Managing the Reference Collection

Citation

Evans, G.E. (1999), "Managing the Reference Collection", Library Management, Vol. 20 No. 8, pp. 447-455. https://doi.org/10.1108/lm.1999.20.8.447.6

Nolan’s slim volume of 189 pages of text and 25 pages for an annotated bibliography addresses the issues of reference collection management in seven chapters. His approach is typical, up to a point, of what one finds in standard collection development textbooks: an overview/introduction; policy development; who should select; selection criteria; selection issues associated with electronic resources; a single chapter covering acquisitions, evaluation, and deselection, and one related to limited budgets and high costs. The style is very readable and the content solid, if not terribly new.

The introductory chapter is where he makes the case for why reference collections require management beyond that of the general collection. While the issues involved in general collection management clearly apply to any of its subsets, Nolan makes a convincing case that the “special” nature of the reference collection requires special management. His case revolves around seven points that create an environment that calls for additional attention. The points are:

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  reference collections occupy a prominent physical location in libraries (“prime space” in real estate terms);

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  reference collections, on average, have a higher per item cost than does the general collection;

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  reference collections are a key element in the quality and accuracy of reference service;

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  reference materials, in the minds of users are the authoritative source of information or data;

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  reference collections/service is usually the starting point for users, even when they make heavy use of the general collections;

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  reference services are now probably the most heavily used service in libraries with the advent of electronic resources, especially full‐text databases; and

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  reference collections and services, more than any other area, create the “image”of the library in the mind of users.

These are all probably true, although we may not have a great deal of empirical evidence to validate them. What is surprising is that having made the points, he does not directly return to them in the remainder of the book. It is as though they become the underlying assumptions of the later chapters.

His concern with terminology (is it collection development or management) seems somewhat dated. Most writers in the field in the 1990s think and write about the broader concept of collection management. While Nolan also uses the broader meaning, he only devotes 22 pages (chapter six) to the areas of acquisitions, evaluation, and deselection. This suggests his primary focus is on collection development.

Chapter two, policy development, is standard fare in basic collection development/management textbooks. Unlike his case for the need for special collection management in reference, his case for a completely separate reference policy is not compelling. This is a chapter where one might have expected to find a deeper exploration of his seven points from chapter one. The material in this chapter very much reflects the American Library Association’s Guide for Written Collection Policy Statements (1996).

The discussion of who should select (chapter three) divides the options between “distributed” and “co‐operative” categories. He gives pros and cons for each option in the two categories. Although never directly stated, this reviewer came away with the sense Nolan prefers the Head of Reference or a designated “Collection Co‐ordinator” model. One option addressed, catalogue department selection, which is probably the least common approach. Probably the least favoured by Nolan is what he terms “the ubiquitous library committee” (p. 53). He does differentiate between serial reference tools and individual titles; for the former format the committee gets the nod of approval. There is a solid discussion of why he does not favour the committee approach which primarily relates to issues of time as well as prompt decision making.

A topic that could have used more coverage in the who selects chapter is consortial purchases. His chapter on e‐resources is very strong but the challenges of consortial decision making/selection are not adequately covered. As he correctly points out, electronic reference materials are costly and for that reason consortial buying is becoming more and more common. Perhaps in a new book Nolan, or someone else, will address this subject in depth.

How to select has been and is an ongoing concern of library school students and practitioners alike. Chapter four will serve as a good review of the basic selection criteria for the various classes of reference works which one finds covered in numerous books and articles introducing reference services. Criteria and concerns related to electronic reference tools are in the following chapter.

Without question for this reviewer, the best chapter is one exploring electronic reference resources. Perhaps the best section is the one on integrating electronic and print resources. There was not as much coverage of variations in access to various versions of electronic products as this reviewer expected. (Our reference department has found significant variations in search capability for the same title from different aggregators.)

As noted earlier, chapter six attempts to cover too many collection management topics in too few pages. In 22 pages, Nolan covers acquisitions, evaluation, and deselection; all of which are worthy of fuller coverage. He does not attempt to cover issues of conservation and security. While the latter is probably a higher concern (pages extracted‐torn, razored, clipped, etc.) because of high use and high costs, conservation is also an important factor in managing the reference collection.

The final chapter on “lean budgets” contains a number of ideas that all too many libraries have been forced to try over the past 15‐20 years. Given the importance of the reference collection “lean times” should come last for the service but come they do. Thus, having a chapter on how to cope with those times was a sound decision.

Overall this title presents little “new” material. What it does is bring together in a convenient volume materials that are scattered in books and journals. It will serve as something of a handbook for those who are new to managing a reference collection.