Library Collection Management Research Articles

So you have to cancel journals? statistics that help

Few libraries have been immune to the impact of inflation on journal prices, and many have been involved in extensive journal cancellation projects. To aid in the cancellation decision process, Colorado State University Libraries have been compiling internal statistics on journal usage and merging them with statistics from commercial sources. This paper describes the process and outlines how the collected data can be used both to identify journals for cancellation and to provide justification for these decisions to the campus community. As the inflation rate of journals has outstripped many library budgets, cancellation projects have become a routine part of library collection management for universities. These projects are extremely difficult since decisions have serious implications for the collection and library relations with the academic departments. Deciding which journals should be canceled becomes a serious and frustrating task. Statistical information about a library collection can be a valuable tool in both identifying journals for cancellation and justifying cancellation decisions. The Colorado State University Libraries (CSUL) have been collecting a variety of statistics about the periodicals collection for several years. This article will discuss how these statistics were used in a recent cancellation project.

Implementation of the 3M™ Digital Identification System at the UNLV libraries

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is the alpha/beta test site for 3M™ Library Systems Digital Identification System, a cutting‐edge technology in library materials flow and collection management. This article discusses the components of the system and their assimilation and testing at a UNLV branch library, the Curriculum Materials Library (CML), in anticipation of the opening of Lied Library. Challenges and discoveries in the development of the system and implementation differences between a small and large library are outlined. Future growth for both product development and the UNLV libraries’ use of the system are forecasted.

Collection management at heythrop College: The contribution of the academic staff through the medium of individual library interviews

The library of Heythrop College, University of London, has a number of unusual features which influence the management of the collection. To date, however, it has operated without a formal collection management policy. As a contribution to the process of producing such a policy, the study described asked key questions about the role of the Library and the resources available to through interviews with the most influential stakeholders, the academic staff. On the basis of interviews with the twenty‐nine permanent staff and seven other key stakeholders, expectations about the role of the Library were considered and the fitness of the collection for the purposes required of it are assessed. Some specific issues raised by the interviews, affecting the Library's collection management, are considered. In particular the provision of multiple copies, electronic resources and the ‘explosion’ of publishing are discussed. The usefulness of the staff interview as a collection management tool is also examined.

Collection Management in Academic Libraries. 2nd ed.1

Collection Management in Academic Libraries. 2nd ed.¹

Library visitors, collection management and simple sampling procedures

Library visitors, collection management and simple sampling procedures

Collection Management in Academic Libraries (2nd ed.)

Collection Management in Academic Libraries (2nd ed.)

Book Review: Collection management in academic libraries, 2nd ed

Book Review: Collection management in academic libraries, 2nd ed

Collection Management in Academic Libraries, 2nd ed

Collection Management in Academic Libraries, 2nd ed

The Changing Nature of Collection Management in Research Libraries

The contemporary history of collection management in North American research libraries begin midcentury. Since then, several issues have influenced the evolution of collection management with new forces emerging in the 1980s. In this article, we point to the challenges librarians face in managing the transition into a new and uncharted environment, including differing needs and scholarly communication patterns. We anticipate digital information will bring fundamental changes to scholarly communication and thus to collection management and point to a shift from a decentralized system of duplicate print collections to one of fewer central repositories. We believe print collections are not likely to disappear but the importance of secure storage for digital materials cannot be overemphasized. In the digital age, the “library model” for funding and sharing information will he scrutinized for its applicability in a world of access. Collection management librarians must take the lead in wedding print collection management to new storage and electronic access and delivery options to maintain and preserve the record of knowledge.

Preservation and the Management of Library Collections. John Feather

<i>Preservation and the Management of Library Collections</i>. John Feather

Electronic journal collection management issues

Introduces and analyzes basic library collection management issues regarding electronic journals, including selection, budgeting, policy making, collection evaluation, and preservation/archiving. Argues that staffing and budgeting for electronic journals can be organized on subject‐based or format‐based approaches, or some combination of both. Electronic journals are selected through the same three‐stage process used for print journals: identification, evaluation, and selection. Most of the traditional criteria for print journals are also applicable to electronic journals, but additional criteria are superimposed on them. The cancellation and weeding of electronic journals have not been addressed by the profession, but will assume more significance in the future. There is a need for new client‐centered evaluation methodologies that focus on availability and accessibility rather than ownership.

Collection development in Brazilian public libraries: evolution, perspectives and difficulties for a systematic approach

Reviews the development of public libraries in Brazil, taking a close look at the reasons why such institutions have not developed their collections in a systematic manner. Posits the necessity of organizing collection development activities rationally. Highlights the difficulties public libraries routinely face in Brazil for fulfilling this task. Argues that a better management of public library collections can bring concrete benefits to Brazilian society, as well as help librarians to obtain better support from their clientele and from more senior management.

Management of art library collections and extension of services

Focuses on the reasons why the South African National Gallery (SANG), in common with all institutions with a commitment to public service, now has to reassess and expand its services in order to redress past inequities. The new Government formed in South Africa after the watershed elections of 1994 is encouraging change and radical restructuring in every sphere of social, cultural and economic activity. SANG has initiated changes to address majority needs in a culture of learning which formerly did not include arts education for black people. Describes the challenges in the managing of collections the new ventures pose for librarians.

Book Review: Slide Collection Management in Libraries and Information Units

Book Review: Slide Collection Management in Libraries and Information Units

Collection development in an interdisciplinary context

A steady erosion of academic disciplinary boundaries and a corresponding increase in interdisciplinary research have occured. These developments present a mounting but still imperfectly understood challenge for collection development and management in academic libraries. This paper examines interdisciplinary research in an academic library context and reports on a case study.

Collection management in Australian academic libraries: An American perspective

This paper discusses collection management in Australian academic libraries. The author's sabbatical project was interviewing over 30 academic librarians in October/November of 1992 in eight of the largest research university libraries in Australia. These librarians gave their opinions on selection, acquisition, assessment, budget allocation, cooperative arrangements, and resource sharing. This paper also explores the recent changes in the higher education system in Australia and its impact on Australian universities and libraries, as well as the part Australia's distance from suppliers plays in procurement of materials.

The collection of library statistics for supplier evaluation: A user-friendly guide

In the light of recent economic constraints and a rapidly changing, if not volatile, publishing industry, supplier evaluation is a critical component of library collection development and management. The paper presents a number of guiding principles considered important in the collection of library statistics with a view to supplier evaluation. It identifies approaches to descriptive statistics; presents some helpful guidelines for decision making based on descriptive statistics; and discusses some issues relating to selecting a sample and establishing an appropriate sample size.

Scholar or Librarian? How Academic Libraries' Dualistic Concept of the Bibliographer Affects Recruitment

The early 1990s are not the best of times to operate an academic library collection management unit. Financial woes abound: the escalating cost of materials (particularly serials), the continued proliferation of print sources, and the explosive development of expensive electronic media all conspire to increase the pressure on already strained acquisitions budgets. The problems are not exclusively fiscal, however. There appears to be a new and growing personnel problem: the difficulty of recruiting capable collection management staff.

Book Reviews : Collection management and development in libraries: some recent books: a review article

Book Reviews : Collection management and development in libraries: some recent books: a review article

Preservation and the management of library collections (John Feather)

Preservation and the management of library collections (John Feather)