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As libraries and communities consider institutional values and ethical standards, there is a need to scrutinize how those values and standards connect with collections decisions. An existing body of literature about the contents of the collections exists, with respect to issues like decolonization and open access, but little about the business relationships libraries maintain in order to acquire these collections. In this paper, librarians from Purdue University take a critical approach to identifying the values of their institution at multiple levels, including a newly released Libraries strategic plan, to create a values-based evaluation tool for future collection assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the materials acquired during a consortial PDA pilot; which of the books are still being used, by which institutions, whether the size of a participating institution or the subject of a book have impact on the continued use of the books, and if there is a relationship between the schools that triggered a PDA purchase and the schools that have gone on to use a given title. Findings suggest that models involving some library mediation may be more effective in meeting the various needs of participating institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research studies the fields contained in "Suggest a Purchase" forms from 100 university libraries, focusing on the data they can provide to subject specialists to make decisions about collection development. The research will consider whether the content of "Suggest a Purchase" forms may be used to aid subject specialists and collection development librarians to make decisions concerning the purchasing of books and other materials. Statistical evidence gathered through the "Suggest a Purchase" forms is analyzed to justify the relevancy of specific fields. The research examines whether patron-initiated purchases may offer data concerning collection gaps and trends in users' needs. The paper concludes with recommendations for best practices in the design and content of patron suggestion forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about the LGBTQIA population is difficult to collect because of the sensitive nature of the topic of sexual preference and gender identity. This paper examines our weeding project and collection development efforts to provide health care information for the LGBTQIA community at a Midwestern metropolitan university. The findings conclude that our collection was not providing sufficient, up-to-date health information for the personal and professional information needs of our patrons in the R-RZ Library of Congress range. The weeding process, strategies for working with department faculty, and the implications for an intersectional medical collection are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses what ephemera is--an item usually printed on a single sheet of paper, possibly on one side, sometimes on both, so that it may be folded several times to appear like a booklet--and within this context the significance of library-generated ephemera, librarians, is considered. The usefulness of ephemera is limited, since it was created to serve a certain purpose, and to be discarded afterwards. It is obvious that the library and archives community have begun to become aware of the research relevance of ephemera. It is nevertheless an extremely laborious endeavor to collect, preserve, and organize an ephemera collection in order to make it available to researchers. The information carried by the ephemeral items can add significantly to the data the historian draws from other sources. Ephemeral material has intrinsic and evidential value, but not enough to enable the researcher to reconstruct completely a slice of institutional history. The historian needs to consider a variety of other sources. Only in conjunction with these sources can the ephemeral material acquire outstanding research meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Do theater students prefer to read print or electronic plays? Are there certain use cases, like memorization for audition or reading for coursework, where theater students have a strong preference? This article seeks to convey the findings of a recent survey given to undergraduate theater students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga regarding their format preferences for plays. The respondents indicated that most preferred reading plays in print and indicated a strong preference for print plays in several situations. This analysis contributes to the body of literature on format preferences and is insightful for librarians involved in developing collections in niche areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic library collections have traditionally prioritized and valued white voices, resulting in a lack of representation of authors who have marginalized racial, ethnic, and gender identities. Diversity audits can make the whiteness of collections visible and inform collection development practices that prioritize the work of marginalized scholars to make libraries more inclusive spaces for patrons, workers, students, and scholars. In a diversity audit of author racial, ethnic, and gender identities in an academic library's journalism monograph collection, the results show that the collection overwhelmingly reflects authors who are white men. Collection development librarians can increase the diversity of authors in their collections by creating a protocol for identifying, purchasing, and marketing works by marginalized authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Library staff at the Vasche Library at California State University, Stanislaus used innovative collection development methods to identify potential acquisitions for the Vasche Library's Modern Assyrian Heritage Collection. They worked with a faculty subject expert and the donor, who provided the startup funds for the collection, to search the OPACs of university libraries that had substantial holdings in Modern Assyrian Studies. The potential acquisitions identified could grow the collection by 39%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Donors are important contributors to collection development in GLAM institutions, yet interactions and communications around policy and procedures with donors are under researched. Using a case study research design to investigate donor relationships nine participants from five New Zealand GLAM institutions were selected for interview. Participants were found to value their trust-based donor relationships, investing time into their continued development. A content analysis of donation webpages found differences between them, emphasizing the range of institutional views regarding website communication value. This research offers constructive insights into the processes and challenges selected New Zealand GLAM institutions face in managing personal donations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective access and description strategies for visual ephemera in an archive depend upon a variety of factors, and therefore there is no single correct approach. The reasons a repository's clientele use visual ephemera affects the types of access points and levels of description required. The ways in which visual ephemera is organized within a repository's collections will strongly influence the methods of description and access that can and should be used. Examples of different strategies will show their advantages and disadvantages in enabling users to find the visual ephemera they are seeking. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Traditional literature (including folk tales, fairy tales, and fables) is valued in academic children's literature collections for its value in both direct use (real or hypothetical) with children and the historical, cultural, and anthropological study of folklore. The "timeless" feel of these works, along with their distinctively liminal place between fiction and nonfiction, can lead them to be perceived as indefinitely useful, even beyond their unusually long standard retention period. Nevertheless, in a non-archival academic children's literature collection, routine assessment of traditional literature is necessary and even valuable. This article situates traditional literature in the context of children's literature and its academic study, then describes how the children's folklore collection in one academic library was bifurcated to improve access, browsing ability, context, and use of shelf space. Considerations, including thoughts on developing assessment and weeding criteria, are spelled out for collections considering a similar undertaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sonoma State University Library's children's book collection is under-utilized by students in the School of Education, the primary intended audience, which prompted the Library to assess the role of this collection in the University setting. In an effort to learn more about the information-seeking needs and practices of students in the School of Education, the Education Liaison Librarian and Collection Development Librarian collaborated with faculty in the Department of Literacy Studies and Elementary Education to observe text set presentations from students in five classes and design a student-driven assessment of the children's collection. Following the student assessment, the librarians compared the criteria students used to select and deselect books with the criteria the librarians use to develop and weed the collection; the librarians used this information to refine collection management, organization, and wayfinding strategies for the collection so it aligns more closely with the students' needs. This article describes the collaboration and results of the student assessment from the perspectives of both the librarians and the School of Education faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes citations from The International Journal of Business Communication to reveal characteristics of the interdisciplinarity of the field of business communication and provide insight and guidance for collection development in this area. A list of most cited journals and books is provided. Subject analysis is included to determine discipline distribution, and collection development recommendations are made. A snapshot analysis is undertaken to determine what percentage of top cited journals are available with full-text at present in commonly-held subscription databases. An annotated bibliography of a selection of more cited and/or seminal books is provided, of which some may lie outside the typical expertise of business and communication librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant cuts to the collections budget and a fire in the main library at Kansas State University transitioned the Libraries toward an increased focus upon electronic resources management. As electronic resource discovery continues to be hampered by market competition between Ex Libris and EBSCO library vendors, difficulties were identified in obtaining accurate usage statistics for resource renewal reviews, particularly EBSCO products. Kansas State University Libraries use the ALMA URM in combination with Primo discovery service, which experiences known resolver complications when paired with EBSCO resources. Technical services librarians and information technology staff tested several workarounds, but the question remains whether any proposed resolutions can be truly effective in avoiding collection usage biases and analytical discrepancies, resulting from exclusive indexing. Crunching the numbers, monetarily and analytically, the Ex Libris and EBSCO rivalry is an onerous battle on the budget and resource renewal process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study shares the results of a citation analysis performed on the publications of the faculty of the College of Business at a large public university in the southern United States for the years 2014–2018. The study examined articles produced by the faculty over the last five years, as well as their cited references and citing articles, in an attempt to establish a list of core journals for business and uncover potential gaps in coverage. Implications for collection development are addressed, as are the benefits for early-career librarians or those unfamiliar with the publishing behaviors of a newly assigned subject discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a diversity audit of play script orders during FY2011 and FY2019 to determine if University of California, Irvine Libraries' orders had shifted to reflect the increased demand for diverse playwrights. The audit also examined the larger publishing landscape for play scripts during these specific years to determine if plays by diverse playwrights were being published and available for acquisition. The audit demonstrates that both the play script orders and publishing landscape have greatly diversified; however, further work needs to be done to continue diversifying local acquisitions with what is being published, so that library collections of play scripts reflect the university and country's demographics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic library collections have been built and shaped by a focus on dominant voices and perspectives. In order for collections to reflect the value librarianship places on diversity as well as represent multiple perspectives and serve users of diverse backgrounds and identities, collections need to be assessed for coverage of content related to diversity. This article discusses the challenges inherent in engaging in such an assessment, discusses collection assessment methods, and describes an analysis performed on the Penn State University Libraries collections focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At Oregon State University, the library is included in the review process for each new program proposal. Historically, this inclusion has taken the form of a mandatory statement regarding the adequacy of the library collection to support the new program. The level of assessment undertaken to justify these statements has changed and become more rigorous over time. These assessments also provide a basis for including collections as a component of the cost of university support for new programs but seldom result in sufficient increased funding. Their true value may be in the opportunity for dialogue on the future of scholarly communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the situation of its nearly full storage facility, the Purdue University Libraries developed guidelines for the deselection of very low —use serial titles and conducted a pilot project to identify material for withdrawal. The library school intern hired to conduct the pilot used WorldCat Collection Analysis to create subject lists of titles to be considered for withdrawal. These lists also contained value-added information about how many benchmark institutions owned and duplicated the local holdings of each title. Working with subject specialists, the intern developed criteria to guide a major serials deselection project. After the success of the internship in six subject areas, the libraries funded a longer-term position to complete the deselection project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]