NASIG 2019

With demands on library space increasing, while research collections continue to grow, off-site storage is becoming a reality for academic research libraries across North America. In 2005, the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) established a high-density storage and preservation facility to preserve and maintain print serials and low use monographic resources. Aptly named Keep@Downsview, this collection now contains over 3 million volumes and has evolved into a collaborative partnership with four other Ontario universities. As our off-site collections continue to expand, this presents unique challenges for UTL in facilitating resource discovery and access. Since library users cannot physically browse the Keep@Downsview collections, the only way to discover these resources is through the metadata contained in the library’s discovery systems. To ensure that these resources remain accessible to the scholarly community, it is crucial that the metadata for these collections is optimized for search and discovery. With the goal of improving access to our off-site collections, we conducted an investigation into the state of our metadata for the print serial collection held at the Keep@Downsview facility. In this assessment, we analyzed metadata elements based on the following metrics: completeness, accuracy, consistency and coherence, conformance to expectations, timeliness and accessibility. Additionally, we conducted a qualitative investigation into how our metadata is perceived through the eyes of researchers, librarians, and our Keep@Downsview partners. By approaching metadata assessment from both an ‘Inside-Out’ and ‘Outside-In’ perspective, our aim was to obtain a holistic view of the quality and effectiveness of our metadata and explore strategies for improving the discovery of our remotely held collections.