Summary of ILS & Database Maintenance Tasks at Wisconsin Public Library Systems

Introduction

In 2022, a Library Services and Technology Act (or LSTA) Cooperative Cataloging grant enabled eight Wisconsin public library systems to gather information from fourteen participating public library systems on their cataloging practices.  From that project, the Statewide Bibliographic Standards Committee was formed and worked (2023-2025) to develop statewide bibliographic cataloging standards which are published on the WiCatalog web site.  During that committee’s cycle of 2024-25 meetings, two other projects were identified to be funded out of its 2024-25 LSTA funds. This report is one of them.  The objective is to collect the key tasks being performed by public library systems staff and/or by employees contracted to work for the public library system, to successfully maintain a shared library database. The full summary if ILS & Database Maintenance Tasks at Wisconsin Public Library Systems is available as a pdf.

Database maintenance is on-going and consists of more than just cleaning up errors. Many tasks keep workflows moving forward. Some directly impact the patron’s ability to access material. It is critical that library systems undertake database maintenance work: 

• To not inundate the database with unneeded or old data
• To reduce errors in record data and help ensure access and usage by the public
• To reduce errors in record data and help ensure accurate statistics to stakeholders
• To reduce or remove duplication of information or effort that impacts functionality and/or statistics
• To follow records retention policies at the local and/or state level
• To address variation in data entry that is inherent in any consortia with multiple members
• To prepare for a library or system migrating from one ILS product to another
• To prepare for a library or system joining another consortium thereby integrating their records into another database

This report presents a list of ILS and database management tasks currently in use by participating Wisconsin Public Library Systems.

Tasks are organized by work area with the frequency of which they are performed by library systems in a separate column. At the end of each section, there is a separate list of tasks or report ideas that were contributed by at least one library system. The purpose for including these is to help others evaluate their usefulness, either as a one-time clean up project, or perhaps as a new, scheduled job. 

Tasks are organized into the following work areas:

• Acquisitions (order and vendor records)
• Cataloging and Authority Control (bibliographic and authority records)
• Circulation, Holds & Patron Records Management (circulation tasks tied to item records, holds management, and patron records management)
• Collection Management (item records)
• General ILS Maintenance
• Interlibrary Loan (bibliographic and/or item records)
• Serials (holdings and/or serial item records)