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21 – 30 of over 155000Olivia Marie Hedlund and Andrea Copeland
The purpose of this paper is to determine whether collection management practices that evolved as a result of recent budgetary constraints are included in the LIS curriculum or…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine whether collection management practices that evolved as a result of recent budgetary constraints are included in the LIS curriculum or not.
Design/methodology/approach
Ten collection management trends related to budgetary constraints were identified through a review of the literature. Then, collection management educators at ALISE member institutions were identified and surveyed regarding the inclusion of the aforementioned trends in their curricula. Survey results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis.
Findings
Four trends (collaborative collection development, just-in-time acquisitions, patron-driven-acquisitions, and participation in consortia) were mentioned in nearly all curricula; six others were covered with varying frequency. Professional standards are also found to include limited information on collection management. Additionally, a review of two popular collection development texts revealed that very few of the trends were covered in a budgetary context.
Originality/value
This study examines collection management education in a novel way and highlights the disconnect between professional practice, professional standards, and education. The paper also adds the domain of collection development to the discussion of how or why LIS courses are influenced by practice.
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Keywords
Ann W. Hallyburton, Heidi E. Buchanan and Timothy V. Carstens
This paper seeks to provide support and direction for academic libraries collecting popular materials.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to provide support and direction for academic libraries collecting popular materials.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper offers a case study format supplemented by statistical and descriptive analyses.
Findings
The paper presents literature and case history‐based information on the debate surrounding popular materials collection in academic libraries. The case study provides concrete, cost‐effective steps for academic libraries to use in building popular materials collections.
Practical implications
The authors make the case for support of popular materials collections through detailed evaluation of circulation records.
Originality/value
This paper offers a level of statistical analysis of circulation records unique to the library literature on popular materials collection. It also provides a distinctive case history of the evolution of a successful collection and includes easily adaptable steps.
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The purpose of this paper is to synthesize different research projects and approaches to managing the “hidden collections” problem.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to synthesize different research projects and approaches to managing the “hidden collections” problem.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes current research and practices.
Findings
Hidden collections are a problem for both libraries and archives. “Hidden collections” are materials that cannot be found in the online catalog or may be found there only under a collective title or un‐ or under‐processed primary sources. These materials transcend all formats of library and archival materials (print, microform, video, etc.) and can be found throughout the library in a variety of collections from government documents to area studies to music to the reference department. It is in the area of archival and special collections, however, that this problem has received the most attention and where the greatest challenges and opportunities for exposing these collections exist.
Practical implications
Many archives have backlogs and “hidden collections”. This article discusses some recent efforts to identify and expose these collections to enable better archival control and researcher access that may be applied in other settings.
Originality/value
This article identifies and highlights different approaches and potential solutions to the problem of hidden collections.
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Bárbara Susana Sánchez Vignau and Ileana Lourdes Presno Quesada
This paper discusses the topic of Collection Development in a digital environment. Developing digital collections is a logical consequence of inserting information technologies in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper discusses the topic of Collection Development in a digital environment. Developing digital collections is a logical consequence of inserting information technologies in organizations. The usual route towards other models of libraries has allowed the development of the digital collections as a source of Digital Libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on the development of a user‐oriented concept of digital collections.
Findings
The current information society requires Collection Development to guarantee suitable resources in information organizations.
Originality/value
The authors provide a new way of looking at the development of digital collections. In this paper the authors propose a cycle to create a digital collection starting from the established precepts for traditional Collection Development. The creation process is supplemented with an analysis of the term Collection Development starting from the user's focus.
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The purpose of this paper is to ensure the provision of effective library support to the scholarly community in areas of collection development and management. Last year, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to ensure the provision of effective library support to the scholarly community in areas of collection development and management. Last year, the author’s library made the first attempt to conduct a collection evaluation on a multidisciplinary subject – social work.
Design/methodology/approach
In view of extensive subject coverage of a cross-disciplinary subject and the library’s constraints, a cost-effective and manageable strategy using internal resources was used. The focus of the study was to concentrate on core subject areas of social work. By making use of circulation statistics of those areas, adequacy, strengths and weaknesses of the collection would be identified.
Findings
A positive adequacy of the social work collection was evidenced from a high usage of the collection. An in-depth study on the two major active sections, DDC 361 (social problems and services) and DDC 362 (social work for different groups of people), was also undertaken. Specific subject areas for improvement were identified.
Originality/value
Through conducting the project, it not only directly served the main purpose of enhancing the quality of the collection in alliance with the development of academic departments, but also expanded our subject knowledge. It is hoped that our experience can offer tips and stimulant for other libraries contemplating collection analysis on a multidisciplinary subject under restricted resources.
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Aims to compare and contrast different collection policies and shows a practical application of web‐based documentation.
Abstract
Purpose
Aims to compare and contrast different collection policies and shows a practical application of web‐based documentation.
Design/methodology/approach
The article is a case study and general review that discusses how significant numbers of libraries today are posting collection policies on the web, how these policies may differ in form and practice from those of the past, and how the Howard‐Tilton Memorial Library at Tulane University developed and applied one such policy of its own. It also discusses examples of relevant literature and other collection policy web sites.
Findings
Its implications point to the value of developing sets of narrative collection policy statements focusing on specific academic disciplines and of beginning the policy‐making process with an assessment of the academic profile of the university that the library supports.
Originality/value
General discussion of collection policies has been absent from the literature for some time and the article should be valuable to those libraries without collection policies or those with older printed policies languishing in file cabinets.
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Imagine, if you will, that the year 2010 has arrived, and that many of the wonderful things that librarians worked so hard for in the last half of the twentieth century have come…
Abstract
Imagine, if you will, that the year 2010 has arrived, and that many of the wonderful things that librarians worked so hard for in the last half of the twentieth century have come to pass. Libraries of all types, large and small, are linked through a network of automated systems, providing total bibliographic access to the holdings of every library. Better still, patrons now receive items in hours or days through a combination of telefacsimile and ultrafast delivery. To the users, each library has become a gateway to all resources held by all libraries, and library information services are “location transparent,” that is, the patron has little awareness of where a piece of information may in fact have come from—it may be from a library across the street or from one across the country.
The literature on collection development largely discusses all kinds of managerial and practical issues. However, there appear to be gaps in LIS literature regarding tracing the…
Abstract
Purpose
The literature on collection development largely discusses all kinds of managerial and practical issues. However, there appear to be gaps in LIS literature regarding tracing the semantic developments of the subject. The paper attempts to explore the relationship between the use of varying collection‐related terminologies and ever‐emerging forms of scholarly publishing in libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive review of the available literature was made to illustrate the impact of the developments in both production and formats of information sources on libraries' collection related patterns and expressions since the last quarter of the twentieth century.
Findings
It was found that the related emerging terminology has been expanding rapidly because of the direct impact of the never‐ending developments, though with different pace in different countries. The varying use pattern reflects the expansion in the aims and ways of functioning of a modern library.
Originality/value
The paper falls in the category of “literature review” and provides an overview of the connection between developments in theory and practice of collection managing aspects.
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Conspectus can mean, in some instances, either a survey, overview, or outline of the subjects in a collection. However, conspectus is also a method—the method of using the outline…
Abstract
Conspectus can mean, in some instances, either a survey, overview, or outline of the subjects in a collection. However, conspectus is also a method—the method of using the outline as the structure for systematic assessment of a library collection. Libraries use both the outline and the method to describe their collections and collection goals, using common definitions.
This paper aims to provide an assessment of an ebook collection in an academic library, and attempts to locate usage trends by subject and publisher.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide an assessment of an ebook collection in an academic library, and attempts to locate usage trends by subject and publisher.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was based on: three years of usage data from two e‐book packages: NetLibrary and Ebrary; two methods of purchase: NetLibrary was a one‐time purchase; Ebrary is purchased on a subscription basis. The research evaluated usage difference over time between the two packages and analyzed subject and publisher usage.
Findings
The research found that Ebrary showed increased usage over time; NetLibrary demonstrated decreased usage; subject analysis showed ebooks in health sciences and hotel had highest usage; publisher analysis results illustrated the fact that five publishers had highest usage in both ebook collections.
Research limitations/implications
For circulation rate of each ebook package, two years of data were not available for Ebrary, resulting in incomplete comparison over three‐year period between the two packages.
Practical implications
The paper assists in identifying usage patterns of ebooks across publishers and subjects; compares two different business models of obtaining ebooks; and helps with effective selection of ebooks to support teaching and learning.
Originality/value
Usage data over three years provided evidence to help libraries select a business model for acquiring ebooks; the research provides assessment of ebook collections to identify trends across publishers and subjects.
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