CHAPTER 2 COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT AND COLLECTION …

1 CHAPTER 2. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT AND COLLECTION . management IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES. INTRODUCTION. In sections a clear distinction is made between COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT and COLLECTION management . This was done to clarify the parameters of each of these concepts. Throughout this thesis, however, the researcher will use the term COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT . as a blanket term to cover these two processes in academic libraries, as this is the more comprehensive concept. It is only when a clear distinction has to be made that COLLECTION management will be used. Any academic library that aims to satisfy the information needs of academics and researchers must take great care with the DEVELOPMENT and management of its COLLECTION . Bonn (1974:265) states: It is generally agreed that both the quantity and the quality of a library's COLLECTION depend almost entirely upon the library's acquisition program, including its acquisition policy, its acquisition procedures, and, of most importance, its selection methods.

2 This process cannot be approached in a haphazard manner, but must be carefully planned and constantly evaluated and monitored. This is central to the library fulfilling its mission and objectives, and as such is extremely important. It is also important to develop a COLLECTION of a high standard because it has been found that if an institution wishes to attract prestigious academics and researchers, individuals must be assured that they will have support for their research ventures (Miller 1993:327). Much of this support is found in the institution's library. 21. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT policies, standards and guidelines include community analysis, planning for the building of collections, formulation of COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT policies, selection and the tools used for selection, issues surrounding publishing, intellectual property and censorship, and also weeding and COLLECTION evaluation (Blake & Surprenant 2000:901).

3 It is no longer just selection of traditional media that is required. Selectors must currently also deal with such matters as site licences and making decisions between stand- alone CD-ROM workstations and networked CD-ROM subscriptions. They must know how to purchase gateway access to commercial vendors, how to integrate electronic resources into COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT policies and decide whether to buy print or electronic versions of resources. They also have to make decisions about either buying a resource or accessing it through another channel (Blake & Surprenant 2000:908-909). FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT . POLICIES, STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT policies, standards and guidelines do not emanate from a vacuum. Several factors have a bearing on the way in which collections develop and are managed.

4 The selector of library information resources must take many things into account, including institutional objectives and plans, user needs, patterns of use, the scope, strength and weakness of various subject fields in the COLLECTION , human and fiscal resources at the library's disposal and cooperative arrangements for sharing of resources (Cooper 1983:23). Figure 2-1 reflects the environment in which COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT and management guidelines, standards and policies are developed. The arrows in the model indicate whether the factors have only a one-way influence (for example, international standards), or whether the influence works both ways (for example, goals and objectives), which are connected by double arrows to the core of the model. International standards for COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT , user needs and the resource sharing infrastructure all influence the COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT and management policies, guidelines and standards adopted in an academic library.

5 Other factors including the COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT policy of each library, the library's goals and objectives and COLLECTION evaluation are influenced by the COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT guidelines and standards whilst at the same time having an influence on such policies, guidelines and standards. There are also several pivotal decisions to be made which both influence and 22. Figure 2-1: A model for COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT and management in academic libraries International Resource standards sharing infrastructure COLLECTION evaluation COLLECTION COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT and DEVELOPMENT COLLECTION management policies policies, standards and guidelines User needs Goals and objectives COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT decisions Responsibility Just-in-case Content-based Selection Access for selection - or or of formats or academics or Just-in-time format-based to be owner- library model included ship bibliographers = Direction of influence 23.

6 Are influenced by the COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT policies, standards and guidelines adopted by each institution. Decisions made in these areas (indicated in the rectangular boxes in the model). determine largely the way in which the COLLECTION is developed. Decisions must be made about who is responsible for developing the COLLECTION , whether a just-in-time or a just-in-case model will be followed, which formats will be included, whether the COLLECTION will be format- or content-based and to what extent ownership of items will be necessary. Goals of COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT and management COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT and management , as two important programmes of any academic library, must be driven by goals and objectives. Rowley and Black (1996:25) believe that the aim of COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT is to carry out a library's mission to create a repository or gateway to information for scholars today and to capture the intellectual heritage of the prevailing culture in order to benefit future learners and thinkers.

7 These concepts of creating a repository and a gateway to information are indeed important to the process of COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT and management . When it comes to COLLECTION management in particular, one could say that the goal is to add value to specific information sources so that they can be used more effectively to meet user needs (Atkinson 1998:8). In this regard, COLLECTION management differs significantly from COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT . In the case of the former, the motive is to make the collected information sources more useful and accessible to users. It is also important that COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT be related to the needs of the parent institution (Bordeianu & Carter 1996:42). Bibliographers must thus find out about any important developments and changes in each discipline and programme and adjust its COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT priorities accordingly (Fourie 2001:21; Grossman 2000:120).

8 A library should continuously review its assumptions about each programme offered at the institution (Haas 2000:70). No university will continuously offer exactly the same courses and programmes because the universe of knowledge is in a constant state of flux. A relevant COLLECTION must even anticipate future changes as the body of knowledge in disciplines alters. 24. To be concise, the purpose of COLLECTION management policies, standards and guidelines is to ensure that all registered users have access to the right information sources at the right time (Leonard 1994a:151). Determining user needs Building collections which fail to satisfy the information needs of users would be a futile exercise. It is thus essential to ascertain such needs continuously and to anticipate future user needs.

9 Jagannathan (1989:286) states that user analysis is the first step to COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT . Evans (1992:16) extends this premise to state that it is not only the stated needs that are important, but it is important to investigate the normative needs as well, especially in a culturally diverse group, as is the case in South African universities of technology. These needs must then be weighed up against an understanding of what would be realistic expectations for resources to meet these needs. It is important to remember that library users are interested in a COLLECTION at a micro level not at the macro level which is the bibliographer's primary interest (Henri 1989:77). The user wants a particular book, article, picture or piece of information and is not interested in the COLLECTION as a balanced whole.

10 This is why access must be provided as much as possible to information sources not owned by the library. As users make increasing use of online bibliographic and full- text databases and search the Internet, so they become more sophisticated information users. This is leading to a situation where there is an ever-widening gap between what users know to be available and what is actually owned by the library they use (Allen 1994:8). For the purposes of developing COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT policies, standards and guidelines, it is necessary to study the primary users of the COLLECTION , and to find out if there is information routinely sought on a particular topic by researchers and academics. Then it is necessary to ensure that these topics are adequately covered in the COLLECTION .