The Subject Liaison's Survival Guide to Technical Services

Krista Schmidt, Tim Carstens

• Publisher: ALA Editions
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9780838915028
• eBook ISBN:
  9780838915332
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Library & Information Science
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

1

Collection Development

Collection development may be the part of technical services in which most liaisons expect to be involved. In this book and in the workaday world, too, collection development is a broad, catchall phrase that applies to everything from the organizational unit and the individual(s) responsible for collections to the concepts, policies, and processes related to developing, selecting, and maintaining collections.

In this chapter, our focus is on the unit responsible for collection development in your library. We recognize that libraries may use different names or locate this unit in different places in the organizational hierarchy; in this book, when we use the term collection development, we refer to the unit whose primary responsibilities pertain to the development of the library’s collections or resources, regardless of actual official title or organizational placement. Rather than focusing on the theoretical aspects of collection development or explaining best practices on how to develop collections, this chapter primarily addresses the functional parts of the collection development department that we think affect the liaison most: understanding the departmental structure and associated liaison roles, communication to and from the department, the official collection development policy, and data or information that the department can provide.

STRUCTURE

Because collection development is a main responsibility for subject liaisons, we think it is imperative to understand exactly who is involved in collection development activities and oversight within the library. Understanding this structure is directly related to who has authority and ultimate responsibility for performing collection development activities. You will find that different individuals have various levels of responsibility and that this arrangement varies widely by institution. Understanding structure helps you, as a liaison, understand exactly what your role is. Institutionally, a liaison’s role can range from merely suggesting that the library purchase resources to making recommendations for purchase that are routinely accepted to actually having final authority over selection decisions. There are almost endless ways to organize a collection development department and delegate responsibilities. If you talk to liaisons who work in other institutions, you may find that in their library just one person coordinates all collection development activities while in other libraries, these responsibilities are divided among several people based on resource type (serials, electronic resources, one-time purchases, etc.). You may also find that some libraries use a committee—in addition to the individuals in the collection development department—to perform certain types of selection and decision making, perhaps for very expensive purchases or any item that requires a subscription.

There also may be outside players such as teaching or research faculty who have a role within the overall collection development structure, though the formality and prominence of their roles will vary by institution size, by library mission, or by both. We realize that this is very likely to seem like a confusing puzzle at first (for Thing X, ask Tom; for Thing Y, notify Lorenzo; for Issue Z, you’ll need to consult with the Committee on All Things Print—and don’t forget to include faculty!). If your library provides collection development training, the people responsible for many of the bigger aspects will become clear quickly. If not, start with trying to find an organizational chart with job descriptions for collection development and go from there. Absolutely ask questions of your technical services and liaison colleagues as you suss out exactly who is responsible for what, keeping in mind that what is written on organizational charts can be different in day-to-day practice.

STRUCTURE

Questions You Should Be Asking

Collection Development Department

▪ What functions does the collection development department perform?

▪ How many people are in this department?

▪ Are there any subunits (e.g., units responsible for particular resource types or subject areas) within the collection development department? If so, what are they, and what are their functions?

▪ Who leads this department, and is this individual the main decision maker?

▪ What is the collection development department leader’s responsibility regarding selection, withdrawal, and other collection development decisions?

Collection Development Committees

▪ What functions, if any, do collections committees play in collection development? What is their responsibility regarding selection, withdrawal, and other collection development decisions?

▪ How many committees are there, what do they do, and what are they named?

▪ To whom do these committees report?

▪ Do liaisons serve on these committees? If so, what are the terms and responsibilities of the service?

▪ Who is the final decision maker—the committee (by consensus or vote) or the individual(s) to whom the committee reports?

Faculty

▪ What is the role of teaching or research faculty, or both, in collection development, particularly regarding resource selection and withdrawal? Does their role vary (e.g., do research faculty have more influence than teaching faculty)?

▪ Is the role of faculty in collection development formally recognized and documented? If so, where is this documentation?

▪ If the faculty’s role is more informal, though still expected, what are the areas in which they should be included?

COMMUNICATION

In this book, we talk a lot about the importance of understanding how communication flows in and among departments. Because collection development responsibilities may be spread widely throughout the library, getting a good handle on the manner in which formal and informal communication flows to and from the collection development department is critical for success—as well as for avoiding frustration. Find out what kinds of communication you can expect to receive from the collection development department—such as policy updates and changes, deadlines, and guidelines—and what information staff members expect you to convey to their department, to faculty, and to vendors.

One of the first things about which a liaison can ask is the communication structure: who is responsible for relaying information about collection development? Although it might seem obvious that the communication structure should reflect the structure of collection development in general, you may find that only one person is responsible for relaying certain types of information—for example, policy updates, structure changes, collections decisions. You may also find that both formal and informal communication channels exist, as is the case in most departments. Collection development documentation may outline these channels, but don’t forget to talk to your established liaison colleagues. They can offer their opinions and experiences on what you can expect and on effective approaches for relaying information to the collection development department through both channels, as well as alerting you to any unwritten rules or expectations (yes, these often exist!).

Liaisons will also want to determine how collection development–related communication with faculty and other key constituencies works, particularly the roles and expectations of the liaison versus the roles and expectations of the responsible parties in collection development. Ask about expected communications or reports to these parties from you or the collection development department or both, as well as how you are expected to report information or feedback from external partners to collection development. Communication with external-to-the-library constituents is critical in times of budget cuts and collection reviews. Because those situations tend to be touchy, it’s crucial for liaisons to understand to whom and how cut/review processes are to be communicated to external partners. Be sure you clarify what information, if any, will be released by collection development to the external audience and what information should be disseminated by the liaison. For example, you may find that you want to include more information or context, or both, for the cuts than the minimum required by the collection development department, or perhaps you want to tailor the wording of a policy change message to make it more department-specific. We also urge you to recognize that there are times when the collection development department expects liaisons to disseminate a unified message with little to no deviation from the prepared script.

Liaisons should also consider the question of how communication works with resource providers or vendors. You will probably receive many, many calls and e-mails from vendors. And there will be times when you will want to ask vendors for specific types of information, including title lists, coverage, subscription or purchase costs, and so forth. Obviously you cannot control when vendors contact you, but be sure to check with the collection development department staff about their expectations for your conversations with vendors. There also may be times when collection development wants to be the main point of contact or to initiate contact with vendors—for example, to negotiate price or set up trials. You might find that the reasons in your library include a desire to convey consistent information or the need for formal record keeping. This doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t participate in conversations with vendors along with collection development; rather, you need to recognize and understand when it is better to let the collection development department lead.

COMMUNICATION

Questions You Should Be Asking

▪ Who is the primary point person for general communication coming from collection development? If those responsibilities are divided, how is overall communication managed?

▪ What kinds of formal departmental communications can I expect to receive? How frequently does collection development send out various communiqués?

▪ What kinds of information am I required to report to collection development and how often? Are there formal reports that collection development expects liaisons to complete, or is reporting a more informal process?

▪ How is communication to teaching or research faculty regarding collection development issues handled? Are liaisons the primary communicators of information, or is the collection development department the primary issuer?

▪ If the collection development department issues most faculty communication, when will I be expected to either participate or lead?

▪ If collection development has a discussion with a faculty member or another department, am I automatically included in the conversation even though I may not be expected to be an active participant? If not, how can I make sure I’m informed of discussions that include my subject areas?

▪ If I, as the liaison, lead most of the faculty communication, in what situations will the collection development department need to assist or lead?

▪ Under what circumstances does the message from collection development need to be unified and unchanged by liaisons? Can I indicate that this message is from the library as an entity and not from me as an individual? What is the best wording for that circumstance?

▪ In communication with faculty about collection development issues—changes to policies, cuts, reviews—how detailed should the information be? Do we have any baseline information we are expected to include? Are there any guidelines for specific situations?

▪ Does most vendor communication happen between liaison and vendor or between collection development and vendor?

▪ When I communicate with vendors, what kinds of information should I be passing along to the collection development department? Should I be including the collection development department in my communications? If so, every time? Also, what individuals within collection development should I be notifying?

▪ Under what circumstances should I ask collection development to obtain vendor information for me rather than ask for it myself?

▪ When collection development ta...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1 | Collection Development
• 2 | Budgets and Budgeting
• 3 | Submitting Orders
• 4 | Acquisitions Ordering
• 5 | Receiving and Processing
• 6 | Cataloging
• 7 | Collection Maintenance
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index