How are access models changing the functions of Academic Libraries?

Rachel Silverstein

Levine-Clark, M. (2014). Access to Everything: Building the Future Academic Library Collection. Portal: Libraries & The Academy, 14(3), 425-437.

Summary: This article explains how the changing ways in which Academic libraries have provided access to content to their users has affected the essential functions of the library. Academic libraries have traditionally served to provide materials for current students and faculty, and to store those materials for future generations of scholars. Libraries are now able to lease access to articles and ebooks, trading long-term access for deeper and richer collections in the present. The author asserts that as libraries are faced with smaller budgets and large amounts of digital content to acquire, they will refocus their efforts on special collections. These collections will be composed of rare books, manuscripts, archives, databases and mainstream publications supporting crucial subject areas. For most other scholarly content, libraries will pay for broad subscription or demand-driven access, and only purchase perpetual licenses when they are cheapest. In order to maintain stewardship of the cultural record as content continues to expand, libraries will need to form networks with other libraries and vendors to establish long-term preservation plans for that content.

Evaluation: I found this article very enlightening as to the consequences of shifting models of access in the digital age. It is important to plan for the future, to make sure the digital content is stored and preserved. It will be interesting to see how publishers and vendors respond as academic libraries increasingly switch to demand driven acquisition.

Geeky Emphasis Collections - Unite!

Slobuski, T., Robson, D., & Bentley, P. (2017). Arranging the pieces: A survey oflibrary practices related to a tabletop game collection. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 12(1). Retrieved from : https://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/27785/21244 (Posted on course blog)

This article details a very special emphasis collection that is being more frequently pursued by public, academic, and school libraries around the world: collections of table top games.  The article notes that the practice of tabletop gaming is rising as people of all ages pick up the hobby.  As such, the fact that libraries are responding by creating these collections is a sign that libraries are truly working to meet the expressed needs of their users and potential users.  The article details the number of steps required to effectively execute this special collection.  An effective tabletop game collection requires librarians to understand literature on gaming, become well-versed in available catalogs, and comprehend how to maintain and retain games.  This requires an extensive amount of funding and staff time.  Additionally, there is very little in the way of reputable literature about these collections and there are not any purchase offerings through major publishers, meaning that libraries are fording new ground.  Furthermore, according to the libraries surveyed, game collections require much more programming to advertise than other emphasis collection.  However, this case study of this particular special collection shows that if new collections are truly geared at meeting the needs of users, even if they are completely original in nature, they are possible with the proper amount of work.

A Different Point of View for Collections Development

Kelly, M. (2015). The materials-centered approach to public library collection development: A defense. Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unLedu/libphilprac/1232 (Posted on course blog)

A great deal of literature regarding collection development discusses the importance of creating user-centered collections by polling actual and potential users to determine their needs.  Kelly plays devil’s advocate in this counter-essay which holds that a materials-centered approach is better for the continued betterment of society and perpetuation of knowledge.  He begins by defining public libraries as “at once repositories for the accumulation and sanctification of types of knowledge that drive civic progress, while offering a value-free, encyclopedic approach to knowledge that does not explicitly privilege science, humanism, or any particular epistemological creed.”  Kelly asserts that a materials-centered approach to collections, which focuses on the quality of materials needed in order to satisfy a large representation of users across demographics, is the best way to continue fostering this definition.  Kelly notes that public libraries, unlike academic libraries, don’t have unlimited time to build up an unlimited collection on a subject, but rather must gather the best available materials as quickly as they can within the given constraints of their budget and physical space.  When seeking to achieve this goal, a user-centered approach to collection development tends to perpetuate the same types of behavior over and over again without allowing for competing viewpoints within the same sphere of knowledge.  This effectively creates an echo chamber.  So, while the intentions of user-centered collection is to meet the needs of the patrons, Kelly holds that this is a disservice to the “sanctification” of knowledge because it doesn’t provide access to complex issues and opts instead to “dumb them down”.  It is particularly important to offer this broad cross-section of viewpoints because patrons tend to be browsers, and this browsing behavior makes for ample opportunities for patrons to become students of new subjects.  And while some would argue that interlibrary loan is the perfect mechanism for providing these sorts of varied titles without expending financial resources, Kelly claims that ILL is not even utilized in the most well-suited instances in academic settings, so it is unlikely that it will be used by public library patrons.  Therefore, he holds that ILL should not be a crutch leaned upon by collection experts when trying to avoid purchasing varied material that might not be as frequently utilized as user-centered material.  It was interesting to read a different viewpoint on collection development from the user-centered approach.

Format Follows Function

Denise Lester
Peet, L. (2015) Format follows function. Library Journal, 140(14), 34-37.

This article discusses the ever challenging task of not only selecting titles that patrons want, but also selecting the right format.  With so many options within a prescribed format, librarians have to constantly anticipate the expectations of their patron's preferred titles and preferred formats.  This can be especially challenging if the collection is patron driven.  If it is not patron driven, then the librarian is at liberty to select titles and formats based on past usage.  However, if the collection is patron driven, then the collection risks being too heavy and unbalanced in one area (genre and format) and not others.  The author offers current assistive tools available through vendors and explains acquisitions techniques that help librarians determine titles and formats for succesfull cross platform development.

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No More Liaisons: Collection Management Strategies in Hard Times

By Debra Donovan

     This article talks about the decrease in subject librarians, or liaisons as they call it, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks due to massive budget cuts. These liaisons were very instrumental in what and how library materials were selected. These liaisons would spend a lot of time making contacts with faculty to see which books would help in their research. The University saw this as costing too much money, so they cut the amount of liaisons and decided to use a more cost-effective patron-driven acquisition (PDA) program.  Through their review they saw that many of the titles that the liaisons chose had low circulation numbers. So with the new PDA program they could give the patrons exactly what they wanted. This resulted in the e-book program that gave patrons access to academic books which would not have necessarily been chosen by the liaisons.
     Two of the drawbacks for the decreased number of liaisons is that one of their jobs was to add new journals thus aiding the research department that uses them as the core of their scientific research. The other drawback is when cancelling journal subscriptions just based on cost without taking into consideration the department faculty and the importance of their use in research, leaves the department with fewer access to the materials they need.

Preparing for renovation: Estimating shelf occupancy to inform decision making regarding the redevelopment of library space.

1. Chieng, Tracey

2. Weare, W. H., Jr., Moffett, P., & Cooper, J. P. (2016). Preparing for renovation: Estimating shelf occupancy to inform decision making regarding the redevelopment of library space. Collection Management, 41(3), 168-181. 

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01462679.2016.1212755

3. Summary: The University Library at Indiana-Purdue University Indianapolis prepared for renovation by having the Access Serices Team estimate shelf occupancy. Renovation of library spaces have been motivated by three main factors: the shift from print to digital access, needs and expectations of the library of students have changed, and shortage of campus space means more campus units are now housed in the libraries. As a result of that, spaces that hold titles that are rarely used or materials that are available online can be better used. The Access Services Team used a systematic random sampling method to estimate current free space on shelves and how much space would become available after weeding materials. They found that over 30% of current shelf space si empty and over 25% is occupied by journals that are available electronically. The authors posit that this general estimate can apply across many university libraries.

4. Evaluation: The article begins with the authors saying they believe these estimations found can be applied across many university libraries. While their findings are interesting, I do not think the numbers can be used for other libraries. They used a rather simple sampling method and collections can differ quite a bit across different universities. However, I do believe it is useful to estimate how much free space there is in the stacks in preparation for repurposing a space.

Collection Development: The Basics and Beyond

Janet Harris

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IEVL8WV73o

Collection Development: The Basics and Beyond by Rebecca Vunk 

This video presented information about weeding and budgeting of the collection. Discussions about how small libraries and large manage collections. 

Open Educational Resources

Denise Lester

 Mallon, M. (2015). Open educational resources doi: 10.1080/15228959.2015.1095671

The author explains Open Educational Resources, (OERs) as a viable strategy model for academic libraries to share and disseminate information; but more importantly the author encourages librarians to be leaders in the use of OERs and not to become overwhelmed with the growing repositories.  The author provides a list of five OER websites and a personal survey/review of each site by the author, all of which can be used by both public and academic librarians due to their mutual interest in content such as textbooks and scholarly articles.

Collections as a service

1. Seppi, Gregory

2. Linden, Julie, Tudesco, Sarah, and Dollar, Daniel. (2017). Collections as a Service: A Research Library’s Perspective. Retrieved from http://crl.acrl.org/content/early/2017/01/30/crl17-981.full.pdf

3. This pre-publication version of an article by three Yale collection development librarians explores broad changes in collecting occurring as a result of changes in practice by Yale librarians. The article includes extensive details about Yale’s library budget, which is second only to Harvard’s in yearly spending, and notes a policy change at the Beinecke (Yale’s main rare book and manuscript library)  towards collecting materials more firmly in line with modern research needs and classroom usage.

4. A very interesting article-- getting a high-level picture of Yale's many libraries and how their budgets and collecting strategies tie together is fascinating, as is the way the authors share how ACRL documents have shaped their collecting practices. That even an extraordinarily well-funded library system needs to adjust its collecting practices to better meet patron needs is a good lesson to learn.

Improving Customer Relations with Social Listening: A Case Study of an American Academic Library

Janet Harris

Stewart, M. C., Atilano, M., & Arnold, C. L. (2017). Improving Customer Relations with Social Listening: A Case Study of an American Academic Library. International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management (IJCRMM), 8(1), 49-63. doi:10.4018/IJCRMM.2017010104


The case study discusses social media and the role it plays on customer relations within a academic library. Social media changes rapidly and at times may be difficult to keep up with current applications. The library wanted to explore the effects of social media and how it could be used to meet consumer needs. Social network use is in the billions, how this may provide an avenue for libraries remains a work in progress. 
The library found that when it followed other entities on Twitter they began receiving increased attention. This is how social listening became a integral part of how the library began to use social media as a tool to present information. 
It also found that this presented a way for complaints to be heard. This became a valuable tool  allowing feedback to information and the ability to improve services by using social media. 
Social media is ever-present in our lives and is a major communication tool. This case study presented a factual account of how to use it to improve library function. 

Our Future in Times of Change: How values guide our understanding of trends and transitions

Figueroa, M. (March/April 2017). Our futures in times of change: How values guide our understanding of trends and transition. American Libraries, 44(3/4), 32-37.  https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/03/01/our-futures-in-times-of-change/

In this article about the future of library services, author Michael Figueroa (director of ALA’s Center for the Future of Libraries) seeks to study change, but notes that in order to do so, core values--“confidentiality and privacy, diversity, equitable access, intellectual freedom and expression, preservation”-- must be considered (p. 33).   This article collects interview responses from three librarians, Emily Drabinski (Coordinator of library Instruction at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York), Sarah Houghton (Director of San Rafael Public Library in California), and Charlotte Roh (Scholarly communications librarian at the University of San Francisco Gleeson Library) on the subject of change in light of values.

The interview highlights the importance of the above core values in implementing value-infused services and programs.  Most notably are core values that, in the current political and social climate in the U.S., unflinchingly continue to provide or seek to provide equitable access, sensitivity toward diversity, and policies that guard patron rights to privacy and intellectual freedom.   For example, interviewee Charlotte Roh notes, “Across our communities, people are demanding cultural competency from people traditionally considered experts...As librarians, it is important that our cultural competencies are on par with the depth and breadth of our critical knowledge-seeking behaviors” (p. 35).  

The article includes a subsection on pages 36 and 37 devoted to takeaways for the future.  It’s not a stretch to say that all nine takeaways are relevant to collection development have to do with pushing traditional boundaries to providing equitable, diverse access to patrons. The first is entrepreneurship--libraries can offer a “network of support” to aid patrons who lack access to minority, low-income patrons.  Second, libraries are poised to offer programs that boost civic engagement and innovation, whether in the form of microcollections, maker spaces, or meeting places to spark communication.  Thirdly, school libraries even now are pushing communication boundaries to connect with innovators, experts and other students to promote a positive global awareness, whether in hosting authors, or Skype conferencing, or using social media platforms to make connections.  The fourth takeaway is sustainability--as we take measures to provide our patrons with access to various informational formats, we must make sure that they are “environmentally sound, economically feasible, and socially equitable”.  The fifth is expanding horizons through virtual reality--using VR as “place-based learning that moves beyond the traditional field trip”.  Sixth is accessibility, which for most of us is a pretty obvious concern, but one that, nevertheless, must be a focus for the future of libraries.  The seventh takeaway is providing welcoming communities that builds unity for all Americans, no matter their background.  Eighth and ninth are geared toward young learners--it is vital that librarians in schools and youth public librarians are invested in technology trends AND understand and practice 21st century ethics (often relatable to current technology).  Speaking as a teacher librarian currently employed in a public high school, I thoroughly agree that students who are educated about online rights and privacies are well-equipped to handle the myriad ins and outs of life in a tech-focused society.

My greatest take away from the article is the importance of staying informed about information--keeping my eye on the services we offer to make sure that they are sustainable.  In continually evaluating patron needs and matching them with resources, I can make sure that the programs and services embrace ALA values.