Hibner / Kelly Making a Collection Count

A Holistic Approach to Library Collection Management
1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-1-78063-039-7
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 190 Seiten

Reihe: Chandos Information Professional Series

Making a Collection Count connects the various pieces of library collection management, such as selection, cataloguing, shelving, circulation and weeding, and teaches readers how to gather and analyze data from each point in a collection's life cycle. Relationships between collections and other library services, such as reference, programming, and technology, are also explored. The result is a quality collection that is clean, current, relevant, and useful, and which connects and highlights various library services. - Offers practical applications for collection librarians and managers who are practitioners in the field. It is more than just a theoretical discussion of collection quality and collection management because useful, realistic advice is offered - This is not a book about collection development. It is unique in that the focus is on collection quality: making the most of a library collection budget, performing physical inventory, and gathering/using data and statistics about collections - Broad, international appeal to various library types: public, academic, school, and special

Holly Hibner received an MLIS from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan in 1999. She is the Adult Services Coordinator at the Plymouth District Library in Plymouth, Michigan.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hibner, Holly

Kelly, Mary

Leseproben

1

Life cycle of a collection

Each stage of the life cycle of a library collection has quality implications. This chapter focuses on collection management policies, staff collaboration, and the stages of a collection’s life cycle: selection, acquisitions, processing, shelving, use, check-in, and weeding.

Figure 1.1 Life cycle of a collection

Collection management policies

Having a good collection management policy is the foundation of a quality collection. All collection decisions are driven by this policy. We’ve emphasized the word ‘management,’ rather than calling it a ‘collection development policy’ or a ‘materials selection policy’ so that the entire life cycle of a collection is represented in the policy. Developing a collection is a small part of the life cycle because it focuses on selection. A good collection management policy helps staff make decisions that affect selection, purchasing, processing, use, maintenance, and weeding. The American Library Association calls them ‘collection policy statements’ and defines them as statements which ‘serve as public planning, allocation, informational, administrative, and training documents. They further the systematic, rational, appropriate, and timely selection, de-selection, and preservation of materials’ (Anderson, 1996: 1). This is a nice, broad phrase that represents all aspects of collection management, and works well with our holistic view of collection management too.

In order to be truly useful, a collection management policy needs to be updated annually. Formats change, and even the library’s collection philosophy or mission can change from year to year. For example, in light of the current economic crisis in the U.S., public libraries may need to focus their collection goals on career or personal finance information. Any global situation, such as a war, can impact the way a collection is managed in any given year. Perhaps donations will be more aggressively sought or accepted to lessen the impact of a lowered collection budget. Perhaps more money is necessary for a particular subject area or format. Each year, the library’s collection management policy should be re-examined. New goals and objectives should be written. Rose Anjejo points out, in an article titled ‘Collection Development Policies for Small Libraries,’ that once a library completes the basic work and writes a policy, updating it is not a ‘monumental problem’ (2006: 13). Only the specifics for the upcoming year need to be addressed. This is true in any size or type of library.

A literature review reveals some disagreement between libraries about whether individual collections and formats should be addressed separately in collection management policies. One study described a 2004 survey where ‘fewer than half of the respondents indicated that their institution has a collection development policy specifically for the audiovisual collection’ (Bergman and Laskowski, 2004: 91). On the other side, Anjejo advocates for the use of a collection development policy ‘particularly with regard to electronic resources’ (Anjejo, 2006: 13). Of course, procedures specific to a library, as well as organization of a collection management team, will determine what is included in a library’s policy. For example, if a library separates non-fiction DVDs from feature films in terms of budget, selectors, or shelving, these are considerations for writing a collection management policy for each collection. Other examples of divisions in collections and formats could be reference and non-fiction, ‘popular’ audio books and language instruction audios, test preparation materials and general non-fiction, or career materials and general non-fiction. When libraries decide to separate these otherwise similar materials, they have already decided that they are unique to their library and their users in some way. The collection management policy should point out the reasons why they have been separated, what makes them different in terms of selection, purchasing, processing, use, and maintenance, and what the criteria will be for weeding them.

See Appendix A: Public library collection management policy.

Selection: staff collaboration

There are many aspects of selecting a library collection that have implications for a quality collection. Libraries of all types often have specific selectors for specific collections. One person makes the final purchasing decisions. This gives selectors a sense of ownership of a collection and encourages deep understanding of and familiarity with their assigned areas. It is important to put a person in charge of each collection, who can oversee its management and make executive decisions. A quality collection is one that is kept a close eye on, worked with, and understood.

That said, there are benefits to staff collaboration in selecting a collection that improve its quality even more than having a charge person. When there is only one person making decisions for a collection, it can become stagnant; a reflection of one person’s philosophy, interest, and opinion. By assigning collaborators, a wider viewpoint is reflected in the collection. Perhaps a collection leader can make final selection decisions, but that person has the help of collaborators. Even those not assigned to the collaboration group can make suggestions for any collection, further broadening the perspective of those interested in – and those using – the materials. Consider an academic library where a selector gains input from faculty who are specialists in the field, students who are using the materials, and fellow library staff who may have a background in the subject area. These three points of view would result in a cutting-edge, varied perspective toward the selection of the collection. An example of this is the University of Botswana Library. Their collection team is ‘a coordinated effort between subject librarians and the Faculties. Users are also invited to suggest titles to be ordered’ (Fombad and Mutula, 2003: 69). In a public library, a collection management team can share review sources, passing review journals around the office and through departments. Since everyone has access to the same reviews, they can all comment on the same titles, formats, and subjects. Everyone has a stake in the final collection in a public library, where staff members are more likely to share reference responsibilities. A public library with a popular materials collection may have a team of reference staff who help the general public use all library materials in all subject areas and across formats. They all need to be aware of what is in the collection. Having the ability to suggest additions to the collection in areas where they have found holes is helpful to everyone who uses it. In fact, allowing library users in any kind of library to make suggestions to selectors can only help to round out the collection.

Not only does collaboration help library users and staff become aware of the collections managed by others, but it also helps selectors of different formats avoid duplication – or duplicate where most appropriate. In difficult economic times, redundancy is a burden on library budgets. Selectors can help each other by choosing which formats they need, and rely on each other to fill in gaps that individual budgets cannot fill. In a public library, selectors may choose to purchase a particular title in large print, regular print, and audio format, but not add it to their download collection. In an academic library, the choice may be made to purchase a serial in electronic format but not print.

Knowing what is being selected across departments helps library staff market collections, too. A public library may have collections specifically for children, teens, adults, and seniors, but those collections may include titles of interest across the spectrum. Public libraries chart their success partially by circulation statistics, so whenever staff cross-market collections they help the library as a whole. This holistic library service makes library users aware of other parts of the library that they might not have used otherwise. In an academic library, there are similar implications for cross-curricular marketing. Items selected by the staff member in charge of one discipline may be of use to library users in another subject area. Collaborating on selection of materials for various fields of study in a college library saves the selectors time and money, but also educates them – and their users – on how various subject areas are related.

Selection is not the only area where staff collaboration is effective. Staff at every stage of a collection life cycle should also work together. Those in technical services who catalog and process materials can be very helpful when selectors are considering a new format. Will the new items require special packaging, which is a budget consideration that impacts a different department? Will they need more original cataloging or record development because the records do not already exist? Technology staff can help with electronic formats, such as the linking of records from the library’s online catalog to an outside database. Shelvers have yet another perspective. They can see where space is available. Perhaps a public library has a parenting collection that would fit better in the youth...