Original posting on this topic is reproduced below; the responses follow it:
From: "Karina Fong" <karina.fong_at_humber.ca>
Could anyone recommend any best practices in collection
assessment/collection
profiles? Our library is doing strategic planning this year and this is one of
the topics we need to research on. Couldn't find much when I did a quick search
on Library Literature. We also would like to know what the costs would be.
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(1) From: "Linwood DeLong" <linwood.delong_at_uwinnipeg.ca>
We couldn't find very much either, and we ended up using an in-house
strategy. We discussed with OCLC the possibilities of doing some
collection comparison using their software, but our collection assessment
budget didn't allow us to pursue this option further.
We created lists of subject headings or keywords (usually about 30 per
subject discipline) and then searched these keywords against the holdings
of sister libraries whose collections and enrollment size were close to
ours, focusing on books published after 1980 (in some cases more recent
than that). This does show you how well your library stands up against
sister libraries, but it admittedly doesn't match your collection against
any standard list that would have been prepared by an editorial board and a
group of recognized subject specialists.
To get a sense of the comparative adequacy of our serials collection, we
used serials lists from standard indexes such as the H.W. Wilson ones
(which are easily downloaded) and checked to see which libraries had
current print or online subscriptions to those. Ideally, we would have
also checked for the strength of serial back runs (especially in
humanities), but we didn't have time to do this.
Here in Canada, we need to compare our holdings with other libraries that
have strong Canadiana collections (in the social sciences and the
humanities) and we have often found U.S. lists not to be so helpful.
Linwood DeLong
Reference Coordinator
University of Winnipeg Library
515 Portage Ave.
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
R3B 2E9
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(2) From: Margo Warner Curl <MCURL_at_wooster.edu>
There are a number of resources for information on collection assessment -
here are some I've found useful -
- articles by Anna Perrault
- Bushing, Mary, Burns Davis, Nancy Powell. Using the Conspectus Method:
A Collection Assessment Handbook. Lacey WA: WLN, c1997.
-Lambert, Dennis K., et al. Guide to Review of Library Collections:
Preservation, Storage, and Withdrawal. 2d ed. Lanham, Maryland: ALCTS in
cooperation with The Scarecrow Press, 2002.
- Lockett, Barbara, ed. Guide to the Evaluation of Library Collections.
Chicago: ALA, 1989.
- Luther, Judy, Linda Bills, et al. Library Buildings and the Building of a
Collaborative Research Collection at the Tri-College Library Consortium:
Report to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Washington, DC: Council on
Library and Information Resources, April 2003.
http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub115abst.html
- Nisonger, Thomas E. Collection Evaluation in Academic Libraries : a
Literature Guide and Annotated Bibliography. Englewood CO: Libraries
Unlimited, 1992.
Margo Warner Curl
Coordinator of Cooperative Collection Development,
CONSORT Colleges
(Denison University, Kenyon College,
Ohio Wesleyan University, The College of Wooster)
c/o The College of Wooster Libraries
1140 Beall Avenue
Wooster OH 44691
phone: 330-263-2056
fax: 330-263-2253
email: mcurl_at_acs.wooster.edu
http://www.wooster.edu/library/oh5/cccd/
Received on Sat Sep 20 2003 - 03:39:06 EDT