Like almost everyone the first task of the day is to check the group e-mail inboxes. Two routine requests for ISBN numbers, which we allocate for DWP publications. enter the details onto the tracking spreadsheet and send the numbers to the requester. I also find a request for access to the DWP Media Library, which is our electronic photo library so create the account and issue the login details along with a guide for new users containing instructions on how to use the Media Library.
The post tray has several envelopes containing copies of departmental publications, which have been sent to us to handle their legal deposit. It’s another one of those things where I enter details onto a spreadsheet, then send out the copies, retaining one for the DWP Library and another for the Corporate Archive. These are put to one side for cataloguing later.
The phone rings. It is my colleague from the Psychology library in Sheffield needing to discuss the plans for the forthcoming Library Roadshows that we will be holding in Washington and Newcastle later this month. In such a large and geographically dispersed organisation many of the staff work in buildings which do not have a physical library so we have a programme of visits where we demonstrate the services can be accessed directly from the desktop, such as the online journal databases, and show them how to order a book through the catalogue, and put them in touch with their subject librarian.
The rest of the morning I spend cataloguing, hard copy for our London Library (including the publications that arrived earlier) and electronic documents, which I upload to the server and compile the lists of these documents so they can be listed on the Electronic Archive pages of the website. Many of our documents are made available in electronic format direct from the library catalogue so they can be accessed anywhere.
A quick check of the inboxes and I find a couple of requests from members of the public for documents in our Electronic Archive, so I attach them to an e-mail and send them off. Replies are coming in to my e-mail asking for contributions to the DWP Information Finder, which lists the types of information available in DWP, along with the contact details of the ‘owners’. I add them to the Access database, and also send them off to the Welsh Language Unit to be translated into Welsh.
Dealing with this makes me decide it is time to finish off my Powerpoint presentation for Monday’s meeting with the FoI Focal Points, who co-ordinate the FoI requests. I am going to talk to them about the recent changes to the Information Finder and the new guidelines laid out by the Information Commissioner’s Office about publication schemes, which all public authorities are required to adhere to.
Next I work of the FAQ pages the DWP Media Library. I log on to the photo library and download a few interesting pictures to illustrate the types of images we hold on there.
My last half hour is spent peacefully reviewing the new subject terms that have been added to the catalogue thesaurus. I use the Integrated Public Service Vocabulary (IPSV) and Library of Congress Subject Headings to maintain the integrity of our controlled vocabulary. I record any changes I make and e-mail them round to the rest of the cataloguing team before logging off and going home.