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Introduction
Determining whether a library's collection meets the needs of the user and the educational goals of the institution should be considered part of the core mission of the library. Academic libraries exist in order to "work with other members of their institutional communities to participate in, support, and achieve the educational mission of their institutions" ([20] ACRL, 2003). If the library does not critically analyze its collection in order to determine how well it is supporting the mission of the university, then the purpose of the library's existence could be called into question.
Effective collection analysis and assessment provides quantitative and qualitative data for evaluating the usefulness and utility of a library's holdings. It assists with determining budget requirements by focusing attention on how well the library's collections in specific areas support the needs of the users and the needs of the institution. It also points out whether the institution's investment in the collection is being managed responsibly.
The aim of assessment is to determine how well the collection supports the goals, needs, and mission of the library or parent organization. The collection (both locally held and remotely accessed materials) is assessed in the local context. Evaluation seeks to examine or describe collections either in their own terms or in relation to other collections and checking mechanisms, such as lists. Both evaluation and assessment provide a better understanding of the collection and the user community ([8] Johnson, 2004).
Conducting a collection analysis can be expensive, time-consuming and labor intensive, but it is well worth the investment. Due to the many changes affecting modern libraries, it is important that librarians are aware of their library's holdings. A collection analysis can educate current and new library staff about the collection, provide better data on which to determine collection development priorities for budget planning purposes, point out cataloging issues, and help the reference librarians better support and assist with the patron's information search. "Efficient use of budgets, shelves, staff, and information seekers' searching time - whether online or in the stacks - are a few of the less often articulated reasons to evaluate collections" ([2] Agee, 2005). Collection analysis also allows for better management of resources, especially in fiscally lean times, and provides library administration with...