Collaborative Collection Management: Accessioning, De-accessioning, and Decision Making with a World View

Abstract

Scientific and astronomical libraries often manage their collections in siloes, with limited coordination or communication when making collection decisions. These proceedings offer an alternative — making collection management decisions with a world view — and describe the benefits of this approach toward the collective stewardship of the scientific body of knowledge. We share two divergent, real life views of distinct library collections at the Space Telescope Science Institute and the U.S. Naval Observatory. The practical differences it has made to have a formal collection development policy in place, the evolution of those policies, and shared processes for developing a more collaborative mindset, such as worldwide assessment and transfer, are explored. Throughout, our aim is to increase cross-institutional communication and collaboration on collection decisions in order to ensure that unique historical materials are preserved for the common good in the location most in need or most capable of managing those materials.