Collection Evaluation in Academic Libraries

Collection Evaluation in Academic Libraries
Author: Karen C. Kohn
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2015-06-24
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1442250658

Librarians have long used data to describe their collections. Traditional measures have simply been inputs and outputs: volumes acquired, processed, owned, or circulated. With the growth since the 1990s of cultures of assessment, librarians have sought statistics that are evaluative rather than simply descriptive. More recently, exponentially increasing journal prices and an economic recession have intensified the need to make careful purchasing decisions and to justify these to administrators. A methodical evaluation of a library collection can help librarians understand and meet user needs and can help communicate to administrators that the library is a good use of the institution’s money. Collection Evaluation in Academic Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarians equips collections managers to select and implement a method or several methods of evaluating their library collections. It includes sections on four tools for evaluation: • Comparison to peer institutions • Core lists • Usage statistics from circulation and ILL • Citation analysis Chapters on each of these approaches present the advantages and disadvantages of each method, instructions on data collection and analysis—with screenshots—and suggested action steps after completing the analysis. With a unique combination of step-by-step instructions and discussions of the purpose and role of data, this book provides an unusually thorough guide to collection evaluation. It will be indispensable for collection development librarians and anyone looking to strengthen the culture of assessment within the library.

Evaluation of Library Collections, Access and Electronic Resources

Evaluation of Library Collections, Access and Electronic Resources
Author: Thomas Nisonger
Publisher: Libraries Unlimited
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2003-11-30
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

An annotated bibliography and literature guide, this resource is extremely useful for course work in collection development and management. Coverage includes print and electronic materials appropriate for academic, public, school, and special libraries.

The Care of Prints and Drawings

The Care of Prints and Drawings
Author: Margaret Holben Ellis
Publisher: Rowman Altamira
Total Pages: 270
Release: 1995
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 9780761991366

Step-by-step instructions and enlightening photos and diagrams thoroughly educate you on parchment and paper care; mattings, hinging and framing; storage; basic conservation procedures; and other relevant topics.

Evaluation of Library and Information Services

Evaluation of Library and Information Services
Author: John Crawford
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 137
Release: 2000
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9780851424439

Provides update to current thinking about, and reasons for, service evaluation of libraries in the UK. Examines quantitative and qualitative methods including questionnaires, focus groups, suggestions boxes and interview techniques.Problems arising from survey outcomes are summarised and long-term evaluation and the relevance of benchmarking are discussed.Contains case studies covering survey work in public, academic and special libraries; charters and service level agreements; and examples of relevant research projects.New chapter on performance measurement in the electronic library.

Collection Evaluation in Academic Libraries

Collection Evaluation in Academic Libraries
Author: Thomas Nisonger
Publisher: Libraries Unlimited
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1992-09-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9780872879256

Detailed annotations (100-150 words) on some 500 items focus on articles, books, and book chapters published from 1980 through 1991 and important classic items published prior to 1980. With both scholarly/theoretical and practical how-to perspectives, the book covers material concerning research, university, college, community college, and special libraries. Major chapters discuss an overview of the collection evaluation process, methods and methodology, use studies, availability studies, the RLG Conspectus, serials evaluation (including serials review case studies), citation analysis (including structure of disciplines), journal ranking, standards, and application of automation to the collection evaluation process. The book will be useful to academic library practitioners, students, teachers, and researchers in library and information science education.

Guide to the Evaluation of Library Collections

Guide to the Evaluation of Library Collections
Author: Barbara Lockett
Publisher: Chicago : American Library Association
Total Pages: 40
Release: 1989
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

This text provides principles and methods for determining if a library collection is fulfilling the stated mission of the library. It is a clear introduction to collection evaluation for the novice collection manager, and it is also useful as a review and reference for the experienced librarian.

Collection Development and Collection Evaluation

Collection Development and Collection Evaluation
Author: Michael R. Gabriel
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 442
Release: 1995
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9780810828773

Contains approximately 2,000 citations to books, periodical articles, theses, and scholarly papers in English. ...a comprehensive guide to literature...useful to all librarians interested in strengthening their collection development operation, policies and procedures. --PUBLIC LIBRARY QUARTERLY

The Evaluation and Measurement of Library Services

The Evaluation and Measurement of Library Services
Author: Joseph R. Matthews
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 538
Release: 2017-10-27
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

This guide provides library directors, managers, and administrators in all types of libraries with complete and up-to-date instructions on how to evaluate library services in order to improve them. It's a fact: today's libraries must evaluate their services in order to find ways to better serve patrons and prove their value to their communities. In this greatly updated and expanded edition of Matthews' seminal text, you'll discover a breadth of tools that can be used to evaluate any library service, including newer tools designed to measure customer and patron outcomes. The book offers practical advice backed by solid research on virtually every aspect of evaluation, including quantitative and qualitative tools, data analysis, and specific recommendations for measuring individual services, such as technical services and reference and interlibrary loan. New chapters give readers effective ways to evaluate critical aspects of their libraries such as automated systems, physical space, staff, performance management frameworks, eBooks, social media, and information literacy. The author explains how broader and more robust adoption of evaluation techniques will help library managers combine traditional internal measurements, such as circulation and reference transactions, with more customer-centric metrics that reflect how well patrons feel they are served and how satisfied they are with the library. By applying this comprehensive strategy, readers will gain the ability to form a truer picture of their library's value to its stakeholders and patrons.

Brief Tests of Collection Strength

Brief Tests of Collection Strength
Author: Howard D. White
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 206
Release: 1995-09-26
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0313369771

For purposes of accreditation, resource sharing, and institutional mission, librarians need to assess the strengths of their collections in particular subject areas. This book describes and illustrates a brief test for determining a library's collection strength. Though such tests are most often employed in academic libraries, the methodology outlined by the author should be useful to all types of libraries in assessing the strength of their holdings. In a time of increasing material and limited resources, libraries need to be particularly judicious in deciding which works to acquire. Oftentimes, a library seeks to develop strong holdings in one or more subject areas. Such an approach is especially useful for libraries that share their resources with other institutions. To plan their acquisitions carefully and to be of greatest use to other consortia members, a library needs to gauge the strength of its holdings accurately. This volume describes and illustrates a relatively brief test to assign libraries a score for existing collection strength in a subject area. Drawing upon expert human judgment and holdings data available from OCLC, the test can assist librarians in setting and verifying collection levels on the RLG or WLN Conspectus scales. Collection strength is often verified in a labor-intensive fashion. The brief test presented by the author is an economical alternative to the more typical labor-intensive approach to collection analysis.