Wednesday, November 4, 2015

How to Evaluate Library Collections: A Case Study of Collection Mapping

Hyodynmaa, M., Kannisto, A., & Nurminen, H. (2010). How to evaluate library collections: a case study of collection mapping. Collection Building 29(2), 43-49. doi: 10.1108/01604951011040125

The authors discuss many issues we have been addressing in class. They give a quick over view of the significance of collection mapping. This is a practice that makes the collection visible to the public in ways that patrons cannot perceive independently. In addition to recording the history of a collection, this practice can help assess the relevance of items based on circulation and browse histories. Just as we have been instructed to do, the authors suggest mapping only select parts of an entire collection. Shelf scanning is one method discussed. This means exactly what it sounds like. A librarian scans the shelves to assess what is in the collection, its currency and relevance. However, this is a subjective method and requires an experienced librarian.

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