Unusual Acquisitions

Journalist, Joshua Bender shares some intriguing acquisition news in his article, "MSU receives donation, now has largest digital library collection in U.S. While this article is short, and fails to confirm who verified this collection to be the largest, the story is inspiring regardless. Michigan State University received an acquisition in the form of a gift. In the spirit of my Presentation 5 project (acquisitions), I thought an acquisition story of interest is a good addition to our Blog Collection. The Rovi Corporation donated digital media in such volume, Bender reports the transport of the material had a price tag around $46,000.00 and took fourteen moving vans. CD"s and DVD's are included in this gift, but one media type holds more interest than the other two combined: electronic games. 

With so many games to check into the system, MSU librarians don't anticipate release one hundred percent of the titles to the public anytime soon. The inspiration from such a gift is how the library is going to adjust to support such a specialized collection. The article mentions the design of spaces for electronic gaming, noting the benefit these activities can play over holiday breaks from school. 

If you would like to read more about Bender's article, please visit:

 

 http://statenews.com/article/2015/10/library-collection

MSU receives donation, now has largest digital library collection in U.S.

 By Joshua Bender

October 21, 2015 11:10 am

 http://statenews.com/article/2015/10/library-collection

Preserving Cultural Heritage: Considerations for Librarians & Information Professionals

Unger, Amy

Roy, L. l. (2015). Indigenous cultural heritage preservation. IFLA Journal, 41(3), 192-203.

Summary:

Author, Loriene Roy, is herself a member of the White Earth Reservation, a member of the Minnesota (USA) Chipewa Tribe; she is Anishinabe.  Her experience as an Indigenous person contributes to her literature review of  Indigenous cultural heritage preservation, as does her position as faculty at the University of Texas at Austin, USA.  Her review provides summary of the current literature (found to be "still rather sparse and underdeveloped"), albeit still emerging in the field of Library & Information Science, regarding preservation of cultural heritage, as well as statements of the library professional's place in such work; how to attain guidance (such as from IFLA, the International Federation of Library Associations); policy documents that are adhered to; and research methodologies/theory.  
Regarding collection development, libraries (as information settings) are recognized as connected to the preservation of cultural heritage from several vantage points:

1. They collect (and house) cultural heritage in its many formats, e.g. print, media, and digital.
2. They create and organize records of cultural heritage, i.e. through the processes of cataloging and classification.
3. They assist and shape a user's understanding of a cultural heritage by providing access to records through specific policies, e.g. employing digitization).
4. They provide location for cultural heritage to be expressed.

Perhaps most interesting is the recognition, noted through review of "Access and control of Indigenous knowledge in libraries and archives: Ownership and future use" (Anderson, 2005) in Correcting Course: Rebalancing copyright for libraries in the national and international arena, out of Columbia University, in light of the paradigm shift occurring in libraries: power is being gained by the people as their voices become heard through the library.  What will this mean for people whom have traditionally been subjected to archives, as they now/soon become able to "gain a recognized voice and question not only status within the archive, but the authority of the archive as a centre of interpretation" (Roy, 2015:193).

It is recommended that an adoption of non-western research methodologies is likely necessary for future successes in preserving cultural heritage; there is a concept of the Cultural Interface - written about by M. Nakata (2002) in IFLA Journal 28(5/6): 281-289 - which is constantly negotiated by Indigenous peoples: the place where their Indigenous lifeways and western viewpoints come together" (Roy, 2015: 197).  And yet, barriers that lie in the means for access to digitization/money/reliable and affordable technologies are as much of concern as the development of sensitivities regarding this work.

The author points to several free online resources that primarily highlight children's and youth collection pieces (this also leads to understanding of the absence in publications of the needs of adult library patrons, and is part of the impetus that led to the US campaign, "We Need Diverse Books" in 2015).  Among the resources are two through the ALA (American Library Association) website, i.e. the TRAILS (2008) notebook, and the Guide to Building Support for Your Tribal Library Toolkit.  One of IFLA's key publications on cultural heritage, the IFLA Disaster Preparedness and Planning manual, is also available for free online.

Roy concludes the literature review with recommendations for further work in preparing librarians to, essentially, be more culturally competent, and prepared - through acquiring knowledge of the specific techniques and processes involved in cultural heritage - for when the Indigenous communities reach out to libraries, archives, and museums "as settings with staff knowledgeable in cultural preservation" (Roy, 2015: 199).

Evaluation:

In addition to my affinity for library experiences of my past, I also look to the future through this reading.  Experiences of my past include visits to exhibits such as that of the State Indian Museum in Sacramento, CA and the Yosemite Museum, which:

has displays that interpret the cultural history of Yosemite's native Miwok and Paiute people from 1850 to the present. Demonstrations of basket-weaving, beadwork, and traditional games are presented. The reconstructed Indian Village of Ahwahnee behind the museum is always open. The art gallery is open periodically and often exhibits pieces from the Yosemite Museum collection.

It is my humble opinion that through explorations such as this, about the care-taking of cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples, I may become a better librarian in service of any, and all, people in the local community that I may serve.  Nonetheless, it is fun, too, to imagine myself as still possibly able to connect with such valuable work as archiving and curating in the second half of my career.  I find it inspiring any time that I see such works going on in public, K-12, special, or academic libraries.  I look forward to this including more of a community's local peoples, and not just authors of published books.

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.

Beyond Mark and Park: Classification Mapping as a Collection Development Tool for Psychiatry and Psychology

Hiebert discusses the use of a collection mapping tool that she created for eliminating overlap of items between medical and psychological collections in university libraries. This tool is useful in a number of different ways. Primarily, it helps assess the amount of overlap, plan for collection development that supports interdisciplinary nature of different libraries on one campus, and combines classification and subject heading. The combination of classification and subject heading is especially useful for facilitating more relevant results when searching the catalog.

            Though this tool is useful for so many different collection development related purposes, it does have some downfalls. The tool is meant very specifically for medical and psychological libraries, so it is relevant to a very select few librarians. However, it does present a model for librarians in different subject areas to follow and potentially create a parallel tool for their subject areas.   

Children's Services Today, J. Larson, Chapter 3: The Children's Collection

Tatarakis, Kelly

Larson, J. (2015). Chapter 03. The children's collection. In Children's services today: A practical guide for librarians [EBL Reader version]. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.sjsu.eblib.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=1983586

Summary: 

           This chapter deals with development of the children's collection, particularly for public libraries. It covers selection, diversity in materials and subjects, supporting intellectual freedom, and how to promote reading and using the library among children. Suggestions for how to evaluate and select materials in all formats are given, including audiovisual and digital materials. Formats specific to the children's collection - board books, picture books, etc. - are considered separately as the author outlines evaluation methods and gives tips for developing selection criteria. Emphasis is put on understanding your library's collection development policy, and in making a needs assessment of the community and target users before planning acquisitions. A portion of the chapter reviews selection tools including review sources, catalogs, and websites. The different Awards for children's literature are summarized as an additional consideration in the selection process. The chapter also discusses how collection development can be affected by representations of diversity, and the impact that the concept of intellectual freedom has on acquisition policy.

Evaluation:

            This book is a great help to public librarians working in the children's department, and this chapter in particular is highly useful to acquisitions librarians focused on children's materials. I found it a helpful guide in planning selection criteria and procedure for a children's collection.

Mass Observation: Birth of the Focus Group

Justin Choi

Reference:

Moran, J. (2008). Mass-Observation, Market Research, and the Birth of the Focus Group, 1937-1997. Journal Of British Studies, 47(4), 827-851

I came across this article for another SLIS class and thought it might be appropriate to consider collections development from the patron side. This article discusses some of the history of the focus group method of research. If we want to know what patrons are thinking, we are tempted to send out random surveys or worse, grab several patrons and ask them individually what they want the library wants. But if you want targeted, guided discussion and come up with a consensus so you can figure out which books in which format to buy or not, focus groups is a good arrow in your quiver.

Because this article is more historical than practical, it's a good place to start to think about focus groups.

Diversity on My Mind

Lederer, Haylee

Johnson, A. (2015). Diversity on My Mind. American Libraries, 46(3/4), 82.

Summary: This article really stresses the importance of diversity in a library's collection. And more specifically, in a children's library collection. Children's librarians have a lot of power over what information and resources are available to their patrons, and Johnson argues that diversity should be a top priority. She advocates for setting goals when it comes to creating and maintain a diverse collection, as well as working with local community groups that push for diversity and acceptance. She pushes for children's librarians to do a lot of reflection, on themselves and their collection. She asks this question to end the article - does your collection adequately reflect the needs and wants of your community?

Evaluation:As an elementary school librarian, diversity is something I thrive for. Budget cuts and constraints make it difficult to achieve, but it is a goal of mine. So this article really resonated with me. I feel that it is a subject that deserves more research and space in academic journals. One page is hardly enough to really make an impact on librarians. Step by step guides and anecdotes from other librarians could really have given this article some much needed context, as well as providing the reader with some real life inspiration. Besides that, it does get the conversation and mind going on issues such as diversity. I know that I started thinking about even more ways to approach it after reading this short blurb.