Collection Mapping as an Evaluation Technique for Determining Curriculum and Collection Relationship: The University of Botswana Experience

Lumande, E. & Ojedokun, A. (2005). Collection mapping as an evaluation technique for

            determining curriculum and collection relationship: The University of Botswana

            experience. African Journal of Library, Archives & Information Science, 15(1),

            25-33.

Collection mapping is a form of collection evaluation. It is both qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative analysis helps clarify aspects such as ILL and in-house circulation, while quantitative analysis helps make visible aspects like rate of growth and size of the collection in comparison to the user population. The collection can be analyzed in academic libraries by looking at the courses being taught and by dividing the collection into smaller sections to be considered. The purpose of collection mapping is to assess the quality, quantity and condition of the collection. The collection can be evaluated based on the courses offered. This is often more useful than asking the faculty for their suggestions, as the books added to the collection via faculty generally do not see much use. Librarians involved in collection development are the individuals tasked with responsibility over creating benchmarks for material currency. A frequency of searches resulting in irrelevant hits tends to be an indicator of a collection that does not match patron needs exactly.