Course Overview

Welcome to collection and connection development! During this course, we will explore the process of selecting materials to best serve the needs of today's library users.

Our Challenge:

• What is the role of collection development in libraries of various types in the expanded world of information and technology during this pandemic and when many libraries are not open for visitors?

• What should a library own versus provide access to, particularly when the physical collection is unavailable?

Specific Issues we need to investigate this semester:

• 1. Connections development possibilities. Could we build together a major online learning commons of digital resources and services?

• 2. Pushing the collection toward personal devices anytime, anywhere

This class will push the envelope of traditional ideas about collection development. Some ideas will not match what is done in any current library. Our purpose is to confront what a true 21st century collection might look like in various types of libraries. Thus, during class, we will share what is happening in the libraries you are studying, entertain radical ideas, and think about collections from the user's perspective rather than the convenience of the librarian.

A Real Library Collection?

This class will be based on the concept of design thinking (You can search Google of images of the design thinking model to understand how it works)

Hopefully, each of you can connect in with a real library that you would include in your own investigations such as one you are working in right now or have connections with those who are.

However, design thinking techniques are going to require all of us together to invent our way though the course. We will begin with a few basics, but then as we ideate, build and test the concept of the virtual library or library learning commons, we will decide both individual and group creations in what we now know as an uncertain world.

Assignments

The first two assignments have been designed by your instructor to build empathy and background for the current user populations we are serving and the technology infrastructure needed to service our users.

After that, while we are waiting to get our heads together, four additional assignment slots have been created, but the number and requirements will depend on both individual journeys through the design thinking model happens. There will be lots of choice in our journey segments.

Other Notes

We will be experimenting with various forms of collaborative knowledge building. Thus, sometimes, you will be making a presentation for direct submission to the professor. At other times, you will be collecting data about your collection and then combining it with other data in the class session to look across various libraries for patterns and trends. For these later collaborative efforts, you will need to be prepared before class with your own data. And, perhaps we will all come up with various ways to investigate and make artifacts of our work.

We will also be experimenting with various techniques for creating infographics of our work. This will require the creative efforts of everyone as we all learn how to use data visualization techniques in collection development and in many other aspects of library work. You will need the 3rd edition of the textbook because it contains many helpful examples.