The Technical Services Department is located on the third floor of Lauinger Library. It is responsible for the acquisition, access, metadata, and preservation of library materials in print and electronic formats to meet the research, teaching, and learning initiatives at Georgetown University. The Department provides support for Lauinger Library, Blommer Science Library, Woodstock Theological Library, Kennedy Institute of Bioethics Library, CERES, LLT, as well as the off-site libraries in Doha, Qatar; Fiesole, Italy; and Alanya, Turkey.
Acquisitions Unit
The Acquisitions Unit is responsible for the ordering of print books, single title eBooks, audio-visual materials, and out-of-print titles selected by librarians and researchers. The Unit maintains continuous communications with vendors and is responsible for creating accurate records of payment and ownership, monitoring the materials budget, processing payments, and reconciling invoices. It also handles the Library’s Consolidated Billing System and works closely with the Collection Development Department, the Library’s Business Office, and the University’s Accounts Payable Department.
Electronic Resources & Serials Unit
The Electronic Resources & Serials Unit is responsible for ordering, invoicing, and maintaining the Library's electronic resources and print serials. It oversees the checking-in and binding of print serials, standing orders, and government documents. The Unit also performs daily troubleshooting of access issues for all types of electronic resources (such as databases, eJournals, eBooks) and ensures all subscriptions are up-to-date for continuous and reliable access. Additionally, the Unit sets up and maintains access points for all of the Library’s e-resources in various discovery tools, such as LibGuides, HoyaSearch, Journal Finder, etc. Please refer to the Electronic Resources page for more information on electronic resources at Lauinger Library.
Metadata Services Unit
The Metadata Services Unit organizes, describes, and processes materials to provide access to tangible and intangible resources via the Library's discovery tools, including HoyaSearch, and for digital objects in the Library's content management systems, including DigitalGeorgetown. Unit members serve as metadata resources for the Georgetown Libraries and consult on a variety of digital initiatives. The Unit creates and maintains metadata in records for enhanced discovery of materials in a variety of formats, languages, and subject areas. It also performs inventory control, physical processing of items, and receiving and routing of materials purchased by or donated to the Library. Staff participate in a number of national and international cooperative metadata related programs, including contributing bibliographic and authority/identity records to the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (NACO, BIBCO, CONSER) databases and the Library of Congress' Cataloging-in-Publication program (eCIP).