Collection Development and Management Commons^™

The Odd Couple: Teaming Up To Reduce Textbook Costs For Students, Teresa C. Hazen, Niamh A. Wallace

Charleston Library Conference

Since 2012, The University of Arizona (UA) Libraries have partnered with the UA BookStores to identify and make available e-book versions of required course materials accessible through the campus course management system and the BookStores’ website. These e-books have multi- or unlimited use licenses and are available at no cost to students. In advance of each semester, these two stakeholder groups work in partnership to acquire, make discoverable, and promote this service to faculty and students in a variety of ways.

With the maturity of our partnership and of this service to faculty and students, the UA Libraries are investigating …

We’Re On A Roll: Transforming E-Book Acquisitions In A Shifting Budget Landscape, Sheldon D. Armstrong, Ellen E. George, Arielle R. Lomness, Sally J. Taylor

Charleston Library Conference

In response to the challenging budget landscape in 2015–2016, the University of British Columbia Library took a new approach to e-book acquisitions. The Associate University Librarian, Collections, established a working group with a mandate to develop and implement a strategy for library-wide e-book purchasing. Members of the group were drawn from both campuses and represented public and technical services and a broad spectrum of disciplines. In this presentation, we will briefly review the factors that led to the formation of the working group, then discuss the steps taken in the analysis, selection, and purchase of e-books. The committee’s two-pronged approach—the …

Ordering E-Books From A Print Book Vendor, Jennifer R. Culley, Cindy Human

Charleston Library Conference

The University of Southern Mississippi began ordering e-books through its primary print book vendor, Midwest Library Service, in 2016. The demand to purchase e-books has steadily increased, and when the opportunity arose to save valuable staff time searching over several vendor sites for e-books and print books by consolidating the search interface, a change was made. There were multiple steps to set up this program; however, the time invested was worth it. While there were challenges along the way, the program is up and running, and there have been many benefits in addition to the staff time savings.

Post-Acquisition Management And The Issue Of Inaccessibility, Beth Caruso

Charleston Library Conference

Though advocates are calling for publishers to develop born-accessible e-books to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) standards and the EPUB 3.0 measures now backed by the Society for Disability Studies, the realistic timespan for this achievement to become standard practice is far from ideal. To equitably serve users with disabilities, stronger technology and a mindset toward accessibility must become the standard in electronic collections. Librarians are expected to have a strong working knowledge of the library’s collections but receive little training in best practices for assisting patrons with disabilities. We cannot wait …

Nobody Knows And Nobody Is Responsible: Issues In E-Books Workflow And Access, Tina M. Adams, Paromita Biswas

Charleston Library Conference

Hunter Library at Western Carolina University is a midsized academic institution managing 10 large e-book packages and about 80,000 individual e-book titles. Managing e-books involves working with multiple vendors and staff from different areas of technical services. This paper examines issues in e-book workflows; in particular, we will share the results of a project to document our e-book workflows and utilize an existing technology, Microsoft SharePoint, to better manage this workflow and share information and communication among staff involved in this process. The idea for this project came with the almost simultaneous hiring of the electronic resources librarian and the …

Open Access, Open Access, How Does Your Catalog Grow? With Selection, Access, And Usage All In A Virtual Row!, David W. Schuster, Susan J. Martin

Charleston Library Conference

Much of the open access (OA) focus and discussion has been on journals (think Glossa), but the open access monograph has come fully into its own. University and scholarly publishers are providing high-quality books, often in areas that rely on long-form scholarship. However, open access monographs presented a challenge. How do they fit into the traditional models of selection, acquisition, cataloging, and tracking usage?

In the spring of 2016, Texas Woman’s University Libraries created a simple workflow to make open access monographs accessible through the libraries’ discovery layer using Google Sheets to track the workflow and EZproxy to track usage.

“We’Ll Do It Live”: Building Access To Video Content Based On Freedoms Of Use, Christine Fruin, Trey Shelton, Aimee Barrett, Allison Jai O'Dell

Charleston Library Conference

Film collections in academic libraries, including streaming video and DVDs, serve a variety of user populations and needs. Videos are used by faculty as part of instruction, by student clubs or other groups as part of public programming, and by individuals for personal study or entertainment. These various use situations are addressed by the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. sec. 101 et seq., and license agreements that accompany video purchases. To maximize use of video collections, and by extension, funds expended on video collections, libraries need to fully understand their rights under the law, track video licenses, and build access around …

Tower Of Babel: New Realities In Foreign Language Acquisitions, Michele Casalini

Charleston Library Conference

Outlined within this proceeding are the challenges facing libraries and other institutions when they wish to acquire foreign language publications. The niche role of specialized vendors and its evolution over time is highlighted. From providing approval plans to assisting with cataloging and the maintaining of online journal collections, the role of vendors in meeting the challenging needs of libraries is discussed. Looking to the future, new endeavors are considered as Casalini Libri strives to respond to and anticipate developing market needs.

Adding And Slashing Serials, Zebulin Evelhoch

Charleston Library Conference

During a time of stagnating budgets and rising journal costs, Central Washington University’s Brooks Library evaluated and added a popular print magazine collection and worked with faculty to eliminate redundant and low-use resources. The process of identifying the need, researching, evaluating, and gaining student input for popular magazines to be added to a recently opened coffee shop is addressed first. Secondly, the systematic approach the library used to identify journal titles received in multiple formats and low-use/high-cost resources then worked with faculty to change access models to realize a net savings is discussed. Throughout, insights are provided into the processes …

Rolling With The Wheels Of Commerce: The Challenges Of Business And Industry-Based Resources, Natasha Cooper, Peter Mccracken, Darby Orcutt, Ellen Rotenberg

Charleston Library Conference

Collections and liaison librarians receive requests for specialized resources that may require use of passwords or other mediated access, local hosting, or special software. Sometimes, although not always, these resources are used in a business or industry setting, and their subscription and licensing processes do not follow typical academic library acquisitions patterns. Librarians may also receive requests for raw data that is part of a subscribed resource. How do librarians respond to these user needs? How do vendors make decisions about which products to bring to the academic library market? The authors present views on these issues and options to …

Boom Or Bust: Short-Term Loans Five Years Later, Sherri Brown, Lea Currie, Andi Back

Charleston Library Conference

The University of Kansas (KU) Libraries began a demand-driven acquisition program for e-books in late 2011, which included short-term loans (STLs). At that time, STLs cost 5 to 10% of a book’s list price, with libraries paying no more than 130% when actually purchasing an e-book. The literature from the early years praises the new purchasing model as cost effective, often saving libraries thousands of dollars annually. However, in 2014, the cost of STLs began to increase, with a handful of publishers charging as high as 30 to 35% per loan. In FY14, the KU Libraries saw a sudden 122% …

Do We Approve? New Models For Assessing Approval Plans, Sarah Tudesco, Julie Linden, Daniel Dollar

Charleston Library Conference

Yale Library’s Collection Development Department and Assessment Librarian teamed up to build an approval plan assessment model that builds on traditional approaches to add new assessment tools and ask new questions, and particularly to consider approval plans not in their silo but in the broader ecosystem of monograph collection and use within Yale Library and in its primary resource-sharing network, Borrow Direct. This short paper describes key aspects of this project, which is a work in progress, as well as possible future directions for approval plan assessment.

Mapping Change: An Examination Of Curricular Shifts And Collection Impact, Michael A. Matos, Jenise R. Overmier

Charleston Library Conference

Whether adding a new course or ending a program, curricular changes represent a formal notification from the university to the library that it must support. At American University, all curriculum changes require, as part of the approval process, a library review. While these reviews are shared with collection managers, there has never been a systematic review of the effect the changes have had on purchasing and use. One of the most prohibitive factors in undertaking such as review is that curricular changes are often difficult to map to collections because they reflect interdisciplinary adjustments or courses that push the boundary …

A Tale Of Two Serials Cancellations, Mike Olson, David Killian, Debbie Bezanson, Robin Kinder

Charleston Library Conference

Beginning in 2016, both Western Washington University (WWU) and George Washington University (GWU) found that they needed to make significant and similar reductions in continuations costs over the next five years. In response, this past year, both institutions took independent, significant steps toward these ends, developing systematic, sustainable procedures for addressing these reductions. The approaches taken by the two institutions will be compared and contrasted in this presentation, particularly with respect to the following questions, which both libraries encountered:

• What defines a successful cancellation process in 2016?
• What are the most effective approaches to cancelling serials?
• When do cancellations do …

To Buy Or Not To Buy: Rolling Into The Future With Illiad, Alison E. Lampley

Charleston Library Conference

Librarians at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) have spent a lot of time over the past few years eliminating paper waste and encouraging the use of digital forms for many library services. One such service is the library’s suggest-a-purchase program. When the database that held our previous online form was dismantled, paper forms and e-mails starting coming in. Most of those e-mails were printed out by library staff. The previous acquisitions librarian retired soon after, leaving behind mountains of papers and no real idea for how to proceed. This paper presents how we solved this problem with ILLiad addons and …

Housing Diversity In Children’S Literature, Carla Earhart

Charleston Library Conference

Previous studies have examined diversity in children’s literature: Gender diversity, racial diversity, religious diversity, and diversity in family composition. This project examines an often overlooked diversity issue in children’s literature: Housing diversity. In the stories they read and the accompanying images, children need to see a variety of housing environments and need to see the settings and the people portrayed in a positive manner.

Renting an apartment is an increasingly popular housing option for many families. However, many children’s books glamorize living in a traditional house. Using a rubric designed by the course instructor, students in a university immersive learning …

Albatross: Rolling On A Sea Of Data, Annette Bailey, Tracy Gilmore, Leslie O'Brien, Anthony D. Wright De Hernandez

Charleston Library Conference

Big deals and journal package incentives are an increasing reality for academic libraries, yet the solutions for evaluating these package scenarios in a timely, cost-effective manner are few. The proliferation of these offers requires the examination of numerous and complex questions. There is a need to know the utilization and strength of a package, the inflation costs for various titles and packages, and the ability to identify cost trends. A team of librarians at Virginia Tech created a solution for addressing these concerns and for managing their journal data by designing and developing an in-house database. Albatross, named in reference …

Rolling The Dice And Playing With Numbers: Statistical Realities And Responses, Natasha Cooper, Kimberly Nolan, Mike Poulin, Nancy Turner

Charleston Library Conference

Librarians invest time gathering numbers about collections for various entities, such as accrediting groups and organizations, as well as their user communities. Gathering collections-related statistics regarding the numbers of things our libraries subscribe to or purchase, as well as the items our users use, often requires a significant investment in time. Definitions can be difficult to apply, and some questions do not seem to reflect our current reality or demonstrate value. The authors explore the challenges of annually gathering and recording collections related statistics and offer suggestions for improving the process.

Extreme Makeover: How We Decreased Our Collection By 40% And Simultaneously Increased It By 50% In 10 Months, Lydia A. Sampson, Amy Thurlow, Del Hornbuckle

Charleston Library Conference

The Brennan Library at Lasell College had not conducted a systematic weeding in over 20 years. With space in demand and an increase in online courses, desperate times called for drastic measures. Over a 10-month period, the library withdrew 40% of its tangible collections. Simultaneously, the staff’s focus shifted to promoting e-resources and adopting the EBSCO EDS discovery layer. Using a weighted collection development allocation formula, the librarians overhauled the materials budget and designed a departmental liaison program. After calculating the holdings of new e-book and streaming video packages, the library’s collection increased by 50% despite the massive deaccessioning. This …

Apples To Oranges: Comparing Streaming Video Platforms, Steven Milewski, Monique Threatt

Charleston Library Conference

Librarians rely on an ever-increasing variety of platforms to deliver streaming video content to our patrons. These two presentations will examine different aspects of video streaming platforms to gain guidance from the comparison of platforms. The first will examine the accessibility compliance of the various video streaming platforms for users with disabilities by examining accessibility features of the platforms. The second will be a comparison of subject usage of two of the larger video streaming platform providers (Alexander Street Press and Kanopy) done at Indiana University Bloomington, a large public university.

Valuing Consortial Resources: A Framework For Assessment, Genya O'Gara, Madeline Kelly, Julie Kane, Anne Osterman, Cheryl Duncan, Crystal Newell, Beth Blanton-Kent, Summer Durrant

Charleston Library Conference

Grounded assessment begins with establishing the goals of an institution and its users, but there is an added layer of complexity in determining value at the consortial level, where individual institutions will naturally perceive the value of a particular resource differently. The shared resources of a consortium are also often diverse in both format and acquisition method. How should the relative value between e-books and streaming media be compared? Between leased and demand-driven acquisitions? Between open access and collaboratively owned models?

Rolling Out A Database Review: Initiating A Comprehensive Database Review At The University Of Maryland Libraries, Leigh Ann Depope, Margaret Z. Saponaro

Charleston Library Conference

The University of Maryland Libraries (UMD) has experienced a static collection budget for over 14 years. Despite the best efforts of the Collection Development and Acquisitions departments to mitigate the continuing effect of serials inflation, it became evident in the summer of 2015 that budgetary expenses would have to be curtailed in order to meet increasing serials costs. In the fall of 2015, the libraries initiated the first-ever comprehensive database review across all subject areas. The review involved subject specialists as well as acquisitions and collection development personnel. This paper describes the process undertaken to develop the review process, who …

An Infographic Is Worth A Thousand Words: Using Data Visualization To Engage Faculty In Collection Strategies, Beth D. Bohstedt

Charleston Library Conference

Like the rest of us, faculty are less likely to read a table of data than to engage with a pictorial representation of the same information. Using words and visuals together has been proven to increase understanding and interest. This paper will describe recent efforts at Hamilton College to engage our stakeholders, especially faculty, in the assessment, analysis, and development of our library collections. Using graphs, charts, and other visual representations, we effectively presented our current state, acquisitions history, trends in checkouts and electronic hits, and budget allocation. Included here is a summary of the types of data chosen to …

Time To Take New Measures: Developing A Cost-Per-Cited-Reference Metric For The Assessment Of E-Journal Collections, Megan G. Kilb, Virginia B. Martin, Tessa L. Minchew

Charleston Library Conference

The current primary quantitative measure of e-journal subscription return-on-investment (ROI) is cost-per-use (CPU). While CPU is widely used, it also widely criticized and should not be relied on to the exclusion of other factors when assessing ROI. Because CPU is an imperfect measure, the authors developed a new, complementary metric for evaluating e-journal subscription ROI: Cost-per-cited reference (CPCR). CPCR assigns a dollar value to each citation of a particular journal by authors affiliated with the subscribing institution during a specified time period. By focusing on the content that researchers cite in their scholarly output, a CPCR metric assists in measuring …

Efficient Deselection And Other Stories: A Fellowship At Unc Charlotte, Stephen G. Krueger

Charleston Library Conference

This paper will describe the collection development project done by a summer fellow at the J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The project took place over the summer of 2016. The fellow worked with the health sciences librarian and the collection development librarian to assess the health sciences resources held by the library. Elements included compiling acquisition recommendations, surveying faculty and other health sciences librarians, drafting a collection development policy, and recommending titles for deselection. The deselection section also served as a pilot for a larger library-wide project.

Stretching Your Dollars: Saving On Online Content, Linda Creibaum, Jeff Bailey

Charleston Library Conference

This session, led by two librarians with decades of combined acquisitions experience, was based on the premise that although quality databases can be expensive and only the most fortunate of libraries have unlimited or even plentiful financial resources, there are ways to save funds on these resources. The presenters shared their knowledge about ways to stretch finite library acquisitions funds.

Linda Creibaum and Jeff Bailey emphasized tools and strategies attendees could use to save valuable funds on databases and subscriptions. Discussion topics included consortial and volume discounts, the advantages of taking a trial, the importance of keeping notes and checking …

Where Is The Library Budget Going? Using Ils Fund Codes And Reports For Fiscal Accountability, Debbi Smith

Charleston Library Conference

Our collections continue to migrate to an online environment, but often administrators outside the library are tied to fiscal concepts that do not reflect new formats and modes of access. Administrators look at electronic resource expenditures and don’t always understand that they are not just for databases but also for e-journals and e-books that can be subscribed to or owned. Fund code structures that are built into instrument landing systems (ILS) such as Innovative’s Sierra can be used to demonstrate how material budgets are expended by format and function, which can then be tied into more formal assessment and analysis …

Budgeting In An Academic Library: A Lively Lunch Discussion, Karin Wikoff

Charleston Library Conference

Are you always seeking to improve budgeting in your academic library? Are you fascinated by the challenge of predicting costs for subscriptions? I went on an "Academic Library Budgeting Roadshow," and had discussions with peers at seven other institutions. In this session, I will present a summary of my findings, then pose the same questions to the group. We'll discuss everything from the budget process and timeline, to allocating funds, to predicting subscription costs, to what you do if you go over or under budget, to flexibility, to deposit accounts, to Zero-Based Budgeting, to the biggest challenges we each face. …

Looking Forward To Look Back: Digital Preservation Planning, Jennifer Brancato, Kayla Harris

Marian Library Faculty Presentations

Digital information resources are a vitally important and increasingly large component of academic libraries’ collection and preservation responsibilities. This includes content converted to and originating from digital form (born-digital). Preserving digital material, such as social media and websites, is essential for ensuring that future generations know everyone’s story, especially those groups which have been historically underrepresented in official records. This presentation will detail the steps undertaken by a digital preservation task force to first assess the weaknesses in current practice, and then develop a plan to implement a digital preservation policy and workflow. As part of the project, the task …

Aspects Of Author Queries And The Role Of Library Resources In Manuscript Crafting, Philip Chike Aghadiuno

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Manuscripts sent to editors are often in different states of crafting or drafting. It is the task of the editor to help the author by polishing the manuscripts to the acceptable standard. Editors may seek clarifications from the authors about the missing links in the drafts. They may ask for references of strong claims, improvement of the draft, refinement of the argument, adjustment in tone, chapter re-organisation, fixing grammar points, among others. Editors raise these flags in the editorial process through author queries. The nature of queries written by the editor for the author differs from the ones written by …