I am able to use the basic concepts and principles related to the creation, evaluation, selection, acquisition, preservation and organization of specific items or collections of information
Introduction
Librarians seek to meet the information needs of users. To do that, librarians must create, organize, and preserve collections appropriate to the needs of their users and communities. Creating such collections involves multiple steps and considerations. In order to determine user needs, librarians must select and employ effective methods of user assessment. Policies must be in place that guide and coordinate the collection development process. Librarians must consult appropriate selection tools in order to find items that best meet user needs and collection goals. Selected items must be acquired and integrated into the collection. A collection, once created, must be maintained. Light, temperature, and humidity levels may be monitored in order to minimize the deterioration of materials. Digitization may be used as a means of preserving intellectual content and enhancing an item’s accessibility. Maintaining the quality of the collection will require discarding some older and outdated materials. Finally, a collection should be periodically evaluated to determine how well it satisfies collection goals and user needs. Such evaluations can be used to guide future selection decisions toward improving collection quality. Through my SLIS coursework I have become familiar with all these aspects of collection development. I have gained practical experience evaluating specific items, using selection tools, evaluating a collection, and organizing online information. The knowledge and experience I have gained in my MLIS program gives me the ability to use the basic concepts and principles related to the creation, evaluation, selection, acquisition, preservation, and organization of specific items or collections of information.
Commentary
The purpose of a collection is to serve user needs. In order to serve user needs, the librarian must know user needs, and this requires assessment. Assessment, in this context, is not an attempt to first identify and then satisfy information needs on a person by person basis. Rather, assessment involves getting a sense of the information needs of a community as a whole. Community assessments may gather data on population trends, racial groups, age distributions, occupational profiles, and school statistics. Community assessment may also involve gathering information – through surveys or questionnaires – on the information needs of individuals. Data derived from such assessment tools is analyzed in order to extrapolate information about a community and groups within a community. User assessment was one of the first topics covered in LIBR 266. In that course, I learned the valuable role assessment plays in collection development. I was also introduced to a variety of assessment approaches and methods.
Collection development is guided by collection development or selection policies. Such policies are important in the ongoing creation and management of collections. Among other things, they may include statements on the library’s mission, the goals of the collection, selection guidelines (e.g., subject and/or formats that will be selected), selection responsibilities, the selection and acquisition process, patron gifts, weeding, and patron complaints. Collection development policies are important because they coordinate the efforts of staff toward creating a collection that meets collection goals and user needs. When such policies are posted online, they also inform the public about the library’s goals for its collection. In LIBR 266 we examined and critically analyzed the collection development policies of several academic and public libraries.
The process of selecting items for a collection is the most direct way a collection is created. Collection development policies may dictate collection goals with respect to scope, depth, and subject coverage, yet it is the actual selection process that will determine the quality of a collection. Wise selection decisions create a collection of high-quality materials that covers diverse topics that satisfies user needs. Academic librarians often rely on approval plans to select materials. The selector works with a vendor to create a profile that specifies types of materials that match collection needs. Many librarians – especially in public, school, and special libraries – select items on an individual basis. In this case, the librarian must have a strong familiarity with a range of selection resources (e.g., vendor lists, publishers’ catalogs, bestseller lists) in order to know what items are available in different subject areas and genres. In order to identify high-quality materials, the librarian must also be familiar with resources that provide reviews and recommendations of books, music, and video. The conscientious selector does not limit herself to bestseller lists and the catalogs of major publishing houses. She knows that a collection limited to popular and mainstream titles is unlikely to satisfy the diverse needs of patrons. She therefore takes care to seek out the catalogs of more obscure publishers in an effort to build a collection that meets patrons’ more idiosyncratic information needs.
Selection may also involve consideration of the relative costs and benefits of owning materials as opposed to licensing electronic access to materials. For example, a publisher may offer a reference source in both print and electronic formats. Which version does the librarian choose? Should the librarian choose both formats? Because users tend to value convenience and online accessibility, electronic resources may better meet user needs. Nevertheless, librarians must still ask critical questions about licensing agreements, cost, and durability when answering the “access vs. ownership” question. Depending on the resource, usage data, and the cost, owning the print copy may be a wiser choice.
In LIBR 266 I was introduced to a variety of selection tools – vendor lists, publishers' catalogs, bestseller lists, newspaper reviews, etc. – and I used those tools to make selection decisions for our class “library.” I also prepared a recommendation for a hypothetical selection committee regarding the possible acquisition of an electronic resource. This involved developing critical questions about the item in preparation for a meeting with the publisher’s representative – questions that focused particularly on the licensing agreement and issues such as remote access, copying and pasting, and multiple users. In order to prepare the recommendation, I also considered usage data and the item’s value relative to its expense and other collection needs.
In LIBR 266 I was introduced to the basic steps of the acquisition process, especially bibliographic verification. As I learned, acquisitions is not simply a matter of ordering whatever has been selected. Before a selected item is acquired, the acquisitions librarian must make sure the library does not already own the item. She must also consult sources outside the library (e.g., vendor lists, the Library of Congress catalog, WorldCat) to verify the existence and bibliographic information for an item. Once the bibliographic information has been verified, an order can be submitted to the publisher or vendor. Following the order, acquisitions involves additional steps: “receiving [the item], updating the order records, and approving the invoice for payment,” “forwarding it to the catalog department,” and, “after the title has been cataloged, clearing the order record from the active files” (Welch, 2003, p. 76).
The care, effort, and expense of creating a collection naturally entail a responsibility to preserve it. This serves the needs of users: when items are preserved, they remain for future patrons to use. Preservation is particularly important when items have historical value or significance. Repair/restoration and monitoring environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, light) are the two most common ways of preserving items in their original formats. Alternatively, the librarian may focus on preserving an item’s intellectual content by reformatted it into a more durable medium. Digitization is a common form of reformatting. It not only helps preserve the intellectual content of an item, it enables the librarian to make it available online. In this instance, preservation and accessibility go hand in hand.
Evidence
I am submitting three assignments as evidence of my competency in this area. I am submitting an analysis of the Asian religions collection at San Jose State’s King Library. The analysis was the culminating project for my internship at the King Library. In the analysis, I developed normative criteria for evaluating the Asian religions collection based on the King Library’s own collection management policies, San Jose State programs and course offerings that include Asian religions, and norms associated with the WLN Conspectus Method. I compiled quantitative data about the collection (e.g., number of titles for individual Asian religions) and contrasted the current condition of the Asian religions collection to norms specifying an adequate Asian religions collection. This comparison made it possible to draw conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of the collection as well as make recommendations for future selection decisions. The analysis included a general overview of collection evaluation methods (see Appendix D). The collection analysis demonstrates an understanding of normative criteria used to evaluate collections as well as the ability to apply those criteria in the evaluation of a specific collection.
I am submitting a discussion posting on the impact factor score and its potential value as a journal selection aid in academic libraries. Impact factor is an attempt to measure the significance of an academic journal based on the number of times articles in that journal are cited. As I discuss in the posting, impact factor is not without its problems and should be used in combination with other selection criteria. Still, it provides valuable data supporting the selection process. Some librarians find it particularly valuable when faced with difficult decisions to continue or cancel journal subscriptions – decisions that have become increasingly necessary and urgent as the cost of journal subscriptions continues to rise (see Budd, 2005, pp. 187-188). In sum, the posting demonstrates an understanding of an important tool used in the journal selection process.
Finally, I am submitting a comparative analysis of three academic collection development policies. The paper was a group project written for LIBR 266. I wrote a complete first draft of the paper, which was subsequently edited and formatted by the other members of my team. In the paper, we focus on the elements found within each collection development policy (e.g., statement of purpose, library mission, selection guidelines, collection evaluation information, etc.). We compare those elements against the elements found within an ideal collection development policy provided by the course instructor. We also examine how collection levels are related to an institution’s Carnegie Foundation classification (doctorate-granting as opposed to Master’s granting institutions). The paper demonstrates a strong understanding of the essential features that comprise academic collection development policies.
Conclusion
The library’s collection is perhaps the primary way it fulfills its mission to the public. The importance of creating, developing, and caring for the collection can hardly be underestimated. Consequently, librarians must understand the steps and principles that comprise effective collection management. Guided by a commitment to serving the needs of users, the librarian recognizes the importance of user assessment to determine user needs and knows how to employ assessment methods to gather user data. Guided by her commitment to intellectual freedom, she also seeks diversity within the collection and guards against the influence of personal biases when making selection decisions. She recognizes the importance of developing clear policies that can guide collection development efforts toward creating a collection that best meets collection goals and user needs. She recognizes the importance of careful selection and consults a wide variety of quality selection tools and resources. She also recognizes her responsibility to care for the collection, which includes weeding the collection when necessary to improve the collection’s quality. My SLIS coursework – LIBR 266 in particular – have given me knowledge and skills relevant to all these aspects of collection development. With this background in the concepts and principles of collection development, I have the ability to create quality collections that meet the needs of library users.
References
Budd, J. M. (2005). The changing academic library: Operations, cultures, environments. ACRL publications in librarianship, 56. Chicago: Association of College & Research Libraries.
Welch, H. M. (2003). Acquisitions. In Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, second edition (Vol.1, pp. 76-81). Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis. Retrieved September 29, 2009, from informaworld database.