Collection development as a marketing tool

Lara, Veronica

Fought, R.L., Gahn, P., & Mills, Y. (2014) Promoting the library through the collection development policy: A case study. Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries, 11(4), 169-178. DOI: 10.1080/15424065.2014.969031

            This article summarizes a study and marketing experiment done by the Health Science Library ant the University of Tennessee Health Center.  After years of budget stagnation forced staff to make cuts to the collection, they decided they needed to proactively prove the library’s relevance to stakeholders on campus. 

            To do this, they decided to update an outdated policy and market the changes to stakeholders.  Since the college had recently gone through an accreditation review, the library updated their collection development policy to more accurately reflect the goals of the school.  The library’s Electronic and Collection Services department headed the project that began with an inventory of the library’s current holdings.  This process allowed staff to weed the collection of unusable materials.  It also allowed them to identify weaknesses in the collection. 

            They then surveyed both students and staff to determine what kinds of materials and subjects were wanted and needed.  The survey showed three levels of collection goals: Research, clinical/instructional support, and minimal.  Each level contained various subjects that they hoped to grow in a certain way.  For example, they hoped to offer more research data in the subjects of neurology and neuroscience or more instructional support material in the subject of occupational therapy and family medicine.  The decision was made to offer only minimal materials in other subjects, such as nutrition.  These choices were based on an analysis of the date and recommendations of participants.

            After they analysis, access was increased to many core titles available through databases.  The library invested in an EBSCO Discovery system that would simplify the search function.  Also, the library implemented a pay-per-view subscription to databases, which would increase access to items based on need.

            The final step in their project was to publicize the results of the study through as many avenues as were available.  The library also publicized the increased access to databases.   This included facebook posts, listservs, emails to faculty, and newsletter articles.  Because of this, the library saw in increase in use and positive feedback from the community.

            This article is a perfect example of what a powerful tool collection development can be.  With no resources, libraries can make a compelling statement to stakeholders about what they hope to accomplish.  This is especially true if the library outlines how they will be accomplishing their goals.  In the Health Science Library’s case, they were able to implement changes immediately.  It shows incredible foresight and a clever use of limited resources to garner more support and resources for their library.

            What I found most intriguing about this article was how familiar it all sounded.  The steps the Health Science Library took to develop their collection have been steps we have taken as students in our individual studies.  Like HSL, we began with an inventory of not only the collection, but the community as well.  We were then able to analyze the results, looking for discrepancies or inconsistencies.  Through analysis, we identified weaknesses, and proposed a collection development policy that would help bridge the gap between those discrepancies.  If nothing else, this article made me feel more self-assured of my capabilities after taking this class.

Special Academic Libraries and The Millennial Patron.

Peralta, Polly

Girven, W. J. (2016). Special academic libraries and the millennial patron. Journal Of Library Administration, 56(8), 1007-1017.  

Summary:

Wendy Girven takes a look at how Maine Maritime Academy's Nutting Memorial Library, a special academic library, is trying to connect to the Millennial generation. Girven starts the article by discussing the lack of literature on Millennials and their use of special libraries.  Then she discusses how useful special academic libraries are to Millennial students. Also, she explains how these libraries can reach and serve this new generation of researchers. Then she talks about how collection development policy is helpful in keeping track of the needs of the patrons as, each generation has its own way of research.

Evaluation:

 As I work in a special academic library, I was hoping to learn something new.  However, I felt that the information in this article did not teach me anything.  The author mentions that there is a lack of information about Millennials and special academic libraries. To be honest, I think any information about Millennials in concerning any type library is useful to a librarian working in a special academic library. Therefore, I was little disappointed by this article.
 

Practice Makes Perfect

Peralta, Polly

Mickelsen, A. (2016). Practice makes perfect. Library Journal, 141(14), 34-36.

Summary:

Mickelsen discusses ways that public libraries that are small and do not have a full-time collection development librarian can keep up with developing their library collection.  She first starts the article by explaining what collection development is.  Secondly, she discusses the budget and how there needs to be a budget for different formats, for example, books,  e-books, and databases.  Thirdly, she talks about how technology can help analyze and keep track of circulation; however, these tools are nothing compare to patrons input about the collection. Then Mickelsen moves on to talk about the use of donations and local self-published authors' materials. In the end, she discusses maintenance, weeding, and what challenge collection development is.

Evaluation:

Mickelsen gives some useful tips on collection development in a public library.  I like her suggestions on following blogs and websites that talk about new titles, and looking at what the local independent bookstore have on their shelves. Plus this article was an easy read with no annoying jargon.  

The Art of Crafting Music Score Approval Plans: An Ongoing Process

Peralta, Polly

Hooper, L. (2016). The art of crafting music score approval plans: An ongoing process. Collection Management, 41(4), 228-235.

Summary:

This article is about one music librarians goal to build a music score collections with limited funds. Lisa Hopper, the music librarian at Tulane University, decides to separate the music score budget from the liberal arts budget to make the budget stand on its own. The article discusses the Daniel Zager Factors for creating a collection plan and what happened when this librarian applied it. Also, the librarian talks about Marica Kingsley and questions she advises librarians to ask themselves when researching for a collection.

Evaluation:

This article is a good read for new music librarians it helps give them an idea of how to start their collection; what factors should be considered; and identifies sources that are out there on this topic.

Practical Tips on Weeding and Acquisition

Deligencia, Nick

Kalan, A.P. (2014, May 20). The practical librarian's guide to collection development: Weeding and acquisition made easier. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2014/05/20/the-practical-librarians-guide-to-collection-development/

Summary: A public librarian offers advice about weeding in preparation for acquisition. The author provides practical tips about "easy weeding" for "subject areas that change rapidly", including guidebooks that require continuous updating. Other considerations are suggested: historical or political (expounded upon in the article), memoirs, technology and science. Some guiding concepts about "politically incorrect works" help readers think about today's patrons.

The author recommends dividing the new materials budget by 12 to keep monthly acquisitions in line with budget constraints. It is important to know what customers want, and to recognize that they are likely seeking titles that have been reviewed in various media or appear on best seller lists. Library holds and other statistics provide insight about in-demand titles, authors, genres.

Commentary: Recommended reading.

The article is not lengthy, and it delivers on the title. For a novice librarian, ideas about where to begin the weeding process are tremendously useful. The author also describes a thought-process for determining how to determine what gets weeded. The article's section about acquisitions seem directed at well-funded libraries. A bulleted list of tips near the end of the article is too concise to be summarized here and that alone makes that section, at-least, worth reading.

A digital library for everyone

Leslie Fox

INFO 266

Cottrell, M. (April 15, 2013). A digital library for everyone. American Libraries. Retrieved from: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2013/04/15/a-digital-library-for-everyone/

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is a project, spearheaded by Maura Marx, to digitize the nation's little known cultural archives and share them for free with everyone.

DAPL will be a portal to a fraction of what's out there. An array of digitized special collections from the Smithsonian to the National Archives. It sets out to unite these materials in a single virtual space. 

The Digital Hubs Pilot Project is a confederation of seven digital libraries (six state and one regional) that make up the beginning of what's available at DPLA. Several other cultural and educational institutions are also involved in states such as: Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah. Harvard University is on board to share their digital collections as well. DAPL will be more of an aggregator of existing collections than a repository. "The purpose of the DPLA is to establish a platform of resources that will help libraries and other cultural heritage institutions to succeed in the digital area," says John Palfrey, president of the DPLA board of directors.

Here's a link to the now launched site: Digital Public Library of America .

How to destroy special collections with social media in 3 easy steps: A guide for researchers and librarians.

Leslie Fox
INFO 266

Werner, S. (July 31, 2015). How to destroy special collections with social media in 3 easy steps: A guide for researchers and librarians. Wynken de Worde. Retrieved from: http://sarahwerner.net/blog/2015/07/how-to-destroy-special-collections-with-social-media/


In her blog, Wynken de Worde, Sarah Werner posts her notes, amazing slides, and audio form her talk given at Rare Book School. She argues that while many Special Collections libraries are reaching out to users with social media, there are many ways this can go wrong, frustrate users and send them away. She uses humor to give examples of how keeping images locked up tight, treating everything as a joke or pretty picture and by relying too heavily on analytics for engagement by users can send researchers away and undermine the purpose of special collections.

The author then points out ways that social media can be used without damaging your special collection or stifling research and perpetuating misunderstandings. Werner asserts that special collections can grow using social media if you digitize with open access licenses; teach your audience to think about the past rather than laughing at it, and choose your aims carefully. Don't confuse popularity with engagement.

This presentation uses humor to engage the reader, but it is the detail and professionalism in the images presented as examples that I took special note of. A helpful resource for any special collections library wanting to utilize social media.