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November 2006 Newsletter
From the Executive Director
With the 6th ECCMA Annual Conference now behind us, and if you account for the holidays, there are less than four weeks of work until the end of the year. Right now is a good time to look back at what we have achieved and consider the challenges ahead. The eOTD is clearly fulfilling its intended purpose not only as a practical tool for standardizing content but also as an emerging international standard. 2006 has been a year of extremely hard and mostly unglamorous work in laying the foundations. But, it is already clear that these will serve us well as we look to supporting the ever increasing number of implementations.
As I was required to participate in the ISO meeting as the project leader for ISO 22745 and ISO 8000 as well as the TC 184 SC4 Quality Committee convener, I had my hands full. Essentially, I had no other option but to let myself become one of ECCMA's customers. The dedication, professionalism and technical expertise of ECCMA as an organization was clearly evident. It was extremely gratifying to hear that the Hershey meeting was ranked as the best organized of any of the 50 previous meetings, clearly setting a new standard.
I would like to personally thank our members who attended the conference and for showing that they are indeed the leaders in setting and implementing standards for cataloging, our board of directors for sharing a unique body of practical expertise and our staff for providing exceptional support.
Members who spoke at the conference included:
Rick Maison, DLIS
Linda Wedderburn, Anglo American
Gerry Radack, CTC
Clem Swanepoel, Sasol
Steven Arnett, DLIS
Reinhard Schiel, PiLog
Doug Erickson, Partnet
Wynand Nortje, Starnode
Ed Sitver, Newmont Mining
Curtis May, sparesFinder
Doug Korneffel, PARTsolutions
Elaine Chapman, DLIS
John Andrews, Endeca
Larry English, Information Impact International
Rob Leibrandt, Office of the Secretary of Defense
Howard Mason, BAE Systems
Directors that moderated and presented included:
Don Brown, Partnet
Don Hillman, Lehigh University
Joe Cassell, EDS
Chris Hayden, Quadrem
Pieter Strydom, Starnode
Peter Benson, ECCMA
Members who exhibited or sponsored included:
SparesFinder
Partnet
PiLog
Oniqua
Endeca
DISA
DLIS / AC 135
PARTsolutions
Stibo Catalog
PDES, Inc.
ECCMA staff members who made the conference and ISO meeting a unique memorable event include:
Dan King, Director and Chief Operating Officer
Sheron Koshy, President ECCMA India
Yvette Thomas, HR and Event Planning
Amber Davis, Membership Manager and Event Coordinator
Melissa Scheib, Intern and Event Assistant
To all, I am in awe of your commitment and I thank you for giving me the opportunity of working with you. It is clear that Margaret Mead must have had our members, directors and staff in mind when she said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has".
Respectfully submitted,
Peter Benson
Executive Director, ECCMA
ECCMA Conference and 50th ISO TC 184/SC4 Meeting
The combination of the 50th meeting of ISO TC 184/SC4 and ECCMA's International Cataloging Conference appears to have clearly exceeded expectations. We had some concerns going into the week regarding the synergies of the two groups but these concerns were rapidly dispelled as the two groups melded into one. A large number of ECCMA members made valuable contributions to the ISO meetings and many of the ISO delegates contributed to the ECCMA workshops. It was indeed a unique week. It is clear that the two groups have a compelling common interest in the development and promotion of ISO 8000 as a new standard for data quality and that will ensure the rapid deployment of this important new standard. Dan has been working on posting the presentations to the website and I would encourage you to take a few minutes to review these as they contain a wealth of valuable information.
eOTD Training Programs
eOTD Cataloging for Managers
I am writing this contribution to our newsletter from Dubai, UAE the first leg of a two-stop eOTD training trip organized by PiLog. Steve Arnett and I are continuing to develop the three-day eOTD cataloging course that we successfully delivered in Johannesburg, South Africa in May and Dr. Radack and I delivered in Santiago, Chile in June.
The course is a two and a half day course for cataloging project managers and covers a combination of theoretical and practical sessions aimed at providing a basic understanding of eOTD implementation strategies designed to improve the quality of material and service masters. The course covers the cost and benefit of improving data quality as well as developing and managing cataloging projects. With the two outstanding courses, the class of 2006 is expected to include over 100 individuals from 30 companies and 12 countries who will have obtained ECCMA Certificates. We will be planning further courses in 2007 to include the USA as well as Europe and Australia.
ISO 8000 Executive Briefings
As a result of the interest in ISO 8000 demonstrated at the conference and through the large number of emails we are receiving we have put together an executive briefing that we will be delivering throughout 2007. The two-hour breakfast briefing will focus on the fundamentals of ISO 8000 compliance and the steps to data quality. The briefings are also designed to answer questions as to the scope and compliance requirements as well as collect input for the standard developers as we put the final touches to the standard itself.
If you are interested in participating in or hosting an eOTD cataloging course or an ISO 8000 executive briefing, please contact Amber Davis at Amber.Davis@ECCMA.org.
eOTD Basics for Cataloguers
Beyond his responsibilities in the day-to-day management of the eOTD database, Sheron Koshy, the president of ECCMA India, is an expert in the design and development of computer assisted cataloging solutions designed for large volume outsourced cataloging. Sheron has brought to our attention that the rapid increase in demand for eOTD cataloging has created an urgent need for a basic training course in the practical use of the eOTD in cataloging, or in other words, an eOTD cataloging boot camp. The course will be held at the ECCMA facility in Vellore India and will be open to independent and sponsored individuals interested in earning an ECCMA Certificate in basic eOTD cataloging. Beyond the certification of completion, ECCMA will also be offering eOTD proficiency testing as part of the course. If you are interested in participating in the eOTD basics for cataloguers training program please contact Sheron Koshy at Sheron.Koshy@ECCMA.org.
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