Developing Mindful Collection Decision Making: A Case Study on Analyzing Acquisition E-book Projects Using Financial Concepts

Abstract

ABSTRACT Traditionally, the College of Staten Island (CSI) library has employed cost per use in determining its collection development strategies but is attempting to broaden these assessments by using cost-benefit financial concepts. Due to significant budgetary cuts, the library has begun reviewing different assessment strategies that could maximize the development of its collections with the least amount of cost incurred. At the core of the financial mindful evaluations chosen, the CSI library intends to mindfully demonstrate fiduciary responsibility and accountability for e-book project expenditures, while determining some potential beneficial outcomes in monetary terms. The projects that are analyzed using financial concepts are two long-standing Demand-Driven Acquisition (DDA) e-book projects and the CSI library Open Educational Resources (OER) project involving the utilization of Open Access (OA) textbooks in comparison with its print textbook reserve collection. The strengths and weaknesses of using quantitative financial analysis to document the success of these projects are reviewed within the context of the historical usage of financial valuations in academic libraries.