63 SPEC Kit 352: Collection Assessment
Support from the vendor (e.g., Intota Assessment): Vendor level of customer support was poor. A formal
complaint was filed and the issue was resolved.
Outdated credentials on provider admin portals: Credentials expire or platforms change resulting in
lost access to provider platform admin sites and usage statistics. Synchronizing between publisher and
the provider they use is poor.
Responsibility for assessing collections is assigned to collection librarians with varying levels of skill
and engagement in assessing the collections. Cross training or assigning an individual or individuals to
this task would ensure ownership and quality of the results.
Systems that do not transfer data, for example e-collection cost data from Aleph to Intota Assessment
Gaps in data that are not obvious
Difficulty reporting electronic and print collections together
The raw data is only accessible to a limited number of people.
Insufficient or lacking underlying data hinders comprehensive analysis.
There are an overwhelming number of resources to evaluate and a lack of staff coordination, time,
and interest.
Not all data are COUNTER compliant, in the same format, or are measuring the same things. Some
platforms offer no use data.
There is a lack of transparency and pricing models on the part of collection providers/vendors.
Time
Personnel to manage assessment
Expertise to manage assessment
Time (to identify, collect, analyze, disseminate, and put into action results of analysis)
Technical skills distributed by enough staff to maximize use of data and analysis for assessment
Lack of centralization for vendor-provided data resulting in silos, making analysis more difficult
Time limitations have been reduced by increasing staff and faculty hours in assessment.
Understanding historical practices for collection assessment.
Resources to encourage an expectation of assessment, this includes personnel and collaborating
across teams.
Documentation
Unreliable statistics from vendors
Vendor inconsistency in providing/presenting data
System migration causing loss of data
Support from the vendor (e.g., Intota Assessment): Vendor level of customer support was poor. A formal
complaint was filed and the issue was resolved.
Outdated credentials on provider admin portals: Credentials expire or platforms change resulting in
lost access to provider platform admin sites and usage statistics. Synchronizing between publisher and
the provider they use is poor.
Responsibility for assessing collections is assigned to collection librarians with varying levels of skill
and engagement in assessing the collections. Cross training or assigning an individual or individuals to
this task would ensure ownership and quality of the results.
Systems that do not transfer data, for example e-collection cost data from Aleph to Intota Assessment
Gaps in data that are not obvious
Difficulty reporting electronic and print collections together
The raw data is only accessible to a limited number of people.
Insufficient or lacking underlying data hinders comprehensive analysis.
There are an overwhelming number of resources to evaluate and a lack of staff coordination, time,
and interest.
Not all data are COUNTER compliant, in the same format, or are measuring the same things. Some
platforms offer no use data.
There is a lack of transparency and pricing models on the part of collection providers/vendors.
Time
Personnel to manage assessment
Expertise to manage assessment
Time (to identify, collect, analyze, disseminate, and put into action results of analysis)
Technical skills distributed by enough staff to maximize use of data and analysis for assessment
Lack of centralization for vendor-provided data resulting in silos, making analysis more difficult
Time limitations have been reduced by increasing staff and faculty hours in assessment.
Understanding historical practices for collection assessment.
Resources to encourage an expectation of assessment, this includes personnel and collaborating
across teams.
Documentation
Unreliable statistics from vendors
Vendor inconsistency in providing/presenting data
System migration causing loss of data