Academic Monograph Tastes on a Paperback Budget: An MIS for Collection Development

Molly Brown, Melissa Gonzalez, Amanda Ziegler UWF Libraries

The Innovation Conference August 16, 2012

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

• July 2010 – New Dean of Libraries

• May 2011 – Loss of Acquisitions Librarian

• Spring 2011 – Overall staff reorganization

Collection Development

• Emphasis on Reference and Public Service

• New Reference Librarian hired to coordinate monograph collection development

• Subject Specialists assumed responsibility for all collection decisions

Acquisitions, Weeding, Replacements –

Oh My!

• Now what? • Large-scale collection development and

maintenance new to everyone

Need for Collection Development MIS

• Flat materials budget = reduced book budget • Take electronic resources off the top –> books

get what’s left • Empowered to guide collection process • Lack of consistency and transparency • Scattered or inaccessible statistics

Dual Purpose

1. Help determine monograph allocations New allocation formula Division between colleges and library

2. Aid with collection management decisions Areas for focused acquisition Weeding Replacements Inventory

Task Force

• Task force revise Collection Development policy develop CD-MIS

• Initial list of elements • Literature review

Data is Great… But How to Organize It?

Questions that needed answering: • WHAT type of

structure? • HOW much data? • WHICH statistics to

include?

Basic Structure

Began with largest college Separate sheets for each of the departments

3 Colleges = 3 Spreadsheets

How Far Back to Go?

Allocations/Expenditures

Interlibrary Loan

Circulation Statistics By call number range: • circulation by patron type • percentage of overall circulation • total # of volumes

Serials/Electronic Resources

Program Specifics

Enrollment Statistics

Confusion about Departments

Budget Lines

MBA Program

Duplicate Call Number Ranges

Collection Decisions at the Subject Level

Using the CD-MIS to Create a New Allocation Formula

Current Elements in UWF CD-MIS

• Program info – programs, degrees, levels, online, thesis/dissertation requirement, accrediting body

• Enrollment data – weighted FTE, headcount • Allocations and Expenditures • Circulation Statistics • Library holdings (# of volumes) • ILL statistics - # of requests, departmental rank (1-15) • Serials and Electronic Resources • # of faculty • Average cost of books (Bowker)

Comm Arts example

Other Possible Elements

• # courses / sections in a department • # of students enrolled in classes (*gen ed) • # of faculty requests / past record of department in

spending allocated funds • Book-heavy vs. journal-heavy disciplines • Courses with extensive research components • Faculty research and scholarly activity • Disciplines with a high rate of change (i.e. medicine,

science, technology, etc.) • Collection age / adequacy of collection • # of new titles published in a field (supply) • Institutional goals and strategic directions

Selected References

Canepi, Kitti. "Fund Allocation Formula Analysis: Determining Elements for Best Practices in Libraries.” Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services 31, no. 1 (2007): 12-24. Kaay, Anne, and Peter Zimmerman. “The Development and Application of a Unique Percentage-based Allocations Formula at the University of Windsor.” Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services 32, no. 2 (2008): 92–96. Walters, William H. “A Regression-Based Approach to Library Fund Allocation.” Library Resources & Technical Services 51, no. 4 (October 2007): 263-278.

Thanks!

Molly Brown Monograph Collection Development Coordinator

mbrown5@uwf.edu

Melissa Gonzalez Head of Reference

mgonzalez@uwf.edu

Amanda Ziegler Head of Circulation aziegler@uwf.edu