Abstract
As part of library core functions, collection services had always focused on resources and processes in the print age. With the advent of big data with prevailing digital technologies in the recent decades, academic libraries in the U.S. have increasingly brought customer into the center of collection services. Big data empower these customer-focused services in various formats and scopes. What are some common practices? How effective are they in addressing the customer needs while fulfilling the conventional goals of collection services? This article starts with a historical overview on the evolutions of collection activities from the perspectives of academic libraries in the U.S. It then shares several key trends and common practices enabled by big data to build collection services centering on customers, including demand driven acquisitions models, digital collections development, collection access and discovery enhancements and systematic collection assessments. The article also discusses the multitudes of implications and impacts brought by these new customer-focused collection services on the library and information science (LIS) profession, in technologies, in philosophies, in personnel, in budgets and certainly in user experience.
Highlights
Collections and customers make up the two cornerstones of modern libraries; and form the two core functions for libraries
In addition to demand driven acquisitions, many libraries like University of Central Florida (UCF) Libraries are creating digital collections/repositories to supplement their collection services and reaching a greater community of customers. These digital collections may be born-digital such as new electronic theses and dissertations (ETD) where access remains restricted to the institutional customers, or locally digitized materials that are out of copyright or locally owned copyrights such as retrospective theses & dissertations (RTD), or linking digital repositories in open access where the worldwide customers can freely access
Regardless the benefits, none of these collection services initiatives were implemented without debates or challenges at UCF Libraries
Summary
Collections and customers make up the two cornerstones of modern libraries; and form the two core functions for libraries. Functions for library collections consisted of selection, acquisitions, collection development and management, cataloging, and preservation. These functions were commonly categorized as “technical services” in the U.S, as opposed to “public services” that typically include reference, instruction, and circulation. “Big Data” is a term that describes the large volume of data, both structured and unstructured, that could inundate an entity on a day-to-day basis. They bear the characteristics of 3 “v”s: volume, velocity and variety [12]. In the age of big data, various tools enable libraries to collect both quantitative and qualitative data straight from the users upon usage. U.S for its updated and expanded focuses on customers
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