CDL: Published dates as a percentage...(response 5)

From: John P. Abbott <AbbottJP_at_appstate.edu>
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 10:23:32 -0500
To: Colldv-l <colldv-l_at_usc.edu>
[original post followed by response.]

From:     Guy, Donald W" <dwguy_at_sandia.gov>

I am working on a collection analysis project where one
goal will be to determine what percentage of my collection
has been published within the last 5 years and the last
10 years.  Does anyone know where I can find industry
standards or benchmarks which will tell me what a good
(or bad) percentage is?  For example if 10% of my
collection has been published within the last five years
- would this be a good percentage - representing adequate
currency of information?  The size of collection we are
looking to analyze is around 75,000 items.  This is a
technical library collection that supports research and
development for a variety of engineering and science
disciplines; the bulk of working involving mathematics,
electronics & electrical engineering, physics, chemistry,
mechanical engineering and the material sciences.
Any help, feedback and/or guidance is greatly appreciated.
Please respond directly to me at dwguy_at_sandia.gov

Best Regards,

Donald W. Guy


===#5===

From:
"Tyrrell, Mary Ann" <tyrrellm_at_mail.lib.msu.edu>

OCLC has done a lot of work recently on comparative collection 
assessment for books.  See
  http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/mi/default.htm .  Note 
especially the presentations/papers, etc. by Lynn Silipigni Connaway 
(et al) http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/mi/default.htm.  At ALA 
Annual, Toronto 2003, there was a CMDS meeting with a presentation by 
Anna H. Perrault, who did a lot of preliminary work on collection 
assessments using WorldCat.  See 
http://www.cas.usf.edu/lis/faculty/perraultvita.html.  There's also a 
link to some coll. analysis research, completed thru an OCLC/ALISE 
grant, by Dr. Perrault at 
http://www.oclc.org/research/grants/awarded.htm.  That one is a bit 
off the topic, but in 1998, Dr. Perrault et al used WorldCat to 
generate data to improve collections in Florida's community colleges 
using age and other variables; see 
http://www.ccla.lib.fl.us/docs/collassess/state_rpt.pdf.

Mary Ann S. Tyrrell
Michigan State University Libraries
Received on Wed Nov 24 2004 - 03:02:32 EST