the materials. The only way to find something in the library was by going to the church and physically browsing the shelves.
When I took over as librarian, the congregation had been without a librarian for many years. There were other professional librarians in the congregation but neither of them had been actively managing the library. One of them provided me with a Microsoft Word document listing a combined inventory of the congregation's holdings, the full Herald Publishing catalog, and his own personal church-related library.
In order to increase access to the materials, I decided to create a searchable catalog of the library's holdings. I started by looking for a catalog solution that would support a small library with zero standing budget. I researched catalog options for small libraries and determined that LibraryThing provided the most cost effective and sustainable solution for a small congregational library. There was a single one-time fee of $25 once the collection reached 200 entries. It was also a simple system that someone else could eventually take over. I set up and started populating the catalog which is available on LibraryThing at https://www.librarything.com/catalog/MinneapolisCofChrist.
While building the catalog, I also began conducting an inventory of the library. The collection included some historic volumes and documents in need of preservation as well as some old outdated materials that no longer support the needs of the congregation. My intention with the inventory was to identify the historic items, useful items, and items that could be weeded. After the catalog is fully populated and the inventory is complete, the congregation will need to determine a method for preservation of the historic materials (possibly including digital preservation) and the weeding of the outdated materials.
In August 2015, I moved away from Minneapolis. While the move means I am no longer able to work on the congregation's collection, I remain available to them for consultation.
orcid.org/0000-0002-2569-6556