69 SPEC Kit 352: Collection Assessment
Academic program reviews
Analyses of the data: local citation analyses, database overlap analyses, cost/benefit analyses
Analyses of use and cost/use are very helpful and used all the time in funding and purchasing decisions
also frequently used to determine which materials stay in campus libraries, which go to remote storage,
which get replaced by digital versions.
Analyzing use statistics and helping with accreditation reports
Calculate cost per use for e-resources
Collaboration among colleagues to collect, analyze, and share information
Collaboration and co-operation across departments to retrieve, share, and analyze data
Collaboration and continuous improvement of the process of collection assessment
Collaboration between subject specialists and functional specialists
Collaboration between units (Collection Development, Acquisitions, Information Technology, etc.
Consistent review and demand for data for decision-making
Decentralization of tasks and processes across the department
Electronic resource usage
Faculty and student feedback and requests (needs)
Increased attention placed on continuing resources
Increased awareness of the usefulness of collection assessment within our library over the past
two years
Increased standardization
It allowed us to use data to start an EBA e-book program with two publishers. These publishers were
identified using ILL transaction logs.
It informs our selection and collection development decision-making process.
One of the most successful parts of our collection assessment process is the ability to combine and
concisely present multiple data sources to the university community in order to gather feedback
during collections reviews. This feedback can then be integrated into our data-informed collection
management strategies. More generally, the fact that assessment is ongoing and integrated into our
collecting has also been very successful.
Our collection assessment process is centrally coordinated, but everyone with collections
responsibilities is conversant and engaged in the process.
Our focus has been on quantitative assessment of electronic resource and journal use, tempered by
the knowledge that different fields have different levels of use. This has been successful and summary
reports are used annually by selectors/liaisons in making individual collection decisions.
Our informal communication and workflows are successful at accomplishing needs-based objectives.
Price negotiations with vendors increasing transparency in use of data for decision-making
about collections
Process for assessment for new program reviews gathers good data, although there is no support at the
university level for more funding to support areas of need (new journals and databases).
Providing the “net” that captures interdisciplinary materials that might otherwise fall through
disciplinary cracks.
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