electronic resources and collection development article

Running Head: Electronic Resources and Collection Development

Electronic Resources and Collection Development

Stephenie Heinz

LI 855

Emporia State University


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Abstract

Collection development policies have gone through significant transitions throughout the years

and transformed from strictly ordering the classic library collection to the concept of specializing a

collection to meet the needs of the patrons. This paper discusses the challenges that library’s collection

development personnel face with the introduction and integration of electronic resources into the

library catalog. Issues stemming from high cost, budget cuts, access vs. ownership, and licensing issues

all bring a library’s collection development policy under tough scrutiny.


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In the last twenty years, much has changed for the collection development librarians across the

globe. Technological advances and an increased demand for electronic resources have greatly changed

the way that collection development personnel order, maintain and preserve library collections. The

challenges faced by collection development librarians to maintain a balance between print and

electronic resources is of great importance in the future of the field. In Electronic Resources and

Academic Libraries, 1980-2000: A Historical Perspective, Ruth Miller overviews the topic of collection

management during the aforementioned twenty years of great transformation for not only the library

community but also the rest of the world. She writes of the transition towards electronic resources,

“from attempting to ‘balance’ funds between serials and monographs, the need has expanded to

‘balancing’ paper resources with electronic resources” (Miller, 2000). The author includes the rise of the

Internet, and subsequently electronic resources such as online public access catalogs and scholarly

journals as being essential to the foundations of our modern library system. Miller discusses various

challenges of introducing electronic resources to the library community including cost, access versus

ownership of content, organizational restructuring, preservation. This paper will discuss some of these

ideas and challenges about collection development decisions in the electronic era, and will also look

ahead to envision the future of libraries with the added content of electronic resources that are here to

stay.

The globalization and mass culture of our time has made the public so much more concerned

with quickly gaining access to the information they need that it becomes necessary for librarians to

choose their content wisely in order to remain relevant as information providers. Much of the debate is

whether to acquire print resources or electronic resources. Those in our profession constantly deal with

budget cuts and lack of funding so as to have to decide between the acquisition of one type of resource

at the expense of the other. Both print and electronic resources have advantages and disadvantages

that librarians must consider before using limited funds to purchase either type.


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Other aspects of collection development with regards to electronic resources are the models

and selection policies that influence the decision making process for libraries. Librarians actively engage

in the making of a collection policy for their libraries and selection of materials, including electronic

resources, must remain within the policy guidelines. Cynthia Keller’s Collection Development: Electronic

or Print Subscription Resources article is an informative source for librarians when considering electronic

resources for their collection. Keller writes of the importance in clarifying the criteria for acquisitions,

and matching the resources to the needs of the community. She also considers a number of factors to

be important in the budget dilemma between print and electronic resources including but not limited

to: value, quality, patron needs, relevance, depth and coverage, initial and ongoing costs, and physical

space requirements (Keller, 2006). She argues that by following a clear acquisitions policy that

establishes a controlled method of selection, and by also evaluating the advantages and disadvantages

of both print and electronic resource types, librarians can select a collection that will satisfy both the

needs of their community and of their budget. Sam Brooks presents another strategy for integrating

electronic resources into a library’s collection in Integration of Information Resources and Collection

Development Strategy. He writes “the process of selecting quality, appropriate materials demands

thorough investigation and attention to detail” and “exercising caution in choosing which materials to

include in each database is a critical element in the process of developing proper information resources

(Brooks, 2001). Bradley Schaffner also recommends using this cautious approach when selecting library

materials for purchase with limited funds. In Electronic Resources: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing he argues

that, “focusing all collection development funds on electronic resources will privilege some disciplines in

a library’s collections at the expense of others that do not extensively use digitization as a scholarly

communication format” (Schaffner, 2001). The question of providing a balanced collection using both

print and electronic resources is one that collection development librarians must continue to consider in

the future.


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The publication of printed books has been made into a cost-effective industry in recent years.

Arguments can be made for the continuation of using printed resources because paper is a renewable

source and the rate of replacement of the trees is almost double the rate at which they are used

(Connell 2010). Also the cost per use of print resources is a cheaper alternative to electronic resources

with their reliance on computers and the electricity required for use. Students and teachers who largely

print out electronic articles onto paper are thus negating the effects of the electronic resource. Books

are often considered more feasible for long-term discussion purposes and there will always be those

who prefer reading the pages of a book in hand to staring at a computer screen for hours on end. Also,

the content of books may last longer than that of electronic resources because technology and its

formats evolve so quickly that libraries may not be able to continuously purchase new formats with

limited funds.

The obvious advantages of electronic resources such as instant and widespread access,

improved searchability and reference resources prove that they are a viable and adaptable addition to

the modern library. Another advantage is that as print material becomes outdated, electronic resources

can be updated instantly. Electronic resources are becoming so popular and easy to use, that it is

possible to believe that they will replace print resources in the future. However, Doug Johnson, in Print

& Electronic Library Resources: a Match Made in Heaven, strives to prove that instead of using

electronic resources to replace print or vice versa, these resources can actually complement each other.

He writes “experienced teacher-librarians know that it takes newer technologies and print together to

create meaningful learning experiences” and predicts that “Google will not replace the knowledgeable

teacher-librarian.” (Johnson 2002). Johnson’s example in a school library proves that there is a need to

combine print resources with electronic in order to gain the best possible learning experiences for

patrons.


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Collection development personnel must consider all of these aspects of both print and

electronic resources to best determine which will be of most use to their patrons. Because electronic

resources and providing access to them is relatively expensive when compared to print resources, it is

not yet the case that libraries can rely solely on e-resources as a replacement for print materials. Indeed

many patrons still prefer the written word and so a compromise between the costs and benefits of the

two resources is an important aspect to consider.

Another challenge for collection development librarians is the rising cost of reference materials

whether print or electronic. Miller discusses the serials crises of the last two decades as being a catalyst

for the changes occurring in libraries across the United States (Miller, 2000). The costs of resources

increasing faster than the funding given for purchasing new materials has been the case for countless

years in the library community and library consortia has become one way in which libraries combat the

rising costs and licensing issues of serials and databases in both print and electronic resources.

Electronic information also presents other challenges for library personnel such as licensing, and

ownership debates. In the past, the concept of first sale gave the library rights to the material and to

lend it to patrons under their own terms. Publishers of electronic materials, on the other hand, can

restrict library and patron access more than ever by limiting access in their licensing agreements. In

Impact of Electronic Resources on Collection Development, the Roles of Librarians and Library Consortia,

Glenda Thornton discusses the growth of licensing issues with electronic resource access and library

defense mechanisms. She writes, ““licensing introduced a fundamental change in the relationship

between the library and some of the information being made available to the public” (Thornton, 2000).

Shona Koehn’s article entitled The Acquisition and Management of Electronic Resources: Can Use Justify

Cost?, also illustrates the problem of access versus ownership for libraries. She writes “instead of

purchasing serials that are kept on shelves and that belong to the library, institutions are now paying


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subscriptions or licensing fees to access online content that continues to be owned by a third party”

(Koehn, 2010). Such packaged deal subscriptions greatly hinder a library’s ability to purchase a

specialized collection based on the needs of their communities. Koehn also argues that adjustments in

the way collection developers make purchasing decisions need to move in this direction of meeting the

needs of the patrons they serve rather than purchasing materials that have been classically part of the

library’s base collection.

The influence of environmentalism and the “Go green” movements is not lost on the library

community. There is a strong push to develop library collections that are more sustainable as well as

environmentally friendly. Virginia Connell writes about the sustainability of collection development

policies in libraries in her article entitled Greening the Library: Collection Development Decisions. She

discusses the three most important factors to be considered during the selection process as, “selection

of materials whose content informs and assess green practices, de-selection processes that make the

most of the green mandate to reuse and recycle materials, and selection of material format, specifically

print or electronic, that honors the green dictum to reduce the carbon footprint and institution makes”

(Connell, 2010). The future of the library includes these concepts of the carbon footprint, the reuse and

recycling of library materials and the mindset that sustainable practices must be put into place in all

libraries to ensure that continuance of the collections. One example of how libraries can update their

weeding policy is by incorporating recycling into their de-selection process. In many libraries, it is the

occurrence that the books that are unable to be sold at book sales, are disposed of into trash bins rather

than donation to worthy causes and not even the library staff are allowed to give them good homes.

Also, because electronic resources require a variety of computers, servers, and other components made

of plastic, the environmental impact of these non-recyclable resources also must be studied when

determining collection development strategies for electronic resources. The consideration of what to do


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with weeded books and electronics while keeping in mind the external environment is a crucial aspect of

the future of collection development practices.

Another interesting idea for collection development of electronic resources is the idea of patron

driven acquisition services. The concept is not a new one, but is revamped when combined with

electronic resource purchasing. In the article, Patron-Driven Ebook Acquisition, William Breitbach and

Joy Lambert discuss a case study at the California State University in which the library experiments with

the idea of patron driven selection. The goals of the experiment were to increase patron access to

ebooks, and to allow libraries to access only content needed for study (Breitbach, 2011). The results of

the trial illustrated that the cost per use of these short term book loans was relatively low compared to

the cost per use of print and other electronic database and journal subscriptions. Also this method

ensures that the content purchased is valuable and will be of use to the patrons. The concept of

allowing access to e-resources at the time of need might be a viable solution to the high cost associated

with purchasing entire databases, serials and journal subscriptions that are rarely, if ever, used as well as

high interlibrary loan expenses.

The influence of electronic resources on the library development system will continue to grow

as the public becomes increasingly dependent on mobility in technology. These advancements have

always been a way for librarians to show their flexibility, ingenuity and creativity in dealing with

challenges that are presented. However fond we are of books, the 21st century scholars of library and

information management fields illustrate that librarians can invent creative solutions for the

implantation and integration of electronic resources into their collections.


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References

Breitbach, W., & Lambert, J. (2011). Patron-driven ebook acquisition. Computers in Libraries, 31(6), 17-

20. Retrieved from Library Lit & Inf Full Text database

Brooks, S. (2001). Integration of information resources and collection development strategy. The Journal

of Academic Librarianship, 27(4), 316-19. doi: 10.1016/S0099-1333(01)00218-X

Connell, V. (2010). Greening the library: collection development decisions. Endnotes, 1(1), p. H1-H15.

Retrieved from Library Lit & Inf Full Text database

Johnson, D. (2002). Print & electronic library resources—a match made in heaven. School Libraries in

Canada, 21(4), 5-6. Retrieved from Library Lit & Inf Full Text database

Keller, C. (2006). Collection development: electronic or print subscription resources?. School Library

Media Activities Monthly, 22(9), 56-9. Retrieved from Library Lit & Inf Full Text database

Koehn, S., & Hawamdeh, S. (2010). The acquisition and management of electronic resources: can use

justify cost?. The Library Quarterly, 80(2), 161-74. doi: 10.1086/651006

Miller, R. (2000). Electronic resources and academic libraries, 1980-2000: a historical perspective. Library

Trends, 48(4), 645-70. Retrieved from Library Lit & Inf Full Text database

Schaffner, B. (2001). Electronic resources: a wolf in sheep's clothing?. College & Research Libraries,

62(3), 239-49. Retrieved from Library Lit & Inf Full Text database

Thornton, G. (2000). Impact of electronic resources on collection development, the roles of librarians,

and library consortia. Library Trends, 48(4), 842-56. Retrieved from Library Lit & Inf Full Text

database

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