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Abstract
Purpose - Proposes encouraging librarians to be more informed about the value of collection evaluations.
Design/methodology/approach - Three examples of collection evaluation methods (user-centered evaluation, physical assessment, and specific subject support) are explored.
Findings - Many strategies are available for evaluating collections, regardless of the kind of library or size of the collection. Evaluation allows librarians a more thorough knowledge of what already exists, what may be needed, and whether collection development goals are being achieved.
Practical implications - Methods of meaningful collection evaluation are shared so that librarians may create an evaluation that will provide useful information to them in their library setting. Implications for successful future collection management, financial resource management, and effective format selection are discussed.
Originality/value - Discussion that includes the "assessment of specific subject support" and "assessing and building specific subject collections" encourages librarians to recognize their major and minor collections, creatively assess those collection areas, and involve techniques or individuals who might guide them to specific subject materials.
Keywords Assessment, Collections management, Project evaluation, Information media, Resources
Paper type Technical paper
Globally, librarians spend enormous sums of money to acquire collections. National, state, and local economies vary widely, as do individual library budgets; but most librarians spend a large percentage of their budgets to acquire collections. Librarians at large research facilities have traditionally taken the "collect everything" approach (Rowley and Black, 1996), but with recent budget limitations, space limitations, and rapidly developing digital materials all making demands on available resources, most librarians cannot take that attitude now. At the other end of the spectrum, the librarian at the public library or small school needs to know as specifically as possible - on an individual or class level - the particular kinds of material needed in order to justify selecting or deselecting individual titles. Librarians, as professionals, try to build and maintain collections that will meet their collection development goals and be appropriate for their information seekers. How do librarians ensure, however, that they are building useful collections that will provide a good return on their financial investments? By evaluating their current collections, librarians may better manage future collection development. Because collection evaluations help librarians better realize what materials are in their collections, and how well they are...