Carol MacDonald retired from the University of Regina Library after serving the U of R for over four decades. She began her career at the Library as a Reference/Collections Librarian then transferred to the Canadian Plains Research Center to develop the CANPlains database into a nationally accessible database of prairie research. She then returned to the Library to lead its first major automation project and the formation of the RegLIN (later known as CASLS) consortium consisting of the University of Regina Library, the Saskatchewan Legislative Library, the Gabriel Dumont Institute, Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region libraries, and the Saskatchewan Health Libraries Association.
As Head of Library Systems at the University of Regina, Library Carol played a key role in leading the development of three state of the art integrated library discovery systems all of which were adopted by the RegLIN consortium member libraries. Along the way Carol became adept at writing RFPs, writing database conversion specifications for the consortium libraries, loading records, administering complex library systems, customizing web interfaces, writing technical documentation, and providing technical support and training.
In 2016 she served as the project manager for the Alma/Primo Discovery system implementation by CASLS. During her career, Carol launched numerous automation projects which enhanced Library services and resources. Highlights include developing the Library’s first web site, managing the Relais Interlibrary Loan system to automate ILL operations, implementing EZProxy authentication to provide remote access to databases, and introducing the Springshare suite of services. She also integrated Voyager and Alma to not only the University Banner system but several external services such as OCLC, Worldshare, Relais, EZProxy, and Google Scholar, among others.
Carol was there when computers were introduced into libraries, as well as the subsequent integration of the internet. In the early years, the Systems Department supported not only the staff workstations but all the public access workstations in the Library, and Carol made frequent trips to the CASLS libraries to consult with staff or load upgraded Voyager client software to their computers.
In addition to the software end of Library services, Carol served on numerous committees, both within the Library (all the Library leadership teams, technology steering committees, and the President’s Advisory Committee on Art), and as part of the wider academic community. She was also active in the Ex Libris Users of North America groups. Over the years, Carol enjoyed collaborating with staff in Information Services and the RegLIN/CASLS consortium in many successful projects and services. The implementation of new technologies was both challenging and rewarding and led to many changes to the online environment that we now use daily. Her objective has always been “Keep the complexity in the background.”
“Carol generously shared her time and expertise with the Regina Library Information Network (RegLIN) and its successor, the Consortium of Academic and Special Libraries of Saskatchewan (CASLS). As a member of both, the Gabriel Dumont Institute Library was a grateful beneficiary of her technical know-how over three decades and as many library systems. Carol provided technical support as we automated with NOTIS, walked over to manually update our staff computers every time there was a new Voyager release, and ably guided CASLS through the RFP process which resulted in migration to the current library system, Alma/Primo. We’ll miss her patience, her knowledge, and her smile, and we wish her all the best in the next chapter!”
- Kim Kovacs & Marilyn Belhumeur, Gabriel Dumont Institute Library
“Carol was a pillar of CASLS and RegLin Library Information Network. As a small library member, Carol was our go to expert for support for many years. In fact, her help enabled us to have a fully functioning library system for our patrons. Carol was always willing to answer that phone call in a time of “crisis”, but she was also always there for a bit of a chat. I will miss Carol and her expertise and wish her all the best in her next venture in life!”
- Amy Rankin, RCMP Learning Resource Centre
“Carol’s contribution to the development of the Consortium of Academic Special Libraries of Saskatchewan (CASLS) and acquisition of the Alma and Primo library catalogue discovery system was insurmountable. Her knowledge and guidance were infallible and it gave me and my entire team such relief to know we could count on her. The simple words ‘thank you’ don’t quite seem enough to express how grateful I am for having Carol as a colleague.”
- Melanie Hodges Neufeld, Government of Saskatchewan, Senior Crown Council
“Through the years, Carol offered unwavering support for libraries collaborating in the Regina Library Information Network (RegLIN) and the Consortium of Academic and Special Libraries of Saskatchewan (CASLS). During the RegLIN years, when participating libraries’ catalogues were hosted on servers at the University of Regina, Carol worked closely with each library to customize and sustain library catalogue functions. During the CASLS years, Carol continued to serve as our technical guide as we navigated customizing and managing our new cloud hosted services. Carol spearheaded CASLS’s acquisition of the next generation library services that are serving our clients so well today. Carol was truly committed to helping our libraries succeed. We are grateful for her dedication to the library community, and we will always fondly remember her patience and sense of humour!”
- Melissa Bennett, Legislative Library