Collection directions: Some reflections on the future of library collections and collecting.

Summary:  Written for academic and research libraries, this article delves into changing access patterns.  The authors note how access and collections are being “decoupled” away from purchasing and local storage and towards a more general facilitated access.   They say that this trend “moves the library towards a set of services around creation, curation, and consumption of resources that are less anchored in a locally managed collection, and more driven by engagement with research and learning behaviors.” (p. 10)    The authors go on to say that “The network [presumably the World Wide Web or the internet, and not a university LAN] is reconfiguring how libraries organize their systems and collections, and how faculty and students organize their research and learning workflows.” (p. 13)   They have included a wonderful collections grid (see above) (p. 16): 

 Evaluation:  This article was well-written and au courant.   As we move away from localized, standalone storage in any arena, shared access and collaboration becomes more natural and expected.  Demand-driven licensing models and “rightscaling” investments in print appear to be the future.

Dempsey, L., Malpas, C., & Lavoie, B. (2014, July). Collection directions: Some reflections on the future of library collections and collecting. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 14(3), 1-42. doi:10.1353/pla.2014.0013

Jhana Morlan
INFO 266 / Spring 2016