A Renewed Approach to Collection Development in Academic Libraries

1
A Renewed Approach to Collection Development in
Academic Libraries

• By Barbara M. Pope, MALS
• and Sam Rogers, MLIS
• Mary E. Bailey, MLS
• CULS 2008

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Introduction

• Barbara M. Pope, MALS
• Periodicals/Reference Librarian, Axe Library,
  Pittsburg State University, over 3 years
• Sam Rogers, MLIS
• Electronic Resources/Serials Librarian, William
  Allen White Library, Emporia State University
• Mary E. Bailey, MLS
• Electronic Resource Serials Acquisitions
  Librarian, Hale Library, Kansas State University

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History of Collection Development

• Emphasis on ownership
• Collection development once emphasized ownership
  of print, microform, and media
• Catalysts for Change
• Various influences have caused the emphasis to
  shift toward electronic resources

4
21st Century Practice

• As technology evolves and patron demands change,
  so must our ways of providing materials
• This shift has caused ripples across the pond,
  mostly notably in budgets, space, and access
• Our presentation will emphasize a renewed effort
  to create academic library collections

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Barbara M. Pope, MALS

• Periodicals/Reference Librarian, Axe Library,
  Pittsburg State University, 3 1/2 years
• Handle all aspects of print and electronic
  serials
• Formerly worked in collection development and
  reference for 8 years

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What Prompted the Change at PSU?

• For the past 3 1/2 years at PSU, we mainly
  reacted to costs to stay afloat while still
  trying to provide needed journals
• We needed a better approach that would be more
  focused on patrons needs

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Process

• Curriculum and research needs
• Indexing
• Format
• Full Text Availability
• Usage Statistics

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PSUs Results

• As a result of applying this criteria, we were
  able to
• Cancel 8 titles which were no longer needed
• Cancel 6 titles which were not indexed
• Cancel 129 titles which duplicate full text
• Cancel 149 microfilm titles (inappropriate
  format, unnecessary, or expensive)

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PSU Results, Continued.

• As a result, we saved over 54,000 out of the
  serials budget
• We were also able to subscribe to some
  faculty-requested titles
• Decrease staff time necessary to process
  materials and manage the collection

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Sam Rogers, MLIS

• Finishing my first year at Emporia State as
  Serials and Electronic Resources Librarian.
• Instead of choosing which periodicals to maintain
  subscriptions to, I implement the processing,
  check-in, claiming, and binding at Emporia State
  University.
• The decisions about what to maintain
  subscriptions to are made through Collection
  Development, of which I am a member.

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What Caused the Change at ESU?

• Spacial limitations
• Need to renovate building and add stairwell
• Create ADA compliant access
• As a result, weeding and switching to electronic
  access have become more important than ever

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Process

• The Audience
• Our library school has mostly distance/online
  students, so change to electronic subscriptions
  where possible.
• Our business school prefers electronic resources
  to print.
• Format
• Is the format appropriate for the subject?
• Do not convert maps, music scores, or illustrated
  text to online format unless it is digitized
  well, such as a JSTOR pdf.
• Focus on only acquiring serials titles in print
  which we cannot obtain electronically

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ESUs Changes

• Government documents occupy slightly more than 1
  of the 8 floors we store documents on.
• As the new Gov Docs librarian I implemented the
  first major weeding project in a long time.
• We deselected our print subscription for all
  documents accessible online to slow accumulation
  of new materials.
• On an item by item basis we withdrew documents
  that could be found online.
• We cleared roughly 140 shelves from our
  government documents collection by weeding
  documents to which we had electronic access.

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Print/online to online-only

• We examined our subscriptions via Ebsco (our
  aggregator). By converting from print online
  subscriptions to online only, we saved over 3000
  and eliminated the time and money spent
  processing and binding 110 subscriptions.
• Will be possible to convert more print-only to
  online-only subscriptions, but this requires
  addressing licensing concerns

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Other

• We removed another 200 shelves of titles that
  JSTOR duplicated in online format.
• Have begun aggressively weeding in other parts of
  the library, especially our reference collection.

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Mary E. Bailey, MLS

• Electronic Resource Serials Acquisitions
  Librarian, Hale Library, Kansas State University,
  9 years
• Order, process and oversee all aspects of
  electronic resources or serials. Do not
  negotiate license or price.
• Decisions made by Collections Council for new
  materials, E-Resource Work group for current
  serials.

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What Prompted the Change at KSU?

• New dean hired in 2004, reorganization, new
  Strategic Plan
• Spatial limitations (must move ½ million volumes
  from our annex to Regents annex)
• Handwriting on the wall- our work is changing!

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Process

• User centered and evidence based decisions on
  collections materials more E-resources wanted
• - Migration to E for serials,
• - Cancellations based on usage stats and
  faculty reviews
• - Dissertations, thesis and reports go E
• Departmental Strategic Collecting of monographs

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Process cont

• Ongoing Serials Review for standing orders
• Retrocon for annex materials and shrinking
  footprint

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KSUs results

• Migration to e canceled print for over 1600 of
  2200 journals reviewed in 3 years
• New tools to help make decisions (usage stats)
• EDTRs cuts overall time by ½ or better
• Strategic Collecting
• Ongoing Serials Review over 100 titles canceled
  
• Retrocon at annex. Over 11,000 brief catalog
  records replaced with OCLC records before moving
  annex titles to Regents.

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KSUs results cont

• Reinventing ourselves
• -shelf ready frees up monograph catalogers
• -ordering changes free up acqusitions staff
• -binding staff have more time
• -need more help with electronic serials
• -ERM
• -Digital collections special collections

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Conclusion

• Academic libraries will continue to provide
  access to information, anticipate needs, and try
  to stick to a budget
• Factors such as shrinking budgets and increasing
  costs have made this job difficult
• These factors have also caused us to re-examine
  our approach to collection development and
  improve it

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References

• ARL Statistics 2005-2006. Washington, D.C.,
  Association of Research Libraries, 2006.
  http//www.arl.org/stats/annualsurveys/arlstats/ar
  lstats06.html

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Questions? Comments?

• ?

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Contact Information

• Barbara M. Pope, MALS
• Periodicals/Reference Librarian
• Leonard H. Axe Library
• 1701 S. Broadway
• Pittsburg KS 66762
• [phone]
• bpope_at_pittstate.edu

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Contact Information

• Sam Rogers, MLIS
• Electronic Resources/Serials Librarian
• William Allen White Library
• Emporia State University
• [phone]
• srogers4_at_emporia.edu

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Contact Information

• Mary E. Bailey, MLSElectronic Resource
  Serials Acquisitions Librarian509 HaleKansas
  State University LibrariesManhattan, KS
  66506-1200(785) 532-0678redhead_at_ksu.edu