[Further responses to the posting below and its summary
answer:
Could anyone please tell me if you have ever developed
a collection analysis for your library? If so,
how did you get started?
Thanks in advance
Thedis Washington]
=============================================
From: Dianne Cook <cookdc_at_post.queensu.ca>
These are all interesting approaches, and
probably precisely what the original query
was hoping for.
However, I cannot help but express my increasing
concern about:
a) how we evaluate collections in future, when
more of our materials are electronic
When we acquire electronic packages we
know which titlesare included at the outset.
However, publishers keep adding (and sometimes
deleting) titles with little or no input
(that I have yet seen) from their clients. Changes
could result, e.g. from merger and separation
agreements between publishers. If your library
has a number of electronic packages, just
keeping up with what titles you are providing
users becomes a challenge.
If counting volumes in LC classes is used as
a comparator, it will be necessary to remember
that some libraries may not classify serials,
and may not create item records for serial volumes
that do not circulate. Furthermore, if we
move from volumes on the shelf to electronic
subscriptions, there will be no volume counts
for these, yet we may be providing more comprehensive
collections than ever before.
Placing one subscription that includes 800 serial
titles may result in collection growth that outstrips
local cataloguing capability (i.e.: backlogs may grow).
In some cases, a library's subscription list may be
presented as a web page rather than catalogued records.
And electronic books are on the horizon.
b) how we measure the effectiveness of collection
development in our institution in terms of what
we need on the shelves versus what we can obtain
quickly as it is needed. If we can achieve
document-delivery databases that allow users to
browse electronic issues of journals and order
articles of interest (with cost-effective, fast
delivery) counting volumes on the shelf may provide
little information regarding the value of our library
to our users.
Received on Wed Jul 26 2000 - 15:19:29 EDT