Editorial

Citation

Cassell, K.A. (2006), "Editorial", Collection Building, Vol. 25 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/cb.2006.17125daa.001

Editorial

Collection assessment and evaluation was one of the themes at this year’s annual ALA conference in New Orleans. ALCTS (the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services) ran a half-day program on collection analysis. Peggy Johnson stated that “evaluation determines how well the collection supports the goals, needs, and curriculum of the parent organization” and “assessment examines or describes collections either in their own terms or relative to other collections and checklists.” She enumerated both collection-based measures and use- and user-based measures. Collection-based measures involve looking at the size, growth and coverage of the collection and include checking lists, catalogs, and bibliographies, evaluating the collection by matching it against similar collections or against standard lists using newly developed electronic programs or using the conspectus approach. Use- and user-based measures include determining who is using the collection and how often, the users’ expectations and needs and the users’ perceptions of the collection. These later measures can be accomplished through circulation studies, in-house use studies, user surveys, shelf availability studies, analysis of ILL statistics, and analysis of the usage of electronic resources. Evaluation and assessment involve both quantitative measures that include counting the number of titles, the collection use and expenditures and qualitative measures that evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the collection through focus groups, surveys, interviews, etc.

A PLA (Public Library Association) program on collection evaluation was also held at ALA. This program presented by Julie Pringle of Fairfax County, Virginia, also emphasized the use of evaluation to shape collections to meet user needs. Pringle emphasized that selection should be based on identified needs, customer use, staff input and evaluation. She recommended that the materials budget should be reallocated to reflect the use of the collection. For example, database materials need additional funds while print reference needs less; fiction and nonfiction purchases should be based on circulation statistics and other use measures; audiovisual materials, e-books and e-audio books require more funding as use increases. Shelf space should also be based on use.

This new emphasis on evaluation and assessment of collections is a sign that librarians are once again paying attention to their collections and realizing that collection use is changing, and libraries must keep up with the changes. Assessing and evaluating collections is an important activity that can benefit libraries and their users. As editor of Collection Building I welcome articles on this theme.

Kay Ann Cassell