Collection Management

COURSE INSTRUCTOR:
Tayyba Rasool
BS 5th Semester

Institute of Information Management

University of the Punjab Lahore
Outlines
Introduction
Information transfer process
Components of Collection management process
Collection Management Issues
Collection Management and Library Types
 Institutional Libraries
 Public Libraries
 School Libraries
 Special Libraries
 Standards and Guidelines
Outlines…

 Emerging Trends in Collection Management

 Floating Collections
 Taking on Collection Management Responsibilities
Introduction
The library collections have a life cycle that is never fin-
ished.
—Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly, 2013
Floating [collections] has emerged as an attractive option
for contemporary libraries for one very simple reason: it
saves money. . . . Items can go where they are needed and
wanted, creating an efficiency over the “just-in-case” model
of a traditional collection, wherein items are purchased for
every branch, large or small, on the chance a patron might
want them. —Wendy K. Bartlett,
2014a
Information transfer process
The primary purposes of libraries is to assist people in
locating and accessing useful information.
Figure 3.1 illustrates the process involved in
accomplishing that purpose. Institutions of all sizes
and organizational format follow these steps—
although they may have different labels for the same
functions.
The process begins at the identification stage, during
which designated personnel sort through available
information resources to identify appropriate from
inappropriate resources.
Information transfer process
In most instances, there is vastly more appropriate in-
formation available than the library can acquire with
its available resources, much less house. Thus, there is
a need to select the most useful or otherwise needed
information to acquire.
After acquisition, the library adds value to that
information by organizing it in some manner.
That process is followed by some form of the physical
or digital preparation of the resource for storage and
access; the goal of organizing and preparation
activities is to assure the easiest possible access for
the end users.
Users often need assistance in identifying and
accessing desired information from staff members
(interpretation).
Finally, users draw upon the accessed material to assist
them in their activities/work (utilization), and on
occasion dissemination of the outcome of their work
to the internal or external environment, or both.
If the transfer process is to function properly, there
must be procedures, policies, and people in place to
carry out the necessary operational steps.
As always, there must be coordination and money for
the staff to operate as effectively as possible; this is
the administrative/managerial aspect of information
work.
Components of Collection
management process
CM focuses on meeting the information needs of the
service community. The terms needs assessment,
community analysis, or user/service community, mean
the group of persons that the library exists to serve.
They do not refer only to the active users, but include
everyone within the library’s defined service
parameters. Thus, a community might be an entire
political unit (i.e., a nation, region state, province,
county, city, or town). Alternatively, a community may
be a more specialized grouping or association (i.e., a
university, college, school, government agency, or
private organization).
Components of Collection
management process…
The number of people that the library serves may
range from a very few to millions.
Data for the analysis comes from a variety of sources
and is not limited to staff generated material.
For CM personnel, the assessment process provides
data on what information the clientele needs. It also
establishes a valuable mechanism for user input into
the process of collection development.
 Collection
management process
Components of Collection
management process…
One use for the data collected in needs assessment is
in the preparation of a collection policy(ies). Clearly
defined policies on both collection development and
selection provide the CM staff with guidelines for
deciding which resources are most appropriate for the
collection.
Some libraries call the document an acquisitions pol-
icy, some a selection policy, some a collection
management policy, and others simply a statement.
Whatever the local label, the intent is the same: to
define the library’s goals for its collection(s) and to
help staff members select and acquire the most
appropriate materials.
Acquisition work is the process of securing materials for
the library’s collection, whether by purchase, as gifts, or
through exchange programs.
This is the only point in the collection development
process that involves little or no community input; it is a
fairly straightforward business operation. Often the
individuals who have selection duties are not directly
involved in the work of acquiring the selected material.
Once the CM staff decides to purchase/lease an item, the
acquisition department staff proceeds with the
preparation of an order, the selection of a vendor,
eventually recording the receipt of the item, and finally,
paying the bill (invoice).
Evaluating is the last element in the collection
management process, and it can serve many different
purposes, both inside and outside the library.
For example, it may help to increase funding for the
library. Certainly it will be an element in any library
accreditation process.
Occasionally, it may help in assessing the quality of the
work done by CM staff. For effective evaluation to occur,
the service community’s needs must be considered, which
leads back to community analysis.
The most common internal reason for evaluating items/
resources in a collection is the fact that all resources have
a finite period of high use, or even useful, life span.
Frequently the driving force behind such assessments
relates to the fact that libraries have limited shelf/storage
space, or more commonly, limited funds with which to
continue subscriptions to such online resources as
databases or journal packages.
The withdrawal process has several labels, weeding,
deselection or deaccessioning or collection rightsizing
used at times. when a library decides to withdraw a
physical item, it will dispose of the item (by selling it,
giving it away, or even discarding it).
Collection Management Issues

There are issues that impact CM activities;

 Ethical/intellectual freedom
 Formats
 Technology
 Preservation
 Legal issues
 Collaboration
Collection Management and Library Types
In figure 3.2, the outermost area is labeled “external
environment.”
Libraries are almost always a component of a larger
parent organization, whether that be a city, county,
school system, or academic institution. That organization
is also surrounded by external events, pressures,
expectations, values, and so on. Those external elements
eventually become factors for the library.
Facts of collection development
Three facts of collection development are universal:
1. As the size of the service community increases, the
degree of divergence in individual information needs
increases.
2. As the degree of divergence in individual
information needs increases, the need for resource
sharing increases.
3. It will never be possible to satisfy all of the
information needs of any individual or class of clien-
tele in the service community from locally held/leased
resources.
This third factor is particularly relevant in today’s information
infrastructure.
Institutional Libraries
Libraries, first came into existence in the mid-17th
century.
Their early collections consisted of donated books from
well-to-do individuals.
The notion of purchasing books for the academic library
was not widespread until near the middle of the 19th
century. College library collections were small and narrow
in scope and depth until well into the 19th century, as
most early colleges were affiliated with religious denomi-
nations and their curricula was normally restricted to se-
lected texts.
Institutional Libraries…
By the mid-19th century, students began establishing local
literary/debating societies off campus with libraries with
books, journals, and newspapers of interest to members.
Often these collections had far greater depth and scope
than did their college library; certainly hours of access
were far greater and a person could explore any topic of
interest without faculty approval and oversight.
In the later 20th century academic librarians began
playing a major role in how campus libraries created and
maintained their collections.
A librarian is given responsibility for collection
management for one or more subject areas in addition to
such responsibilities as reference, liaison work, and
instruction.
Public Libraries
In 1731 that Benjamin Franklin organized a library—
individuals had to pay a fee to have access.
Franklin’s idea was that people would greatly benefit
from pooling their money and could purchase a greater
quantity and variety of material than they could on their
own.
Four attributes of public libraries. First, they are
supported by a government body—usually a
municipality or county—with tax revenues. These may
include a special levy/tax for library services.
Public Libraries…
Second, the library is freely available to all residents
within the taxing jurisdiction, and it may also be available
to neighboring community members via reciprocal
agreements.
Third, the collection is often wide-ranging in scope,
catering to interests of the community from children’s
picture books to scholarly monographs.
An additional attribute is that registered borrowers may
check out a majority of the items in the collection for a
period of time.
Public Libraries…
Public library collection building has always been in the
hands of the library staff. Initially selection was the
director’s responsibility, but as the collections and staffing
patterns grew, librarians at lower administrative levels
took over the work.
Many large public library systems have centralized their
collection/selection activities. However, advisory boards
are often utilized by public library systems or branches in
order to seek user input on a number of library issues,
including collections.
School Libraries
School libraries also have their origins in the 19th century.
The school libraries are often categorized as one of the
“nice,” but not essential, elements of elementary and
secondary education (along with school nurses,
counselors, art, and music instruction).
School library funding is normally in the hands of local
school districts or even the state superintendent of
education.
Those funds for libraries were often diverted to other uses.
School Libraries…
“The diversion of the library fund to other purposes
continues, and all the official reports indicate that, in the
majority of the districts, the people have come to accept
the diversion as a matter of course, and that in some of
the very existence of the library at any time is rather a
matter of tradition than to knowledge” (p. 41).
The issue of what is appropriate for children and young
adults to read has probably been with us for as long as
the printed books have existed.
Certainly there was a general thought in the profession at
the time that libraries had a moral obligation to control
access to some books regardless of the reader’s age.
School Libraries…
However, the concern regarding children’s reading matter
is perhaps as strong today as it ever was. George Hardy’s
(1889) noted: “In your collection of books remember that
it is important to guard against not only those books that
mislead the conscience and studiously present ideas that
are fundamentally false, but also against those that
merely interest and consume time, but neither elevate the
taste nor brighten life” (p. 347).
Special Libraries
The special library environment is very much about “just
in time” collection building rather than “just in case.”
There is a field called “competitive intelligence” that is
often of interest to professional staff in the for-profit
libraries.
one or more of the library staff has in-depth knowledge
of the library’s subject(s) focus, especially when the
person is involved in acquisition decisions.
The following are some general statements about the
variations:
1. Public libraries emphasize title-by-title selection, and
librarians have traditionally done the selecting.
2. School libraries select based upon subject areas/top-
ics for educational purposes as well as recreational
reading. Although the media specialist may make
the final decision, a committee composed of librari-
ans, teachers, administrators, and parents may have
a strong voice in the process.
3. Academic libraries select materials in subject areas for
educational and research purposes, with selection done
by several different methods: faculty only, joint faculty/
library committees, librarians, or subject specialists.
Collection management is a dynamic process that should
involve both the professional staff and the service
community.
Standards and guidelines
Library organizations are not the only ones to have
created standards that relate to libraries and their
collections.
Perhaps the most important group of organizations
are those that accredit educational institutions or
some component within such institutions. There are
literally hundreds of such agencies whose scope of in-
terest may be national, regional, or statewide in na-
ture.
Going through the accreditation process is voluntary;
however, most institutions do so for two major rea-
sons.
The first reason is “accredited status” is very often
essential when seeking federal funds; lacking such status
generally means there is no reason to even attempt to
request such funds.
The second reason is, in the minds of the general public,
being accredited means the institution is of high quality,
even if people have no idea of what criteria were
employed to determine such status.
“Consistent with its mission and core themes, the
institution holds or provides access to library and
information resources with an appropriate level of
currency, depth, and breadth to support the
institution’s mission, core themes, programs, and
services, wherever offered and however delivered”.
Emerging Trends in Collection
Management
Library collections, whether they are found in schools,
institutions, public facilities, or other organizations, are
not static entities.
The composition of library collections and the types of
resources available to users have significantly changed
over the past 20 years,
When trend-watching are the role of shared collection
building as well as the impact of open access and
repurposing space via weeding.
Emerging Trends in Collection
Management…
One additional collection trend worth mentioning is
the concept of Print-On-Demand (POD).
POD has fundamentally changed the very essence of
the publishing model that has, since the days of
Gutenberg, been premised on printing a book first and
then trying to sell it”.
Floating Collections
Floating titles are requested at one branch or facility and
delivered to the requesting patron at a different facility.
When the patron is finished with the title, it remains at
the current facility, rather than being returned to the
loaning library, as is the norm with such requests. The
title remains at the “borrowing” institution until it is
requested again by someone at that same institution or
another library in the participating system.
Floating Collections benefits include;
an increase in circulation, less wear and tear on the
items themselves, and a savings in processing time (p.
6).
Floating Collections …
Not all types of materials in a collection are necessarily
open to, or good candidates for, floating—such as
reference materials or serials.
However, libraries are free to determine what portion of
their collections are allowed to float. For their advantages,
floating collections do represent a change in workflow for
technical and public services staff, and several
considerations must be made before launching a floating
collection.
Floating Collections …
These include ensuring the collection to be floated is
weeded before the floating project begins, assessing
the availability of hold shelves and book drops,
understanding service needs and patterns, and
providing ample communication with both library staff
and constituents.
Perhaps the last factor is the most important as all
staff, not just those in circulation and access services,
need to be well versed on the goals of the program
and its mechanics.
Taking on Collection Management
Responsibilities
There are 14 areas that CM personnel must master;
 Differentiating between the responsibilities of CM
librarians from other interested parties (faculty, parents,
governing boards, for example).
 Determining/assessing the service community’s
information needs.
 Understanding local collection development policy
issues.
 Learning the locally used selection sources (reviews,
publishers, etc.).
 Comprehending how the library balances its collec-
tions between print, other media, and digital resources.
 Gaining an awareness of the local acquisitions
system(s), existing approval plans, and standing or
blanket order plans.
 Discerning and understanding local CM collaborative
initiatives.
 Learning local standards for assessing the collections
and CM in accreditation projects.
 Knowing local storage/de-selection issues, concerns,
and practices.
 Understanding how the library handles preservation
issues.
 Participating in discussions regarding legal issues
related to collection access and use.
 Investigating and understanding how the library
handles intellectual freedom issues and any library
policies regarding ethical interaction with vendors.
 Ascertaining how collection development fiscal
(economic) issues/allocations are addressed.
 Developing skills to function as an effective liaison/
advocate for the library and its collections.
Budgeting and allocations are often at the forefront of
every CM decision.
Some libraries, recognizing the critical importance of
CM, provide incoming librarians who will have some
CM responsibility with an in-depth orientation to local
practices.
Such orientation is very valuable for all new individuals
—recent graduates or long-time professionals—as the
local variations must be mastered before one’s
performance is as effective as possible.
In the end, CM work is individualized, and as noted by
Christina Wray, “The most important thing to
remember is that you should choose tools that
support your process” (2016, p. 114).
Thanks