Monday, February 29, 2016

What Cost and Usage Data Reveals About E-Book Acquisitions: Ramifications for Collection Development

Campbell, Heather

Carrico, S. B., Cataldo, T. T., Botero, C., & Shelton, T. (2015). What cost and usage data reveals about E-book acquisitions: Ramifications for collection development. Library Resources & Technical Services, 59(3), 102-111. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1700405848?accountid=130717

SUMMARY:
In this study, a team of librarians from the University of Florida sought to determine the most efficient and cost effective way of acquiring e-books. They looked at three different methods: e-books acquired in large publisher packages; single-title e-books selected through firm orders; and e-books purchased through two patron-driven acquisitions plans. They also compared the results across three different disciplines: humanities and social sciences, science-technology-engineering-mathematics, and medicine.

They found that patron-driven acquisitions were the most effective method of acquiring e-books for the humanities and social science disciplines. E-books acquired via large publisher packages and single title selection showed a high percentage of non-use.

However, when it came to the other two disciplines, they found that acquiring e-books through large publisher packages was most efficient. The books showed high usage, and very low cost per usage. They determined that selecting individual books was not as effective because of the staff time involved.  

EVALUATION:
Despite the study being specifically for a university library, I did find the article to include some helpful information. I’m not positive how the public library I work for acquires e-materials, but I do know that it does do patron driven acquisitions, and that when an electronic title is requested, the library acquires it very quickly, usually within 24 hours.

What was not mentioned in the article was whether these titles were available for unlimited checkout or not. I know that we have several different types of e-books at my library. Some that are only available for one checkout at a time, some that can be checked out by unlimited users at the same time, and some that are only allowed a set number of checkouts and become unavailable once that number is reached.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

LGBTQ Collection Assessment: Library Ownership of Resources Cited by Master's Students

Harkleroad, Tiffany

Graziano, V. (2016). LGBTQ Collection Assessment: Library Ownership of Resources Cited by Master's Students. College & Research Libraries77(1), 114-127. doi:10.5860/crl.77.1.114

After the Stonewall riots in 1969, gay and lesbian studies, either in the form of individual courses or in the form of entire departments, began to emerge in academic institutions.  LGBTQ studies continue to expand in higher education, and as a result, academic libraries are assessing the needs of their institutions in the context of developing LGBTQ collections.  This study examples the bibliographic citations (3,243 in total) of 28 graduate theses with a focus on LGBTQ studies, written by students at Concordia University between 1991 and 2013.  The goals are to assess the strengths of the university’s current LGBTQ collection, to identify LGBTQ collection materials that the university is lacking, and to assess overall LGBTQ collection needs.  The study determined that the library owned 73% of the citations studied; this is below the average number of citation in similar citation studies on different topic areas.  By breaking down the types of materials cited, it was determined that the collection was weak in terms of LGBTQ popular periodicals; however, the more recent theses tended to cite this particular type of material less often.  The study determined that the LGBTQ collection at Concordia was well developed, particularly given the fact that there is no LGBTQ studies department at the school at the time of this study.

As a student who is particularly interested in LGBTQ studies as relates to library science, I found this article to be quite interesting.  For academic libraries, it is important that the libraries contain the correct types of materials and topic matter to meet the needs of students.  As academic studies expand to include more social concepts and topics, collections will need to adapt to meet those needs.  This particular study shows that the library in question has taken a fairly progressive stance, by containing many of the materials used in the completion of the theses studied.  I found the discussion of convenience bias most interesting, meaning students are more likely to use materials readily available in the library, and that might have some bearing on results in studies such as these.

Transmedia Demystefied

McMillan, Amy

Becnel, K., & Pope, J. C. (2015). Transmedia Demystified: (Re)introducing your students to the power of story. Library Media Connection, 33(6), 16-17.

Summary:
Asserting that young people today are "raised on hyperlinking and multitasking," Pope and Bechel advocate purchasing transmedia materials as a way to bring young readers into the world of literature. Transmedia, according to expert Henry Jenkins, is a "process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels" (p. 16). For school libraries, this means updating how we think of a "book." In deciding whether to carry a transmedia item, librarians need to assess the following:
  1. Are the multimodal elements are "vital or supplemental?"
  2. What technology is involved?  Will students be able to access and use it?
  3. What is the publisher's commitment?
  4. How will the library circulate the extra physical items, such as maps, letters, or cards?
  5. Is it shareable or "designed for single use?"

Evaluation:

While I agree with Pope and Becnel that transmedia stories can be powerful, I can't quite picture how this would look in a school library. They give several examples, such as Tony Diterlizzi's The Search for WonderLa and Rick Riordan's Maze of Bones from the 39 Clues series. In theory, providing access to transmedia materials sounds like a perfect fit for school libraries, but I don't understand how the library will bundle all of the materials together for students to access them. I wonder if transmedia storytelling will become more common as more schools provide students with mobile devices. Once students have easy access to both digital and print materials, this kind of storytelling may appeal to a wider audience. Perhaps we are seeing what is just the beginning of a wider transmedia movement.

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Gifts nobody wants: The state of the art in dealing with unwanted donations

Jonathan P. Bell
INFO 266
February 27, 2016


O'Hare, S. & Smith, A. (2011). Gifts nobody wants: The state of the art in dealing with unwanted donations. Kansas Library Association College and University Libraries Section Proceedings, 1(1), 66-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.4148/culs.v1i0.1363


Summary 
Gifts to the library can create unintended problems that end up costing excessive staff time and resources. In libraries today, traditional print resources compete with other information services for space and attention. Unnecessary donated items can therefore diminish the collection's value and accessibility. According to O'Hare and Smith, some “gifts… are more trouble than they are worth.” In this article the authors: 1) review why we should be watchful over gifts-in-kind, 2) identify potential problematic gifts, and 3) recommend policies for dealing with library donations.


Negative publicity about destruction of deselected books from a collection can be a public relations nightmare for libraries. Not all materials are worth preserving, but the public doesn’t understand that. Instead of tossing items into the trash, non-profits and for-profits are taking on deselected books for new audiences, such as prisoner libraries and resale sites. This has not been without controversy. Inappropriate “surplus sales” have been conducted whereby books or archival materials are removed from collections and sold for the purpose of raising development funds or back filling budget shortfalls. In response, library and archival organizations are now writing policy guidelines for gifts. These are needed especially in this time of growing dependence on private funding, cultivation of donors, and the attitude that the donor is never wrong.


The authors argue that “a gifts policy is the best way to deal with these issues.” A well-written policy should say: 1) who can ask for and accept gifts, 2) that gifts become sole property of the library and can be removed, 3) the protocol for deselecting items from the collection.


The authors identify seven types of "donation situations" that can cause problems for library collections and archives.
  • Gifts you don’t need - Publications of high quality and some cultural significance, like National Geographic, are not as valuable as donors might believe. Truth is, the library may already have copies or may prefer the digital version, or simply may not care for it. Telling potential donors this news is often difficult because they assign sentimental value to items that may otherwise be useless to the library. Taking a cue from  MIT, the authors recommend that libraries develop a gift policy that clearly specifies items not desired. For unwanted donations already in the collection, the authors propose three ways to remove such items: 1) recycling the material at a paper recycler, 2) re-purposing print materials into arts and crafts projects, 3) online sales (though it might run contrary to the library’s mission and cause drama).  
  • Gifts that stink, literally and figuratively - Some gift books stink because they’re old and moldy. Some “stink” because of “questionable provenance,” meaning they may have been wrongly or even illegally acquired by the donor. Rejecting the former simply because of the conditions may be shortsighted, but may also prevent unwanted or unsafe items from being added to the collection. Rejecting the latter is a way to prevent lawsuits. Provenance concerns relating to stolen cultural artifacts apply similarly to problem gifts that “stink.”
  • Gifts with strings attached - Libraries should be extremely scrutinizing of gifts with special instructions. The authors discuss an instance where a sought-after journal to be “deposited” in a university library came with the caveat to hire the journal’s editor as faculty. When a falling out between the editor and university took place, the editor attempted to take a job at another university and take the journal archive with him. A lawsuit ensued over the definition of “deposited” -- did it mean "temporarily hold" or did it mean "become the owner" of the journals? In a settlement, the two universities arranged for micro-filming at the original university and ownership transfer to the new university. The lack of clarity in the first strings attached led to litigation. As the author note, “The library should clearly establish any restrictions or special conditions attached to a gift from the start.” Strings attached can also relate to copying. Libraries should clearly spell out the copyright limitations before accepting gifts. Some donors ask for restricted access to donated archival materials on account of privacy concerns. The institution has to balance the donor's request with the need to provide equitable access.
  • Re-gifted gifts - Getting rid of old books by offloading them en masse onto the library is almost always going to waste staff resources, no matter how well intentioned. As the authors note, “one man’s trash just may be another man’s trash.” The re-gifted items may actually cost more to catalog and process than they’re worth. Worse examples are re-gifted materials that are irrelevant or inappropriate to the local context. The authors point out instances where international librarians have found skiing instruction manuals in Zimbabwe, and books found in South Africa from Jim Crow era-America depicting racist caricatures of African Americans. Donors should check with libraries first to see if particular materials are desired. This gives staff an opportunity to assess the quality and content of proposed gifts.
  • Gifts with murky proof of ownership - Libraries should do their best to determine provenance of donated items before accepting them. Staff needs to be aware of differences between abandoned property, old loans, and undocumented property. Archives often have undocumented items because of: 1) loose early archival practices, 2) inconsistent standards, 3) reliance on volunteers, 4) chumminess between donors and the institution’s board, and 5) desire of staff to build collections at any cost. In response, Kansas and Missouri have enacted laws to address ownership ambiguities in archival collections. The measures are necessary to prevent archives from enduring costly litigation and to allow institutions to dispose of items whose original status or ownership remain unclear.
  • Mistaken gifts - Sometimes donors have an item more valuable than they know. The authors relay a story of a 12-year old boy named Edward Low who dug up a sandstone tablet with old etchings in West Virginia in 1943. Decades later, Low, now an adult, took the tablet to an historical society for interpretation. After three months, the curator offered to buy it. It was pre-historic and valued at $200,000. Low instead negotiated a lifetime membership and an “indefinite loan” to the historical society for display. When Low tried to reclaim the tablet to donate it to a museum, the historical society rejected his ownership claim. Low said he loaned it, the historical society said it was a gift. The lack of ownership transference documents led to litigation that continued even after Low’s death. The moral of the story is that libraries and archives must conduct gift transactions using paperwork clearly describing the item and ownership transfer to prevent these scenarios.
  • Gifts that might actually be loaners, and vice versa - Archival terms such as “permanent loan” compound the problem of gifts versus long-term loans. The authors point out one instance where historical property was donated to a collection by a parent on behalf his adult son. Years later the son attempted to sue for possession but he lost; the court pointed out that he knew of the gift back then but took no action until after the statute of limitations expired. The author also point out the case in which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. unequivocally deposited his papers at a Boston University archive. Years after MLK's assassination the King Estate attempted to sue for ownership and possession of the works. They lost because records clearly showed it was not a loan but a gift outright. Other similar cases are summarized. Libraries should know that courts typically fall on the side of documentation and correspondence clearly describing the transference of ownership to the new owner.


In summary, a library needs a well-crafted gifts policy to prevent the kind of problem gifts and “donation situations” as outlined above. A well-crafted policy takes into account these dimensions and is written such that it’s “short, readily available, and unambiguous -- clear and specific language is necessary.” The deselection process should be transparent and accessible to both staff and users. Lastly, a right to dispose of items should be spelled out in the policy.

Evaluation
The article was an informative and at times amusing read that described the issue of problem gifts clearly and convincingly. The authors do a good job of critically summarizing this issue using a variety of sources ranging from case law, to LIS and archival research, to blogs and news coverage. I got a sense that they're experts in the relatively strange field of unwanted library donations research. For that reason, I found their analysis insightful and authoritative. The seven problem situations are culled from real world examples from across the world. Likewise, their proposed policies to address problem gifts are adapted from existing institutions' policies that work. Because the article was published in 2011, I'm curious to see what the authors (or other scholars) would describe as "the state of the art" five years later in the area of unwanted donations.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Engaging a Wider Community: Connecting the Library to Its People


       In the article, Engaging a Wider Community: The Academic Library as a
Center for Creativity, Discovery, and Collaboration by Steven D. Shapiro of
Montclair State University (Montclair, New Jersey), he delves into the whats and hows of specific ideas from the Public as well as Academic Libraries that are garnering success through outreach, listening to their patrons and coming up with creative ideas to make the library a destination that is enjoyable and relevant to its communities.

“In stark contrast to academic libraries, public library usage, based on several indi-
cators (e.g., circulation, program attendance, and visitation), has been trending
upward over the past decade according to a report issued by the federal govern-
ments Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in 2014 (Shapiro, 2014).”

The author mentions the New York, Brooklyn and Queens Public Libraries as innovative examples of utilizing technology such as lending e-readers and one on one training as well as library to increase circulation. Additionally recreating the library as a true source for information that is relevant and useful to its patrons through programs like NYStartup, an entrepreneurial business plan contest as well as utilizing cutting edge media software labs and makerspaces.

The academic libraries have taken a cue from the public libraries successes and incorporated interesting academic and cultural lectures that feature faculty book authors that are open to the public as well. This has helped to connect the communities to the university in a positive manner. Many academic libraries are finding that incorporating the arts is a fantastic way to revive the library by hosting art openings or concerts. Outreach is also a large part of successfully partnering with and engaging the wider community.

Reference:
Steven D. Shapiro (2016) Engaging a Wider Community: The Academic Library as a Center for Creativity, Discovery, and Collaboration, New Review of Academic Librarianship, 22:1, 24-42, DOI: 10.1080/13614533.2015.1087412

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Developing an Archival Zine Collection


Brett, J. (2015). “Deep in the Heart of Texzines:” Developing an Archival Zine Collection. Technical Services Quarterly, 32(4), 390-401.

I found this article to be extremely fascinating, for it describes the creation and development of a zine collection at Cushing Memorial Library at Texas A&M University.  The author had developed a similar zine collection at the University of Iowa, so he used that experience as the basis to do the same at Texas.  Brett was motivated to collect zines because they are cultural artifacts that represent the diversity of people in this country, and their voices tend to be those who are outside the mainstream.  Also, as an archivist, Brett felt inclined to preserve these records, especially given “their ephemeral and underground nature.”  He outlines the steps taken to build the collection, such as getting administrative support, developing a collection policy, and hosting a zine event at the library to publicize the collection.  Zines are not a common source/record that are collected.  By and large they are still seen as being on the margins, and perhaps as disposable.  But in the author’s eyes, zines are worth preserving, and will one day be important historical sources.  I would recommend this article to anyone interested in zines and collection development, for it shows how one particular archivist, through his vision and efforts, was able to establish such a collection.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Changes in Collection Logic

Mallett, Natalie

Dempsey, Lorcan. (2016). The Facilitated Collection. OCLC Blog. Retrieved from http://orweblog.oclc.org/towards-the-facilitated-collection/

                The article begins with a description of libraries’ shift away from emphasizing local, owned collections to networked collections. “Print logic” collection building requires distribution of physical copies to locations. “Network logic” is a mix of local and remote services to be curated based on the needs of the users. Owned collections take up space, while “facilitated” collections more efficiently meet relevant needs by providing links and other connections to shared, simultaneous use,  or remote resources. Facilitated collections are more elastic and collaborative. The downsides are that organizational charts and division of labor may have to adapt to new collection processes, and that stewardship agreements are less clear.
                This article very succinctly demonstrates the complimentary concepts we refer to in this class as “collection and connection.” It takes a balanced and critical approach to the shift from owned materials to more and more licensed or linked content. 

Friday, February 12, 2016

The Art of Weeding to Avoid Criticism

Jonathan P. Bell
INFO 266
Spring 2016


Allen, M. (2010). Weed ’em and reap: The art of weeding to avoid criticism. Library Media Connection, 28(6), 32-33.




Republished as:
Allen, M. (2015). Weed ’em and reap: The art of weeding to avoid criticism. In Repman, J., & Dickinson, G. K. School library management (253-254). Columbus, Ohio: Linworth Pub.


Summary
Allen’s brief but informative article argues that consistent weeding is necessary to maintain an optimal library collection. Allen explains the need to maintain current materials in an era of evolving curriculums and rapid technological change. Libraries should develop a weeding policy to guide deselection. Books removed from collections should be recycled, if possible, before being trashed. While Allen’s piece focuses on weeding in a school library media center, the lessons learned are broadly applicable to other library environments.


Why weed?
Weeding can daunting if undertaken infrequently. Therefore, Allen argues to approach weeding as an ongoing process, one section of the collection at a time. She outlines 4 justifications to weed regularly:
  • Keep “the best” resources in the face of increasing space limits
  • Maintain “uncluttered” shelves to aid finding
  • Provide materials in “good condition” that patrons will enjoy using
  • Remove outdated materials that may contain “stereotypes and misinformation”


How to weed
Allen recommends that libraries develop a weeding policy to guide decisions. A weeding policy aids transparency and accountability in explaining or justifying deselections to patrons. The weeding policy should have a criteria applicable to a broad array of items. As Allen says, the guiding question is, “Does this resource serve an appropriate purpose in the learning community?”


Allen proposes the MUSTY mnemonic device for developing an effective weeding policy:
  • M - Misleading or inaccurate information
  • U - Ugly and damaged beyond repair
  • S - Superseded by new or better edition
  • T - Trivial with little value
  • Y - Your collection has no use for the item; it’s irrelevant to your community’s needs
Citing a tendency for general print materials and computer-mediated items to seem outdated after 3 to 5 years, weeding based on “currency” is emphasized. Thus Allen proposes a 10-year rule, whereby most items in the collection (except war history and reference) should have a copyright date of less than ten years.


Making use of discards
A well weeded collection will leave staff with discarded materials. Allen recommends recycling and repurposing these items. She identifies charities that accept books and offers ideas for adaptive reuse of printed materials such as art projects, picture cutouts, and scrapbooks. Trashing materials should be a last resort for salvageable items, or exercised for items damaged beyond practical use.


Evaluation
This is the first resource I’ve read on the topic of weeding in my 6 years at SJSU iSchool. I’m a bit late. I generally understood the practice and purpose of weeding, but admittedly my understanding was gained from tertiary learning (e.g. reading references to it in other works, hearing others talk about weeding, etc). I started modestly here, with a brief piece that provided a concise overview of weeding library collections. I found the article highly useful and informative. I feel like Allen hits all the major points of weeding: what weeding is, why we do it and how often, how it should be done, and what happens to materials after. While the article was written with library media centers in mind, the learning is applicable to other library environments. Allen’s recommendations are based on real world experiences and can be implemented in other libraries.


I especially appreciated how Allen encourages librarians to engage patrons about weeding. Educating patrons about materials deselection brings them in as partners in the library. If they know what weeding is and why it’s needed, they’re more aware of the library’s efforts to optimize the collection to reflect community needs. Such engagement efforts remove perceived hierarchies between patrons and librarians. A forward thinking weeding policy could even include patrons in the weeding process. For example, the library can establish an advisory committee comprised of patrons who advise library staff on items to keep and remove.


The decision to remove materials can be controversial. Library items may have value beyond their superficial condition or copyright date. This is especially the case outside of school library media collections. Following a MUSTY criteria might help guide decision making but I caution against relying solely, and uncritically, on a checklist when it comes to deselecting items from the collection. Other questions need to be asked. Perhaps the book has value as an artifact for your local history collection? Perhaps it was written by a local historic figure or community leader? Perhaps it’s the last copy available?! Considerations like these challenge Allen’s proposed 10-year rule and the simple admonition: “If the paper is yellowed… then weed that book.” I argue that wiggle room, grey area, awareness of intangibles, and discretion are required for an effective weeding policy.