Managing Tangible Collections in an Electronic Environment

Oct 24, 1:30 pm

Copies of the slides. Considerable discussion of the tangible collections.

Two parts Suzanne [Talks too fast.] will talk about the tools and Cindy will talk about the others.

Future of Tangible Publications

• Distribution of tangible publications remains an important part of the FDLP.
• Depositories may wish to retain and provide access to a tangible collection.
• Need to include tangible publications in collection development and management plans.

Tools

• Basic Collection- differences between the basic, core, and essential. Basic is economic.

1. Federal publications that should be accessible in all depository collections.
2. Examples: Economic Indicators, CFR, Statutes at Large.
3. Must provide access to these titles
4. Determine if electronic or tangible access is best for your users

• Core Collection – adjusted list of titles. Based on your type of library. List is a few years old. Will be updated.

1. Developed by depository librarians
2. Depositories are not required to select but can be a useful tool for collection development
3. Being revised with development of new Handbook

• Essential Titles – Not required for selection.

1. Developed by GPO that contains important references. If in paper, from agency.
2. contain critical information about the activities of the U.S. Government or are important reference publications for libraries and the public
3. Developed using input provided by the depository library community
4. Will remain available in print for depositories as long as agency contuse to public in print format or if available through Sales Program in print format
5. Depositories are not required to select

• Superseded list – aid to identify obsolete material or dated before end of normal 5 year period.

1. Superseded material can be discarded without regional approval. List created in 2002.
2. Serve as guideline for type of material that can be superseded; not all titles that supersede are listed.
3. Not required to discard superseded material
4. Consider the needs of users and collection development policies
5. If retain superseded material, mark it as such. I.E. “Superseded” or “not current”
6. Apply guidelines when superseding titles not on list.

• Substitution list – works in a similar fashion to the superseded list.

1. Permits depositories to replace tangible versions with electronic equivalents
2. Electronic version must be complete official, and permanently accessible.
3. Material less than 5 years old may be substituted with regional approval.
4. Not comprehensive. List is just examples.
5. When substituting a title not on the list, follow the guidelines.
6. Consider user needs, usage patterns, research reuirements, and collection development policy when substituting an electronic version for the tangible. Make sure it is official and permanently accessible.

• CGP – Catalog of U.S. Government Publications generated since 1976 working on a retrospective collection back to the 1800s.

1. More than 500,000 records generated since July 1976
2. Online counterpart of the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications
3. Will eventually include records for publications dating back to the late 1800s
4. E-mail up to 20 catalog records at a time to yourself

• Needs and Offers – GPO has been maintaining on their web site.

1. Facilitates collection development
2. Offer gifts and weeded publications to other depositories
3. Locate copies of needed titles
4. Offers must follow regional disposal procedures and weeded publications. Offers to the regions first.

• WebTech notes – changes to publications. but in a searchable database format.

1. SuDoc class corrections
2. Changes to item numbers
3. Format changes
4. Title changes
5. Discontinued titles
6. New titles are also listed

• Documents Data Minor 2 – no discussion would be complete without data minor tools. You can filter your list to your selection tools. shelf list also. Also export files for local use. ddm2 talk with Nan. She is the expert. Her session will be tomorrow morning.
1. List of classes
2. Item selection profiles
3. FDL Directory
4. Shipping lists
5. MARC records
6. Superseded List
7. Able to export files from DDM2 for local use
8. Contains official data from GPO
9. Developed and Maintained by Wichita State University

Collection Development on the Desktop – these can all be found on the desktop.

• CGP: http//catalog/gpo.gov/
• Needs & Offers: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/needs_of/index.html
• WebTech Notes: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/webtech.html
• Documents Data Miner 2: http://govdoc.wichita.edu/ddm2/gdocframes.asp
• Collection Development on the FDLP Desktop http://www.access.gpo.gov/su-docs/fdlp/coll-dev/index.html

Collection Development Policies

• Why a written collection policy is needed
• Elements of a collection development policy
• Regional and collection development policies

Policy should:

define the users

provide guidance for selecting and deselecting

assist with planning – if you have a good plan and there is a budget question, i.e. binding and commercial support, then you can say it is justified because it is in the plan. Maybe this is something the reference area doesn’t have. Cooperative storage areas is another planning tool.

helps with public relations

defines cooperative efforts

outlines service parameters – Sort of has a service parameters.

When you get into these items you think you all have them. Don’t put in secondary users on your web document because it isn’t a good marketing tool that someone is secondary. Are there areas you want to collect comprehensively or as an historical collection?

Policy Elements

Introductory section

• Mission – why are you there who are you serving and how are you going to do it. faculty staff and students, third congressional district. remote or onsite services? teaching research services?
• Generalizations – not collecting in this area.
• Primary and secondary clientele
• Programs supported by the collection – are you part of a developing area? Heath education center? other information?
• Community Profile – geographic area you serve. Look at the population: Age, diversity, income, education This will help you get to know your users; District characteristics business and industry, other libraries primary occupations, wired?

Policy elements

• Who selects? Do you share this with others?
• Offer suggestions. subject profiles. intensity of collection and formats. i.e. no cds anymore. I’m leaning toward electronic in this area. making online in this area… physical location – selective housing sites. separate unit.
• Selected housing sites. Signed memorandum of agreement (MOA) When receiving library is under the purview of a different director from the designated depository’s
• Sample in the Instructions (Exhibit H) – this can be edited.
• Termination Clause. Needs to be there. Often things don’t last forever. If the material can be accessed online maybe they don’t need the paper. Maybe you need use stats on other materials. Maybe they don’t need it but you do.

• Access
1. Catalog, indexes? What kind of online subscription services. You need to be aware what is in the subscription services. i.e. Ebscohost.
2. How you are going to provide service in the electronic environment

• Maintenance of the collection:

1. Weeding, superseding, binding, replacing.
2. How long term you have the collection.

• Anything of local concern?

1. historical, or multiple copies, non-depository pubs, collection evaluation methods? policy review?
2. Evaluate your collection. You don’t need to do this every year, but you need to reevaluate on a regular basis.
3. What do the changes in curriculum do to the collection needs?

Collection Development Policy for Regionals?

Same list for depository libraries but it must be available for regional libraries also.

Regionals now have choices on what they collect. There is some flexibility.

Policy is part of a larger whole

• Don’t have to have separate policy for depository collection if the policy is part of the library’s policy:
• Recognition of depository and obligation to serve the public need community profile. Statement of which collections the policy covers or mention any exclusions.

Collection Development Policy for Core Collection

• The policy that describes why the collection is maintained
• Who it serves
• Definition of a core title
• Criteria for selecting a title

Questions:

Collection policy doesn’t have to be exclusionary, only for federal. it can include state and local materials.

Old and valuable – should these be included in the collection dev policy?

Preservation of older materials housed in a separate location. Housed as part of a preservation collection.

Physically handling the collection. Start to do some weeding. If I don’t have most current, use wooden blocks and list or file folders to show. Create stamp that says newer version online.

Only the things in title 44 are set in stone. When you start looking at collection intensity levels.

GODORT Handout Exchange has sample policies. Also off the ALA GODORT page. There is also a supplement to the collection development program. Different types of policies some are general and others are more of a working policy for staff.

The new item selection profiling. What they are doing is gathering data on item selection profiling. going to new platform. They haven’t moved forward yet on the distribution and electronic selection will come later. Depository distribution system. One requirement is that the selection system will need to talk with the ILS.

How will it work? Tangible items a one to one item. Not creating new multiple items with one SuDoc number.

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