Resource Description Services supports original and copy cataloging for all types of materials in a variety of languages, as well as metadata management and authority control for MARC and non-MARC collections. The department works closely with Collection Strategies, Special Collections and University Archives, Digital Scholarship Services, the Beach Lab, and others within the Libraries and UO campus to provide intellectual and physical access to collections, as well as cataloging and metadata solutions that support the management and discovery of scholarly resources. The department builds strong partnerships with external partners to lead advances in practice and to contribute expertise to regional, national, and international associations related to cataloging and metadata.

The department overseen by the Director of Resource Description Services includes Career Faculty Librarians, Officers of Administration, and Classified Staff. Key activities include: analyzing and describing the content of library resources for the public catalog; batch-loading records for e-resource collections; ensuring the quality of data in the Libraries’ public catalog; creating and maintaining authority records to ensure consistency in name and subject access points; preparing physical materials for use; and withdrawal of material from the collection.