Editorial

Mary Beth Weber

Newness has been a predominant theme in my life and work. My library implemented a new LSP last month (it was just a little over a month today), and LRTS migrated from the Aries Editorial Manager to an OJS platform at about the same time. I am still becoming familiar with both.

My role as LRTS editor can be challenging yet educational, rewarding, and very gratifying. In this role, I work with a variety of people and have the benefit of gaining knowledge and insight from their research papers. Learning about new acquisition methods or developments with Resource Description and Access (RDA) or continuing education are inspiring and help with my professional and personal growth. Papers published in LRTS make their way into the journal in many different ways. I might reach out to someone who has posted an interesting message to a listserv, follow up with a person who has given a presentation, or be contacted by a prospective author to discuss an idea or gauge my interest in a topic. Working with authors on the submission process, revision, and, hopefully, publication of their papers helps forge professional relationships. In a few cases, authors who have published papers in LRTS have later been appointed to the editorial board.

The papers in this issue of LRTS cover very different topics, including cataloging, career competencies, FRBR, and mobile applications:

• In “RDA and Rare Books Cataloging,” Mary Burns discusses the challenges for catalogers using the Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials: Books, or DCRM(B) when RDA was implemented. Policy statements for rare books cataloging are currently in development with plans for them to eventually be incorporated into the RDA Toolkit. Burns discusses the current options for rare books catalogers, and her paper provides a rich history of the development of standards for contemporary rare book catalogers. Readers are guided through the creation process of three bibliographic records for the same rare book according to DCRM(B), the PCC-RDA-BSR with rare materials provisions, and RDA with exceptions for early printed resources. Burns’s paper includes a wealth of information and supplementary materials, including illustrations taken from the rare book Stirpium adversaria nova. In keeping with the theme of “newness” cited in the first paragraph of my editorial, I will do something new with the publication of this paper. Due to its length and the complexity of the topic, it will be published in two parts. Part one will be published in this issue of LRTS, and the second part will be in LRTS volume 63, number 1 (January 2019).
• Edward O’Neill and Maja Žumer discuss textual documents within the context of the Functional Requirement for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) in their paper “FRBR: Application of the Model to Textual Documents.” They analyze the FRBR model within the context of textual documents, with an emphasis on digital documents to better understand group 1 entities.
• Bruce J. Evans, Karen Snow, Elizabeth Shoemaker, Maurine McCourry, Allison Yanos, Jennifer A. Liss, and Susan Rathbun-Grubb collaborated to develop the document “Core Competencies for Cataloging and Metadata Professional Librarians.” They very well may have the largest group of collaborators for a LRTS paper. Their paper outlines the work of a task force on which they served that was charged by the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services Cataloging and Metadata Management Section (ALCTS CaMMS) Competencies for a Career in Cataloging Interest Group to develop a competencies document for catalogers. Their paper “Competencies through Community Engagement: Developing the Core Competencies for Cataloging and Metadata Professional Librarians” details the process taken to produce this document, plus provides recommendations for groups undertaking similar tasks.
• Again, following on the theme of “newness,” Jamie Saragossi, Laura Costello, and Kathleen Kasten explore the challenges and opportunities presented by mobile applications in academic libraries. Their paper “Mobile Applications in Academic Libraries” discusses selection, acquisitions, access, instruction, outreach, and evaluation related to mobile applications as these practices have been applied to traditional library resources.
• And lastly, book reviews are provided by LRTS Book Review Editor, Elyssa M. Gould, a regular feature of the journal. This is an opportunity to read about new books as reviewed by experts in the profession.