Crafting an Active Print Collection for the Academic Library: A Case Study from the Claremont Colleges Library

Abstract

In 2016, The Claremont Colleges Library began to imagine what it might look like to provide access to our collections in ways that are informed by how our community uses those resources. From the beginning, this effort was a response to difficulties helping researchers connect our digital and physical resources, unsatisfactory storage space, and opportunities arising out of renovations and master planning. Through this work we aim to ensure the organization and presentation of our collections support how our researchers need to work with them and be inspired by them. To that end, we have engaged colleagues in other academic libraries on these questions. We have also convened task forces and conducted an in-depth, qualitative study to understand the different yet complementary engagements scholars have when browsing and searching print and electronic resources. In this case study, we will review provocative conversations at Claremont and beyond about the place of print in the digital age and discuss what we are learning from our local investigations of research behaviors. Building on this foundation, we will share plans for a fledgling program at Claremont that we expect will resonate with and be vital to the future of many academic libraries. The “Active Print” program includes a variety of approaches to enhancing the traditional stewardship role of the library by engaging our users in re-envisioning the organization and presentation of our physical collections.