Responsibilities

Collection Development Organization 

Collection responsibilities at Albertsons Library, Boise State University, have historically been decentralized. The Head of Technical Services, the Collection Development Coordinator, the Head of Serials, library liaisons, faculty representatives, and individual faculty share oversight of various collection responsibilities, including print and other formats.  The Library has the ultimate responsibility for building and maintaining the collection, including decisions about storage, preservation, and weeding; collection interpretation, collection evaluation, and budgetary management.  

Collection Development Coordinator

The Coordinator of Collection Development is responsible for systematic assessment of library collections; supervises the collection development assignments of other librarians; coordinates licensing for and access to web-based products; coordinates weeding projects, gift review, and replacements; approves serials subscription changes with the Head of the Serials; assists in allocating and monitoring the materials budget; is responsible for profiling all approval plans; gathers collection data; acts as the primary campus contact for collections; represents Albertsons Library on university-wide special projects and collection development projects; and oversees all collection liaison training.    

Library Liaisons

A library liaison is a librarian who has been formally designated as the primary contact person between Albertsons Library and assigned academic departments at Boise State University.  This person serves as a contact for assistance with, or information about, any library service or issue.  In other words, the liaison fosters two-way communication between the Library and the selected academic programs or departments.  The liaison is expected to understand the information needs of his or her assignment as clearly as possible, and to represent those needs within the Library.  Conversely, the library liaison is expected to be well informed about library products, services, and the technologies used to deliver them and to represent and promote these effectively to their department contacts.

Library Assignments

Librarians have major assignments in one of the following areas:  Archives/Special Collections, Collection Development, Networking Services, Public Services, Bibliographic Instruction, Reference, Cataloging, and Technical Services.  Duties in those areas may include any of the following:

Outreach

• Representing the Library at campus sponsored activities, non-Library departmental meetings, and/or campus committees.

• Doing drop-in reference in the computer labs, student union, or where ever requested on campus.

• Providing information or reference assistance in person, by telephone, via email, or through virtual reference.

• Communicating effectively with other librarians and library staff so policies, collections, and services are responsive to the needs of the academic departments.

Communication

• Keeping academic departments aware of new databases, services, and evolving information technologies.

• Establishing and maintaining connections with library representatives by email, phone, or in person.

Bibliographic Instruction

• Teaching classes in library use, information literacy, and other special topics.

• Consulting individually with students and faculty on research questions and projects.

Collection Development / Information Access

• Selecting, evaluating, and monitoring print and electronic resources for the Library.

• Regular communication between librarians and faculty representatives and academic departments. 

• Participating actively in information related aspects of the assigned programs or departments.

• Maintaining ongoing relationships with faculty in assigned areas.

• Expanding knowledge of information sources within assigned subject areas.

• Notifying the faculty about new library services, materials, and delivery methods.

• Providing support for accreditation reviews, new academic programs, and grant proposals.

• Evaluating existing library collections periodically.

• Developing and maintaining web-based subject guides.

Reference

• Providing information or reference assistance in person, by telephone, via email, or via virtual reference.

• Working regular schedule at the reference desk and on virtual reference.

• Consulting with students and faculty on research questions and projects.

• Willing to work extra reference shifts because of illness or emergency.

Department Evaluation and Development

• Participating in evaluation and continuous improvement of the Library Liaison, Bibliographic, Instruction,  Cataloging, and/or Reference programs as a whole.

• Providing ongoing assessments of assigned departments and programs.

• Serving as mentors for new librarians.

• Recognizing that library functions are inter-dependent and sometimes need to be coordinated with colleagues.

Annual Goals

Annual Evaluation Form

Liaison Activities

The following suggestions offer ideas for developing good relationships with library representatives.  Establishing and maintaining regular communication with faculty library representatives may include:

·         Visiting faculty representatives annually

·         If not visiting, phoning the representative, instead of merely sending emails

·         Visiting with the department chair annually to discuss department plans

·         Perusing the department websites annually to see information about research and publications by faculty

·         Offering to attend faculty meetings

·         Serving on departmental committees when appropriate

·         Attending lectures, discussion groups, and special events sponsored by  the liaison's department

·         Maintaining office hours within a department

·         Keeping a list of sources the faculty would like the Library to purchase, particularly those items that are expensive

·         Reading the Arbiter, Focus, and other university publications to keep up on professors' publications, awards, and activities

·         Providing budget information

·         Sharing serials' lists for evaluation

·         Offering collection assessment reports and information

·         Soliciting orders for new materials

·         Helping recommend new books and electronic databases

·         Relaying information regarding changes in library hours/policies

·         Welcoming new faculty and providing orientation to the library’s resources and services

·         Asking for faculty input in weeding the collection

·         Requesting help in reviewing gift and other incoming materials

·         Providing information about library services such as ILL

·         Offering bibliographic instruction

·         Being responsive to gaps in the collection

·         Selecting library materials for purchase on a timely and continuing basis

·         Sharing procedures for ordering books, journals, and back files

·         Offering to pass along questions or concerns to appropriate library staff, even if not in your area of expertise

·         Eliciting feedback on satisfaction with collections and services

·         Monitoring use of pertinent materials

·         Keeping informed about areas of faculty interest and new programs

·         Maintaining current Collection Development guidelines and assessments for areas

·         Preparing accreditation reports

·         Making class visits

·         Delivering "customized" library instruction for faculty requests

·         Providing research consultation for faculty, as appropriate

·         Having name added to departmental  or college mail and email distribution lists

·         Creating an electronic distribution list of liaison clientele

·         Writing a feature or column for department newsletter

·         Sending information packets to new faculty and adjuncts

·         Familiarizing faculty with the document delivery process

·         Promoting classes and training sessions offered by the Library

·         Learning about department curriculum

·         Writing or submitting an article for publication that is related to one’s liaison work or liaison subject area

·         Participating in conferences or workshops related to one’s subject area

·         Becoming familiar with literature for assignments

New Directions

·        Working with departments to insure information literacy is fully incorporated into the program curriculum

·        Teaching a course component in the liaison department or program

Sample Letter to New Faculty

Library Representatives

Albertsons Library relies heavily on faculty for the new materials' selection to the Library collection. Each department appoints a faculty library representative to oversee the selection of materials by their department.  Ideally representatives have been some teaching history at Boise State before taking this task so they have a working knowledge of the Library and its collections. Also, representatives encourage their department colleagues to submit orders and review them, helping build a balanced collection.  The duties and responsibilities of the library representatives follow:

• Keeping the library informed of new faculty, new classes and programs, faculty interests, research, etc.

• Forwarding faculty requests for library materials to the library liaison

• Keeping faculty apprised of allocations (and spending deadlines) for materials

• Keeping faculty apprised of library services and changes, such as ILL, orientations, etc.

• Regularly reviewing current journals, making sure titles are still needed

• Having current awareness of electronic databases pertinent to representative’s  and department’s subject areas

Funds, Representatives, and Library Liaisons List

Collection Development Philosophy

Statement of Purpose

One of the Library’s primary goals is to build the best collection possible to support Boise State’s curriculum and research. During this period of challenging fiscal constraints, skyrocketing journal prices, ongoing movement toward online resources, new serials title proliferation, and continuing web publication, collection development activities have become increasingly more difficult at Boise State University. Factors within the Library, and the University, have also spurred the creation of this manual.  They include:

·        The purchase of new integrated library system software, Voyager

·        The movement toward more interdisciplinary programs and collecting

·        A more urgent need to educate faculty representatives to facilitate a more collaborative environment for selection

·        The requirement for liaisons to become more accountable for selection decisions

·        Looking for more cooperative purchasing arrangements

·        Providing more networked resources

·        The ongoing need to provide access to materials not locally owned

·        Scrutinizing the collection due to escalating prices, format challenges, online products, and changing priorities

·        The University’s desire to add programs and degrees

·        The Library’s need to balance Boise State’s goals to focus on research while maintaining teaching materials

To develop and maintain a collection that truly supports the needs of the University is a major challenge requiring time, specialized knowledge, and acquired skills.  For example, an understanding of what goes on in academic departments, and an ability to interact effectively with departmental representatives, is necessary to make tough selection decisions in order to balance the competing demands for library, and university, funds.  Better fiscal accountability, more communication between the Library and academic departments, and interdepartmental communication are additional benefits derived from a more uniform and accessible approach to collection development.

General Guidelines

The following general principles guide the development of Boise State’s Albertsons Library Collection:

·        The mission of Boise State’s Albertsons Library is to promote learning and research by making available materials appropriate to the University’s mission and by creating an environment, whether in person or remotely, in which faculty and students can interact with library resources in the pursuit of knowledge. In order to fulfill this mission, the Library will continuously and systematically acquire and maintain a core collection and provide electronic access to databases and other information formats primarily for students and faculty or inter-library loan resources that meet these needs.

·        Materials collected are college level and scholarly in nature. The exceptions to this policy are curriculum and browsing collection materials.  Recreational reading or materials for subjects not taught at the university are acquired on a  limited basis.

·    Library representatives and faculty suggest titles for purchase and databases for licensing, and this input is seriously considered in purchasing decisions, dependent on available funding. 

·        Electronic formats are heavily weighted for purchase.  The library does not purchase esoteric materials and embraces state-of-the-art formats and delivery systems which enhance its ability to serve its clientele.  In most cases, these will replace rather than supplement traditional materials. As always, the Library will provide timely access to external resources, whether print or electronic, when they are needed.

·        The library no longer solicits gift books and money for the purchase of library materials, due to staff and budget constraints, although some books are still accepted in a limited way.  When gifts are accepted, it is understood that such donations become Library property and will be evaluated and judged by the same criteria as those for purchase.

·        Textbooks, study guides, and workbooks required for individual classes are not normally collected. The Library may purchase specific items for print researves.

Assumptions

• Because of the significant costs of traditional library materials and electronic resources, and their long-term importance to the university and the world of scholarship, time and energy are invested in training new liaisons and providing continuing education opportunities for seasoned selectors to enhance their collection decisions.

• Many liaisons build collections in subjects for which they have limited expertise. Regardless, to build a successful collection, an understanding of the library and its mission and the university’s mission is critical before specific subject buying decisions are made.

• Collection development training needs, relating to the library and university’s special collecting policies and procedures and their specific culture, must be deliberated.

• Collection development training needs relating to subject knowledge, publishers, research processes in particular disciplines, electronic as the preferred format, and communication and management skills are critical in developing liaison skills.

• To be a successful library liaison, there must be a knowledge of, and cooperation with, other library departments, such as acquisitions, serials, and cataloging.

• Most liaisons must function immediately in their collection development roles upon being hired so in-house collection tools are helpful in providing collection development direction.

Modified from the Fales, S. L. (1996). Guide for Training Collection Development Librarians. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 2-3.  

Collection Development Policies and Process

Introduction

The Library's collections directly reflect Albertsons Library mission and the goals and missions of the University. The Library's collection development program gives highest priority to acquiring and preserving those materials needed by students to meet curricular needs, those needed by faculty to prepare for and conduct classes, those needed by faculty and staff in carrying out the functions of their positions, and those which assist faculty in keeping abreast of current developments in their fields.

Primary support of the instructional programs of the University also includes the acquisition of general materials and providing access to selected databases and online resources that assist students in meeting the demands of university life and in assuming roles as responsible, informed, and information literate citizens now and in the future.

In addition, the Library recognizes its obligation to support the University community's current and long-term research, intellectual and professional growth, development of strategic plans for shaping a stronger collection and by providing appropriate electronic access to information, as funds allow. 

The Library is committed to maintaining periodic assessment of the collections and access in all formats and to optimizing financial resources by balancing access and ownership considerations and by building on recognized collection strengths.

General Guidelines:  Collection Development

Cooperative Collection Development

Cooperation among libraries delivers more information from a wider variety of resources than a single library can provide.  Many resources are shared among Idaho’s schools, colleges, and universities.  Particularly, electronic databases, through Libraries Linking Idaho (LiLI), are funded by the Idaho State Library and Idaho Public Schools, with additional support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  Collection development decisions regarding these shared electronic resources are made through the LiLI advisory board, on which the Director of Albertsons Library represents Boise State.

The University Library also contributes holdings and catalog information to LiLI Unlimited to support statewide collection development initiatives and information accessibility. In general, Albertsons Library does not duplicate electronic resources available through cooperative agreements.

Cooperative programs and consortia-building with other libraries and academic institutions will receive support commensurate with their support of Boise State University programs.  These arrangements include:

Selection Process

The selector’s primary responsibility is to build a comprehensive collection of important materials on any subject based on the information needs of the library’s primary stakeholders.  Each selector develops a strategy that will go beyond the base provided by faculty requests to build a balanced collection.  In general, the more a selector knows about the Library’s collection, subjects supported by the library, and the University’s curriculum and research needs, the more effective the selector will be.

Selection decisions should be made in a timely manner and on a continuing basis.  Establishing criteria for the selection process makes selection less of an art and more of a science.

Selection responsibilities also require frequent interaction with academic faculty and students.  Consultation with faculty is extremely important when selecting highly specialized or expensive titles.  Subject expertise is also valuable for collection development activities.  Retrospective selection involves a careful analysis of collection strengths and weaknesses as well as perusal of a variety of bibliographies and catalogs.  If possible, and funding is available, consideration should be given to acquiring retrospective items in specific subject areas.

Subject Guidelines: Assessments and Goals

Prerequisites to Effective Selecting

The selector develops expertise in the assigned area(s) of collection including a knowledge and understanding of the following:                                                                                     

• academic and research programs;

• curricular and general user needs;

• history and scope of the collection;

• research outside of the university and publishing patterns;

• trends in the discipline; and,

• possibly, the interdisciplinary nature of the academic area.

Suggested Competencies

• The selector will understand the criteria for adding a specific title or work into his or her collection.

• The selector will understand the library-specific procedures for adding a new work to the collection.

• Each selector develops a selection strategy that utilizes a working list of selection tools to thoroughly inform him/her of available materials in assigned subject areas.  These might include:

  1. specialized journals that include book reviews, including online formats;

  2. notices or advertisements;

  3. dealers’ lists and catalogs, whether online or in print;

  4. appropriate standard and specialized bibliographies, published as articles, books, or on the Internet;

  5. interlibrary loan reports;

  6. soliciting comments from relevant listservs or from colleagues from other campuses

  7. publishers’ collection development suggestions;

  8. library catalogs of other universities with similar strengths, interests, and comparative budget lines;

  9. setting up a trial of an electronic resources

  10. Choice, Publisher’s Weekly, and other review sources; and

  11. nontraditional sources, such as new publications or new acquisitions lists from other libraries.

• The selector will understand the collection development strategies and goals of other selectors, particularly those selecting for related interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary subjects.

• Each selector will be mindful of available electronic resources including databases and electronically delivered periodicals.

What Else Does One Consider

Should you or should you not buy a specific title?  A selector might consider Louis Shore’s objective measures in selecting reference books and modifying them to any format.  The same guidelines are applicable for most materials.

·        Authority includes the qualifications and reputations of authors and publishers.

·        Scope considers whether the work covers what it claims to cover.  It also examines the currency of the content, including bibliographies and their levels of scholarship.

·        Treatment requires the selector to examine the accuracy of the information, identify biases, and determine how well the authors balance the coverage of the subject. Treatment also considers the level at which the work is written.

·        Arrangement covers the actual order in which the information in the text is presented. It also includes an examination of the quality of the indexing.

·        Format includes such points at the quality of the illustrations, binding, and the materials used in the work.

·        Special features cover the factors that make the work unique.

The reality is that the selector may not use all of these objective criteria in influencing selection decisions.  The experience and knowledge of the librarian, his/her reliance on selection tools, and the input from library representatives is critical in evaluating materials. Don’t get bogged down in the details; make sure to notice the larger issues. Colleagues are great resources who may have already faced similar questions of value when making purchasing decisions and may provide you with that second opinion you need.

Time Allocation

The amount of time you devote to collection development is directly related to your subject assignments and the size of your budget.  Manage your time wisely and apply what you learn from your reference work, developing subject guides, and getting to know your users.

Periodicals and Electronic Product Selection

This process is often long-term, complex, and involves technical considerations; and is treated differently than book selection.  Faculty and library liaisons are encouraged to request titles or databases for addition to the collection and to justify their requests.  These requests are reviewed, at least annually, by the Collection Development Coordinator and careful consideration is paid to the costs of subscriptions, whether electronic or print, and the need to integrate them with current resources.

Processing Gift Books

• Retrieve books from appropriate shelves in Technical Services.

• Check over books and decide if they are appropriate for collection; consider currency, authority, scholarship, etc.

• Put additional librarians' initials on Gift Decision Slip, for continued routing, if item should be reviewed by other selectors.

• Designate location (Mark only one box.), knowing that most things default to Main Collection (Compact Disc location is for music only.).

• Add notes if needed (Too much information is better than too little.).

• After processing gift books, lay books down on "After Review" shelf.

• Note:  If a newer edition of a specific book is available, the Gift Supervisor will add bibliographic information about the more current book, and the selector can decide whether to purchase the newer edition, or not.

 Approval Plans, Firm Orders, and Acquisitions’ Procedures

Approval Plans

An approval plan is an agreement with a vendor, in our case Blackwell’s Book Services, to send materials to the library based on a certain profile. The purpose of the approval plan is to ensure that the library receives newly published book titles in areas appropriate to our collection.  

A profile is based on the Library’s specifications and can be changed as needed.  (Profile change requests need to be approved by the Collection Development coordinator or the Acquisitions Department head as they may have an impact on a merged profile or spending.)  Albertsons Library profiles, and the new titles associated with those profiles, can be viewed at Blackwell’s Collection Manager at http://cm.blackwell.com/.  (If a liaison wants to be set up for an account with Blackwell’s, see Acquisitions Department head.)  Such parameters as subject, geographical area of interest, language, and level of readership are common in determining profiles.

Our approval plan with Blackwell’s consists of forms and books.  Forms have bibliographic and ordering information about new titles.  Forms permit selectors and library representatives to review titles that are not being sent as part of the approval plan but may be of interest to faculty and students.  Print forms come weekly and will be distributed to the participating library liaisons.  (Forms can also be viewed online at Blackwell’s Collection Manager.)  In most cases, print forms should be sent to the library representative for review.  The instructions to the faculty representative should be to review, initial the forms for books they want, and return all the forms to the library liaison.  Forms are sent to Acquisitions section manager, with priority codes, accounts are verified, and selections are treated as firm orders.

Boise State has selection plans for the following subject areas:  Sport/PE/Kinesiology, Education, Engineering, Health, Chemistry, Physical Sciences, Geosciences, Biology, Management/Finance, and McCain.  Some areas are earmarked to receive books and forms, and some receive forms only.

Books are sent weekly by Blackwell; they are sorted by subject area and provided to liaisons as available.  Liaisons then review materials, initial, and add fund codes for processing.  We keep virtually every book we receive according to our subject profiles.  The effectiveness of our profile should provide us with exactly the titles we need in our subject areas.

Approval plan books are paid from an approved subject account, and “form” books are treated as firm orders.

Firm Orders

A firm order is an order placed with a vendor for a particular item, generally not returnable.  The vendor will fill the order and send it to us with an invoice to be paid.  Firm orders are placed one at a time, reviewed if not filled in a timely fashion, and then placed with another vendor or canceled.  Any type of material can be placed with a firm order, including books, videos, DVDs, sound recordings, CDs, select serials titles (annuals or irregulars), etc.  Obviously, this process takes more staff time.

An expensive item firm order will need to be reviewed by the Coordinator of Collection Development.  An expensive item is one over $450 a volume or $1200 a set.

Liaisons prioritize their pending requests and place monograph orders dependent on the ordering schedule and budgets.  Materials suggestions can be emailed to the Acquisitions Section Manager (Cynthia), routed through interlibrary mail, or dropped in her in-basket.  Detailed bibliographic information is important, but incomplete information is useful and will be fleshed out.  Priority codes, selector’s initials, and account numbers are added to circulating Library Journal, School Library Journal, Booklist, Choice and other serials or any other reliable reviewing sources in order to generate pending request lists.  These lists are then organized, catalogued, disseminated, reviewed, and returned to the Acquisitions Section Manager in a timely fashion for final decisions about purchasing.

To see the list of things being routed or to add or delete your name to a routed resource, please Jo Brownlee.

Selection Guidance Considerations

Most selections are made without the book (etc.) in hand, and many factors can influence the selection or non-selection of a title.  Any or all of the following may be relevant:

• Reviews in reliable reviewing sources

• Appearance in standard bibliographies, reading, or recommendation lists or indexes

• Significance of subject matter

• Importance of author, artist, composer, etc.

• Accuracy or inaccuracy of data

• Literary or artistic merit

• Authority of publisher, producer, etc.

• Potential for use or known need

• Faculty or librarian recommendation

• Importance to total collection

• Current and/or permanent value

• Scarcity or abundance of material on subject

• Unavailability of material elsewhere in the area

• Price or format

• Usefulness with respect to other materials in the collection, including the representation of all sides of controversial issues