Fear and loathing in cooperative collection development

Abstract

Purpose – The paper ' s aim is to demonstrate how research libraries might overcome their reluctance to enter into cooperative collection development ventures by devising resource sharing partnerships and streamlining ILL operations to the extent that they can replace significant portions of local collections. The data obtained from these and other library services can be used to identify collection areas that are ripe for cooperative collecting. Design/methodology/approach – The author uses data from the Borrow Direct cooperative to illustrate how efficient and effective ILL services have become, and identifies a number of data types that might be collected in a data repository and used to inform the construction of a successful cooperative collection development program. Findings – A data repository consisting of the following data types will prove useful in outlining the parameters of a cooperative collection development program: ILL and circulation transactions, database usage statistics, online catalog searches, electronic resource access logs, courseware usage and resources, user demographics course offerings and enrollment, and funding sources. Originality/value – Library managers and administrators interested in levels of library cooperation much deeper than the traditional ILL and consortial borrowing operations will find this article especially useful. The discussion of Metridoc and its application in building data repositories is also helpful.