Which worked better for Mississippi State: standing orders or an approval plan?

When Mississippi State University Libraries established a university press approval plan, the Collection Development Department was asked to decide whether to cancel existing standing orders with seven university presses or block these presses from the approval plan. Books were received through both avenues for eight months so that cost, timeliness of delivery, and receipt of titles most appropriate for the Libraries’ needs could be compared. Findings showed a 4.72% cost savings with the approval plan, but 82% of the titles were received earlier through the standing orders. Of books received through the standing orders, 29% were not received through the approval plan, with more than half not matching departmental profiles. Return privileges with the approval plan meant unsuitable titles could be returned, a significant advantage not possible with the standing orders. As a result of the study, the libraries chose to cancel the standing orders and receive books selectively through a university press approval plan.     

Which worked better for Mississippi State: standing orders or an approval plan?

When Mississippi State University Libraries established a university press approval plan, the Collection Development Department was asked to decide whether to cancel existing standing orders with seven university presses or block these presses from the approval plan. Books were received through both avenues for eight months so that cost, timeliness of delivery, and receipt of titles most appropriate for the Libraries’ needs could be compared. Findings showed a 4.72% cost savings with the approval plan, but 82% of the titles were received earlier through the standing orders. Of books received through the standing orders, 29% were not received through the approval plan, with more than half not matching departmental profiles. Return privileges with the approval plan meant unsuitable titles could be returned, a significant advantage not possible with the standing orders. As a result of the study, the libraries chose to cancel the standing orders and receive books selectively through a university press approval plan.     

The Development and Management of a University Microforms Collection

Microforms emerged as a major means of acquiring library resources during the '60s, and libraries acquired a large number of titles in this format. The management of these materials was frequently neglected, however. Further growth in the '70s increased the need for their control. The development and growth of the University of Oklahoma Libraries Microforms Area is described, and reasons for managerial decisions are provided. Construction of a new building led library personnel to design a new Microforms Area with a user-friendly atmosphere. Factors contributing to the successful use of microforms and the need to continue to develop and maintain microform collections are discussed.     

The Use of Standard Selection Sources in Undergraduate Library Collection Development

The maximum use of "Books for College Libraries, Opening Day Collection," and "Choice" as book selection sources for undergraduate libraries was measured by a sampling method. A composite test sample of 600 titles was assembled from these sources and compared with the holdings of the USC, UCLA, and Stanford University undergraduate libraries. The low matching rates that were found suggest that undergraduate libraries acquire relatively few titles from these sources. Statistical treatment of the data showed the libraries to be slow in acquiring recent titles. The significance of this work lies not so much in what was learned about undergraduate libraries, but in what can be learned about the use and value of selection tools using the same approach with other types of collections. The present approach bears a resemblance to methods that have been used previously in collection evaluation, overlap studies, and the like.     

Myth and reality: Using the OCLC/AMIGOS collection analysis CD to measure collections against peer collections and against institutional priorities

Faculty and administrators are quick to measure their institution's library collections against Association of Research Libraries (ARL) statistics and/or the collections of other academic libraries. Both faculty and administrators often choose unrealistic peers for comparison. Such comparisons bring the unrealistic expectation that the library will build collections at the level of better funded libraries without receiving equivalent funding. This paper describes the use of the OCLC/AMIGOS Collection Analysis CD in documenting the gap between myth and reality and in providing information that will be useful in the development of a rational system for allocating resources. The paper compares the actual acquisitions of a third quartile ARL library (the State University of New York at Stony Brook) during a 10-year period (1980–1990) with those of a “mythical” peer group named by the University President (15 university libraries with ARL rankings considerably higher than that of Stony Brook) and a more realistic peer group (the 29 ARL libraries ranked directly above and below Stony Brook in the 1990–1991 indexed rankings). Stony Brook acquired only 68% of the titles acquired by the mythical peer group, but 90% of those acquired by the average “realistic” peer. A more detailed subject by subject comparison against the two peer lists provides information useful in dealing with deans, department heads, and faculty. A comparison by subject revealed a discrepancy between the Library's collecting patterns and the goals and priorities of the University. Third priority programs were being supported at a higher level than first and second priority programs.     

Overlap among College and University Library Collections

Analysis of twenty-six college and university libraries' monographic holdings in WorldCat shows that university libraries hold radically more rare titles and their collections are seven times larger than college libraries. Language and Literature (Library of Congress [LC] class P) accounts for 30% of university and 27% of college holdings. The number of books held declines and the number owned by only one library increases after the 2000 publication year. Since then, total library budgets have barely kept pace with inflation and book budgets have declined as a percentage of library expenditures. These changes align with current emphasis on priorities other than book collections.     

Why the “Big Deal” Continues to Persist

The advantages of bundling e-journals together into publisher collections include increased access to information for the subscribing institution's clients, purchasing cost-effectiveness, and streamlined workflows. Although cataloging a consortial e-journal collection has its advantages, there are also various pitfalls and the author outlines efforts by the CAUL (Council of Australian University Libraries) Consortium libraries to further streamline this process, working in conjunction with major publishers. Despite the advantages that publisher collections provide, pressures to unbundle existing packages continue to build, fueled by an ever-increasing selection of available electronic resources; decreases in, and competing demands on, library budgets; the impact of currency fluctuations; and poor usage for an alarmingly high proportion of collection titles. Consortial perspectives on bundling and unbundling titles are discussed, including options for managing the addition of new titles to the bundle and why customizing consortial collections currently does not work. Unbundling analyses carried out at Queensland University of Technology from 2006 to 2008, prior to the renewal of several major publisher collections, are presented as further case studies that illustrate why the “Big Deal” continues to persist.     

Evidence-Based Collection Management: A Discipline-Specific Usage Analysis of PsycBOOKS

This study examines usage patterns of psychology e-books and equivalent print titles held in Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries collections. The authors sought to determine how well PsycBOOKS, a specialized subject-based collection, serves users' needs. Results support evidence-based collection acquisition and management decisions of books in print and electronic formats. Major findings indicate that PsycBOOKS is a critical and cost-effective resource supporting the TAMU user community and that hybrid print and electronic collections should coexist to support a variety of user information needs.     

Article Delivery Services at Penn State and Partner Libraries in the Committee on Institutional Cooperation Consortium

To meet rising patron expectations and to promote library collections and services, libraries are contemplating or implementing article delivery services to same-campus patrons from journal articles held locally. This article describes The Pennsylvania State University Libraries’ electronic delivery of articles from in-house print collections. It also summarizes a survey of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation interlibrary loan directors about the article delivery services at their institutions.     

We Are All Teachers: A Collaborative Approach to Digital Collection Development

ABSTRACT

In libraries and archives, efforts to document underrepresented communities and diversify collections can be fraught with political tension. We explore an interdepartmental collaboration to create and preserve a digital collection documenting the Urban Native Relocation Program of the mid- to late-twentieth century in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Involving the Grand Valley State University Libraries, the Kutsche Office of Local History, and the university's Native American Advisory Board, the project serves as a model not just for collaborative collection development but also for community engagement and outreach. We find that process is as important as product in developing collaborative digital collections.     

Introduction

This article highlights the speakers and their topics presented at the MidSouth eResource Symposium held at Mississippi State University (MSU) Libraries on August 11, 2011. The Symposium was co-sponsored by EBSCO Information Services, North American Serials Interest Group's (NASIG) Continuing Education Committee, and MSU Libraries. Burdened with flat or decreasing budgets and the need for more digital collections driven by patron preferences, libraries continue to face many challenges. This year's Symposium presentations focused on the acquisition and management of e-resources, and provided attendees with knowledge of new and emerging technologies related to electronic resources and the digital environment.     

Nice vs. Necessary: Reference Collections in ARL Member Libraries

This study assesses the reference collection management practices and strategies used in the reference departments of academic members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Librarians who participate in the management of the humanities and social science reference collections within ARL member libraries responded to an online survey about collection development policies, acquisition processes, collection use, weeding, and marketing of their reference collections. The results of this survey suggest that a large percentage of academic ARL member libraries are weeding their collections regularly, measuring use of the print and electronic reference collection, and moving decidedly toward electronic reference materials.     

Springer电子图书使用统计数据分析——以上海大学图书馆为例

目前,许多高校图书馆的高质量外文电子期刊资源已基本购全,电子图书逐渐成为高校图书馆电子资源采访的重点。上海大学图书馆于2008年参加Springer电子图书集团采购,并对于当年全年使用统计数据从月使用量、学科主题、内容类型和版权年代4个方面进行深入分析,总结出上海大学用户使用规律,为外文图书的使用和采购工作提供可资借鉴的建议。     

E-Preferred Approval Plan at a Large Academic Library: Assessment and Collection Development Implications

Academic libraries acquiring e-books through approval plans and other acquisition methods might question whether their collections are properly balanced between e-books and print books since patron needs vary across subject areas. This study examines seven years of monograph purchases at Texas A&M University Libraries (TAMU) through the approval plan vendor. Acquisition and use data are analyzed across subject areas. Study results inform how to balance print and e-collections to effectively support academic programs. TAMU purchased 78% of the monographs in print despite adopting an e-preferred approval plan, though most subject areas had higher e-book use compared to print.     

Allocating Academic Library Budgets: Adapting Historical Data Models at One University Library

Many academic libraries have traditionally used complicated budget allocation models to inform funding for materials purchased in support of curriculum. When these formulas are applied, librarians usually temper the results with historical spending patterns. A small university library found that historical spending patterns can be used for budget allocation, yielding allocations similar to those derived from a complex formula. As part of the collection evaluation procedure described, the effectiveness of historical data allocations should be assessed annually by checking use of ordered materials. The effectiveness of allocations also can be supported by the use of proportional use statistics for departmental subject areas. The procedures and practices described in this article would be useful for university/college libraries of similar size to the Stetson University library, the library described in the article.     

Making the Common Uncommon?

Abstract

Many libraries have entered into cooperative or consor-tial agreements to reap the cost benefits of electronic purchases, to share a library system vendor, or to divide collection-building responsibilities. However, among such cooperating libraries the formal coordination of approval plan profiles has seldom been attempted. Many questions need to be answered before a group of libraries could enter into a cooperative approval plan. Would the political and administrative costs of designing and maintaining a cooperative profile be sufficiently offset by a broadened overall collection among cooperating libraries? To what degree do libraries acting independently achieve the same approval plan results that a formal coordination of profiles would generate?

The Triangle Research Libraries Network (Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is comprised of four geographically-close institutions that have been building cooperative collections for more than 50 years. Some of their agreements have been quite formal and others have been quite informal.

This study looks at the degree of approval plan overlap among TRLN libraries; at circulation data for these overlapping titles; and at lists of titles not acquired within the consortium. The results may inform the question of whether separate, uncoordinated approval plans already meet the need of the TRLN consortium, or if consortial approval plan cooperation might benefit the group.

An examination of monographs in four selected Library of Congress classes supplied to the TRLN libraries by Yankee Book Peddler over a six month period in 1997 provided data to examine issues surrounding a consortial approval plan. The degree of overlap among the four institutions was defined, and circulation statistics showed whether books acquired by multiple libraries had a high level of use. A list of YBP titles not acquired by any of the libraries during the same timeperiod wasalso analyzed, to examine whether formal cooperation might have usefully broadenedtheoverallcollection.     

Just-In-Time: A Case Study of Buying Instead of Borrowing at the University of North Texas Libraries, 2014–2017

There is a trend among academic libraries to increase collaboration between interlibrary loan and collection development to improve patron access to materials and build library collections. Instead of borrowing returnable materials, interlibrary loan may initiate purchases that will become part of the library's collection. This can mean anything from an organizational change combining interlibrary loan with the acquisitions unit or creating new workflows to facilitate purchasing. At the University of North Texas Libraries, the Interlibrary Loan office is a unit of the Access Services Department. Buying instead of borrowing for the ILL unit began with a Demand Driven Acquisitions (DDA) program and has expanded with the establishment of the University of North Texas Libraries' access-based collection development policy. Interlibrary Loan provides “Just-In-Time” (JIT) access to materials not available through regular interlibrary loan sources and adds relevant materials to the Libraries' collections.     

Collaborative Learning

Summary

The many concerns over the costs and benefits of higher education have created an often intense dialogue across university departmental borders. In response, many departments have moved to collaborative efforts to reinforce the necessity and usefulness of the Liberal Arts curriculum for students. Academic service departments, including archives, seek to have their resources more actively used by the student base. The authors collaborated on an assignment requiring student use of primary source materials held at the Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections. The dialogue this assignment created and the projects it produced was of benefit to all involved: instructors, faculty, and students.