UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
BACHELOR OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE PROGRAM

LS20: COLLECTION MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Review of Collection Development Concepts 1

Introduction to Collection Management 10
Selection of Materials 25
Selection of Non - Print Materials 28
Selection Standards According to Type of Libraries 32
CHED Standards for Academic Libraries 33
E - Serials Management 34
Evaluation and Assessment of E - Resources 37
Standards for Philippine Libraries 41
Challenges and Possibilities
Collection Development and Management Literature
History of Electronic Resources
Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines
E - Resource Management
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LS20: Collection Management

CHAPTER I:

REVIEW OF COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS

LS20: Collection Management

REVIEW OF COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS (EVANS AND SAPONARO, 2005)

I. DEFINITION OF THE TERM

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT – the process of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of a library’s information sources with
respect to patron needs and community resources and attempting to correct the weaknesses. It requires a continual examination
and evaluation of library’s resources. Further, it requires a constant study of patron needs and changes in the community the
library serves (ODLIS 2002).

Collection development is a universal process for libraries and information centers. The figure below represents the six major
components of the process:

As implied by the circle, collection development is a constant cycle that continues as long as the library or information center
exists. Because of our philosophy of collection development, which has a focus on meeting the information needs of the
community the collection serves, we begin the discussion of collection development with the needs assessment (community
analysis) element. The terms needs assessment, community analysis, or user community, as used throughout, means the group
of persons that the library exists to serve. They do not refer only to the active users but include everyone within the library’s or
information center's defined service limits. Thus, a community might be an entire political unit (i.e., a nation, region, state,
province, county, city, or town).

Alternatively, a community may be a more specialized grouping or association (i.e., a university, college, school, government
agency, or private organization). Also, the number of people that the library is to serve may range from a very few to millions.
Data for the analysis comes from a variety of sources, not just staff generated material. For collection development personnel,
the assessment process provides data on what information the clientele needs. It also establishes a valuable mechanism for
user input into the process of collection development.

One use for the data collected in needs assessment is as part of the preparation for collection development policy. Clearly
delineated policies on both collection development and selection provide collection development staff with guidelines for
choosing items for inclusion in the collection. (Note that collection policies cover a wide range of topics than just selection
policies. For example, selection policies normally provide only useful information in deciding which items to purchase, whereas
collection policies cover that topic in addition to such related issues as gifts, weeding, and cooperation.) Most libraries have
some of the required information available for their collection development personnel, although they do not always label it
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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“policy.” Some libraries call it an acquisitions policy, some a collection development policy, and others simply a statement.
Whatever the local label, the intent is the same: to define the library’s goals for its collection(s) and to help staff members select
and acquire the most appropriate materials.

At this point, the staff begins the procedures for selecting materials using whatever written policies or statements the library has
prepared. For many people, this is the most interesting element in the collection development process. One constant factor in
collection development is that there is never enough money available to buy everything that might be of value to the service
community. Naturally, this means that someone, usually one or more professional staff members, must decide which items to
buy. Selection is this process of deciding which materials to acquire for a library collection. It may involve deciding among items
that provide information about the same subject; deciding whether the information contained in an item is worth the price; or
determining whether an item could stand up to the use it would receive. In essence, it is a matter of systematically determining
the quality and value. Selection is a form of decision making. Most of the time it is not just a matter of identifying the appropriate
materials but of deciding among items that are essential, important, needed, marginal, nice, or luxurious. Where to place any
item in the sequence from essential to luxurious depends, of course, on the individual selector’s point of view. It is just a matter of
perception. So it is with library materials.

Individuals buying an item for themselves normally do not have to identify the expenditure to anyone. However, when it is a
question for spending the library community’s money, whether derived from taxes or an organization’s budget, the problem
becomes more complex. The question of whose perception of value to use is one of the challenges in a collection development.
Needs assessments and policies help determine the answer, but there is a long – standing question in the field. How much
emphasis should selector place on clientele demand and how much in content quality? Often the question of perception comes
up when someone objects to the presence of an item in the collection.

Once the selectors make their decisions, the acquisition work begins. Acquisitions work is the process of securing materials for
the library’s collections, whether by purchase, as gifts, or through exchange programs. This is the only point in the collection
development process that involves little or no community input; it is a fairly straightforward business operation. Once the staff
decides to purchase an item, the acquisitions department proceeds with the preparation of an order form and the selection of a
vendor, eventually recording the receipt of the item and finally paying the bill (invoice). Though details vary, the basic routines
remain the same around the world, just as they do in either a manual or automated work environment. (Note that the acquisitions
process does not always mean buying an item. Gift and exchange programs can also be useful means of acquiring needed
material.)

After receipt, an item goes through a series of internal library operations, such as cataloguing, and is eventually made available
to the patron community. Over time, nearly every item outlives its original usefulness in the collection. Often the decision is to
remove these items from the main collection. The activity of examining items in the library and determining their current value to
that library’s collection (and to the service community) has several labels, the oldest being weeding. Another term for this
process is deselection (the opposite of selection). In the United Kingdom, the term used is stock relegation. Regardless of the
label used for this activity, the end result is the same. When a library decides that a given item is no longer of value, it will
dispose of the item (by selling it, giving it away, or even throwing it away). If the item still has some value for the library, the
decision may be to transfer the item to a less accessible and usually less expensive storage location.

Evaluation is the last element in the collection development process. To some extent, weeding is an evaluation activity, but
weeding is also more of an internal library operation. Evaluation of a collection may serve many different purposes, both inside
and outside the library. For example, it may help to increase funding for the library. It may aid in the library’s gaining some form
of recognition, such as high standing in a comparative survey. Additionally, it may help to determine the quality of the work done
by the collection development staff. For effective evaluation to occur, the service community’s needs must be considered, which
leads back to community analysis.

There is little reason to define library materials other than to emphasize that this volume covers various formats, not just books.
Different authors writing about the library collections use a number of related terms: print, non print, visual materials,
audiovisuals, AV, other media, and so on. There is no single term encompassing all forms that has gained universal acceptance
among librarians. Library materials (or simply materials) is a non – specific term with respect to format that is otherwise inclusive.
Thus, we use it throughout this text. Library materials may include books, periodicals, pamphlets, reports, manuscripts,
microformats, motion pictures, video tapes, or audiotapes, DVDs, CDs, sound recordings, realia, and so forth. In effect, almost
any physical object that conveys information, thoughts or feelings potentially can be part of an information collection.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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II. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT AND THE COMMUNITY

As seen in the “evolution” of library technology from clay tables to the gigabyte, factors inside and outside the library influence
collection development. Among these factors are the library’s structure and organization, the production and distribution of the
information materials, and the presence of other libraries in the area. The figure below illustrates some of the interrelationships
among the library organization, the produces, and distributors of materials, and other libraries.

Traditionally, libraries have organized their internal activities into public and technical services. Those activities in which the staff
has daily contact with clientele are considered public services; almost all other activities are frequently considered as part of
technical services. Collection development work bridges the traditional division. With the automation of library functions, the
boundaries between public and technical services are disappearing. In fact, they are becoming so undefined that some libraries
are doing away with these labels. In the “traditional” model of collection development, library staff responsible for collection
development provides information to the acquisitions department, which in turn orders the desired items form the materials
producer or a distributor. After receiving the materials and clearing the records, the acquisitions department sends the items to
the cataloguing department for processing. Eventually, the processed items go onto shelves, into cabinets, or onto websites as
links to databases or as full text files. No matter the format, the end result is that the materials are placed where the public can
use them. Both the public service staff and the individuals using the collections provide input to the collection development staff
concerning the “value” of individual items. The selection staff then considers the input when performing deselection and
evaluation activities. The information generated from these sources may eventually influence the library’s written policies for
collection development.

Materials producers exert many significant influences. Obviously, they control what is available for library purchase by their
choice of whether or not to produce any given item. Furthermore, their business requirements occasionally cause libraries to
modify their acquisition procedures; however, most producers and vendors are very good about accommodating unusual library
requirement. Finally, producers market their products directly to the community thus generating a demand. Despite fears that
libraries are not used as heavily as they once were, people often communicate this demand to the library rather than buying the
item, thus causing an indirect response to the marketing activities of the material producers.

Collections and services in other libraries and information centers used by the service population also influence collection
development. Cooperative collection development programs enable libraries to provide better services, a wider range of
materials, or both. Resource sharing projects can also reduce the duplication of materials that result from overlapping service
communities and user influence on collection development. For example, a person might engage in business research while in
the company’s library. The person may take evening classes at an academic institution, using that library for class – related and
business – related materials alike. That same individual may also rely on a local public library – because of its convenience – to
supply information on job – related, class assignments, and recreational concerns. Thus, one person’s requests for job – related

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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materials could influence three different types of libraries in the same area to collect the same material. Despite their numerous
advantages, effective cooperative programs can still be difficult to manage.

III. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

The variety of institutional settings in which one finds information services is large. However, it is possible to group our
discussion around four general categories: education, business, government and research. These categories share some basic
characteristics. All have a specific service population, all collect and preserve materials in a form suitable for use by the service
population, and each organizes materials in a manner designed to aid in the rapid identification and retrieval of desired
material(s). The definitions given earlier also apply to all of these categories. Differences emerge because of both the specific
service population and the limits set by the library’s or information centers’ governing body.

Collection development is a universal process for all types of libraries. As one moves from one environmental setting to another,
however, differences in emphasis on the various elements of the collection development process becomes apparent. For
example, some education (school) and government (public) libraries tend to place more emphasis on library staff selection
activities than do business and research libraries. Also, differences in emphasis occur within a type of library, so that
occasionally a community college library (education) might more closely resemble a large public university library (education).

For several reasons, needs analysis is very important in public and school libraries, as well as information centers (in a
business), but it receives less emphasis in college and university libraries. In public libraries, selection is usually the responsibility
of librarians, whereas in other types of information centers patrons have a stronger direct voice in the selection process. Public
libraries need the information derived from such an analysis to build an effective collection. School libraries often employ
teacher/librarian selection methods that place an emphasis on published reviews.

The size of a library service community has a definite bearing on collection development. Three facts of collection development
are universal:
1. As the size of the service community increases, the degree of divergence in individual information needs increases.
2. As the degree of divergence in individual information needs increases, the need for resource sharing increases
3. It will never be possible to satisfy all of the information needs of any individual or class of clientele in the service
community.

Even special libraries and information centers, serving a limited a number of persons, encounter problems in relations to these
laws. Because no two persons are identical, it is impossible for their materials needs and interests to entirely coincide. In the
special library environment, the interests of users can be, and often are, very similar, but even within a team of research workers
are exploring a single problem, individual needs will vary. The needs of a small group are not as homogeneous as they may
appear at first.

The element of collection development that varies the least is collection development policy. Simply put, as the collection grows
in size, the need for more complex and detailed policy statements increases. Thus, large academic and research libraries
generally have the most comprehensive collection policy statements.

Selection is the element that varies the most among and within the types. Because of those many variations, it is difficult to make
many generalizations. However, with that in mind, the following are some general statements about variations:

1. Public libraries emphasize title – by – title selection, and librarians do the selecting.
2. School libraries also emphasize title – by – title selection. Although the media specialist may make the final decision, a
committee composed of librarians, teachers, administrators, and parents may have a strong voice in the process.
3. Special and corporate libraries select materials in rather narrow subject fields for specific research and business
purposes. Often the client is the primary selector.
4. Academic libraries select materials in subject areas for educational and research purposes, with selection done by
several different methods, faculty only, joint faculty/library committees, librarians only or subject specialists.

Selection also varies by the role the library has in the “parent” organization of which it is part. The academic libraries’ role is in
the dissemination and creation of knowledge. School media centers focus on dissemination and the development of knowledge,
while public and special libraries role are the dissemination and utilization of knowledge.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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LS20: Collection Management

The size of the collection is also a factor in determining the "who" and the "how" of selection. In small public libraries, most of the
librarians do some selection work. (Very often there is only one librarian to do all the professional work). As the library system
grows, adds branches, and expands services, the library director delegates work. More often than not, it is the department heads
and branch library supervisors who have selection responsibilities. Large metropolitan systems frequently assign selection
activities to a committee composed of representatives from all of the service programs, though not always from every branch.
This committee generates a list of titles from which individual services and branches select. In essence, the selection committee
does the initial screening and identification work for the system.

A similar relationship of size and selection exist in academic libraries and some special libraries. However, the selectors in these
cases, more often than not, are the users: academic faculty or company staff. Even when librarians are responsible for selection
in libraries serving institutions with hundreds of subject specialists, the faculty members or researchers have a significant voice in
the selection process. Obviously, the in-depth knowledge of a subject specialist can become the deciding factor in making a
selection. A common practise in both types of libraries is to hire librarians with graduate degrees in both librarianship and one
other subject area. Even then, because of the advanced and sometimes esoteric nature of the research reported in the materials,
the library must draw on all of the subject expertise of the institution.

IV. THE CONCEPT OF COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

The concept of collection development is central to the professional practice of librarianship, since the whole notion of a library is
fundamentally associated with the idea of a collection, to the extent that the words ‘library’ and ‘collection’ are almost
synonymous. Other terms such as ‘information centre’ ‘learning centre’ or ‘discovery centre’ are often used now instead of
‘library’ and terms such as ‘information resources’ may be substituted for ‘library collections’. However, the activities and
processes traditionally associated with collection development are still essential to the effective functioning of contemporary
library information, learning and knowledge services, even though they may look and feel quite different to their historical
counterparts.

THE LIBRARY AS A COLLECTION

Dictionaries, glossaries, encyclopedias and other reference works within and beyond our professional field generally define a
library primarily as a collection (of books and other materials) and rarely mention services in their definitions, or only as
supporting element. The focus on the collection as the defining characteristic of a library has continued into the digital age. Thus,
the continually updated Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science (Reitz, 2010) defines a library as “A collection or
group of collection of books and/or other print or nonprint materials organized and maintained for use (reading, consultation,
study, research, etc.)” and then elaborates the definition by explaining that “Institutional libraries, organized to facilitate access by
a specific clientele, are staffed by librarians and other personnel trained to provide services to meet user needs.”

The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science offers an older but more comprehensive definition of a library that links the
important dimension of “access” to the library and its collection:

A collection of materials organized to provide physical, bibliographic, and intellectual access to a target group, with a
staff that is trained to provide services and program related to the information needs of the target group. (Young,
1983,131)

Another later ALA publication offers a more modern conception of a library that interprets access as explicitly including materials
in other collections:

Libraries and information centers contain bibliographic materials, provide access to such materials, and supply
services derived from those materials. These services are usually not based solely on materials in other collections.
(Sopher et al., 1990, 65)

From the same period, Buckland (1989, 220) provides a usefully concise definition of “collections” as “selections of materials
deployed logistically to facilitate access to those materials for particular groups of users,” which shifts the emphasis slightly by
suggesting that collections are really a means to an end, rather than an end to themselves.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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LS20: Collection Management

Nevertheless activities associated with creating organized and accessible collections remain central to the work of library and
information professionals in all sectors, but how they are carried out and how they are conceived have changed significantly as
digital technologies have transformed the information resources that are the focus of such efforts.

THE CONCEPT OF COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

Collection development and the related term “collection management” have been defined and described in different ways by
academics and practitioners in the field over the years. Despite the confusions and ambiguities evident in the literature, we can
identify several recurring themes. Collection development is particularly associated with the selection and/or acquisition of library
materials (which can also include the “de-selection” or “de-acquisition of stock”), while collection management is generally seen
as a broader term covering the whole range of activities involved in managing access to information resources.

Hendrick Edelman’s seminal paper of 1979 is widely cited in the literature and a good starting point for discussion. He notes that
in the USA, book selection in academic libraries had been neglected subject in the literature, particularly when compared to the
literature on book selection in public libraries. He explains the relationship between “collection development,” “selection” and
“acquisition” as a hierarchy and defines collection development as follows

Collection development is a planning function. A collection development plan or policy describes the short- and long-
term goals of the library as far as the collections are concerned, taking them into account and correlating them with the
environmental aspects such as audience demand, need, and expectations, the information world, fiscal plans, and the
history of the collections. From the collection development plan flows the budget allocation in broad terms. (Edelman,
1979, 34)

Edelman (1979) explains that selection is the next level, which implements the goals of collection development, using pre-
defined criteria and methods, and acquisition then implements the decisions of selection and gets the material into the library. He
also notes the three levels naturally interact and may overlap. Gorman and Howe’s book of 1989 provides a similarly clear and
logical interpretation, complementing Edelman’s (1979) triad by explaining the relationship in terms of the questions each
process is intended to answer:

In the hierarchy of [collection development] policy -> selection -> acquisitions, three questions are asked and answered
in a sequence: why? What? How? (Gorman and Howes,1989, 28)

Table 1.1. summarizes this initial conception of the field, bringing together Edelman’s (1979) and Gorman and Howe’s (1989)
points and relating them to levels of strategic thinking:

Table 1.1. The Collection Development Hierarchy

Collection Process Relevant Question Management Level
Collection Development Why? Strategy
Selection What? Tactics
Acquisition How? Operations

As indicated above, the library environment has become more complex in recent decades, which has affected professional
thinking on collection development and resulted in terminological problems.

THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The impact of digital technologies on collection development is multifaceted and can be traced back over five decades. Libraries
were typically early adopters of computer systems within their organizations in the 1960s and they have continued to fulfill a

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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LS20: Collection Management

leadership role with their development to access to networked resources and web-based services in the 1990s and into the 21st
century. ICT has affected the development and management of collections operationally, tactically and strategically.

The shift from collections as predominantly print-based materials to collections as increasingly electronically delivered content
has not only radically changed the character of the materials collected by the library, but has also fundamentally altered the
nature of the library itself and raised strategic questions about the boundaries of both services and collections. The switch from
local collections to networked information has accelerated in the 21st century with the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies that
are particularly associated with social media and notions of user-generated content. They have opened up more options for
libraries and highlighted their role not just supporting users but building communities.

Table 2.2. summarizes the key themes:

TABLE 2.2. DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS AND COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT USERS

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT ISSUES
 Automation  Library Housekeeping
 Modernization  Bibliographic Utilities
late 1960s – 1970s  Computer - based operations  COM catalogues
 Retrospective conversion
 Experimentation  Library management
 Innovation  Conspectus methodology
 Computer-based services  OPACs
1980s – early 1990s  Access vs holdings/ownership
 End-user searching
 Just-in-time
 Digitization  Integrated systems
 Transition  Licensing consortia
 Computer-based content  Full-text databases
late 1980s- 1990s  Multimedia products
 Resource discovery
 Virtual/digital/hybrid library
 Collaboration  ERM systems
 Transformation  Federated search
 Network-based collections  Open access
2000s-  Institutional repositories
 Digital asset management
 Data curation

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT IN DIGITAL ENVIRONMENTS

Reflecting on the nature of librarianship in the 21st century, Michael Gorman (2000) offers a modern definition of the word
“collection” which he presents as an quadruple configuration that includes:

 Tangible objects (books, and so on) that the library owns

 Local intangible (electronic) resources owned and controlled by the library (CD- ROMs, and the like)
 Tangible objects owned by other libraries, but accessible to local patrons by means of union catalog and interlibrary
lending schemes
 Remote intangible resources not owned by the library but to which the library gives access.

The definition above incorporates several dichotomies: local and remote; owned and not owned, but accessible; tangible and
intangible. An Association of Research Libraries Task Force also found that its members had “expanded the traditional view and
definition of collections (ARL, 2002).” In addition to the examples given by Gorman (2000), the ARL (2002) report notes that
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LS20: Collection Management

“libraries are engaging in digitizing and electronic publishing projects” and “taking responsibility for born digital collections (such
as geospatial or numeric data sets, faculty or class websites) and developing tools for their management and use.” A more
recent ARL report confirms growing involvement of libraries in data management. Other significant activities include “managing
and servicing born-digital content that resides outside the domains of the library” (ARL, 2006) through the development of
knowledge management systems to preserve and make accessible the institution’s intellectual capital. The ARL (2002) report
suggests that rather than being defined by ownership, future collections could simply be resources that the library manages,
services or preserves on behalf of library users – regardless of their location (or content). The center of gravity is shifting, the
focus of collection development moving from local to global resources, as envisages by Billings (1996):

The local collection will evolve into one enhanced and extended by digital technologies and electronic information sources.
Policies for managing – and sharing – national and global mega-collections will emerge from the construction of cooperative
programs on a stage that far transcends concerns for building the local collection.

Writing specifically for about collection development in the 21st century, Gorman (2003) reconfigures his four-part conception
into a hierarchy where he claims that “each level is less organized and harder to gain access to than its predecessor” as follows:
 Locally owned physical documents
 Physical documents owned by other libraries but available through ILL
 Purchased or subscribed to electronic documents
 “Free” electronic documents

Building on her earlier work, Lee (2003) also proposes a concentric circles model of the information universe, but goes beyond
Gorman’s (2000, 2003) a conception by including researchers’ personal collections in her model, which is based on interviews
with academic staff and aims to reflect users’ perspectives on the information environment supporting their research and
teaching. Her model has three layers characterized as the “immediate space,” “adjunct space,” and “outside space” and is
interesting in including an aggregation of personal physical collections, personal digital resources and library electronic resources
in the center, while relegating the library’s physical resources to the middle circle. The figure below adapts and extends Lee’s
“structure of users’ information spaces” renaming the adjunct space as “intermediate space” and introducing a few additional
items to “immediate space” to provide a more comprehensive picture of the contemporary information environment.

THE IMPLICATIONS FOR COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

Conceptual models such as Gorman’s (2000, 2003) and Lee’s (2003) provide useful frameworks for thinking about information
resources and collections, but cannot adequately capture the complexity of the contemporary information universe. In addition to
electronic versions of traditional library materials, such as textbooks and reference works, newspapers, periodicals, theses and
dissertations, archives and manuscripts, maps and photographs, music and film, there are web-based information resources with
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no direct print equivalents, including listservs (email discussion lists) and chat rooms, blogs and wikis, where the content is not
only dynamic, because it is being continually edited, revised and supplemented, but also user-generated, as people engage in
continuous role-switching between information user and information producer. Previously distinct roles in the information supply
chain have converged and diversified with individuals and institutions acting as publishers through their websites, and periodical
subscription agents becoming library systems suppliers; in addition, many academic libraries have become publishers of
scholarly monographs, conference proceedings and peer-reviewed journals.

Buckland (1989) reviews the functional role of library collections, which he defines as three-fold: ARCHIVAL (retention and
preservation), DISPENSING (availability and access) and BIBLIOGRAPHIC (organization and identification); he later added a
fourth symbolic role, associated with rarity and status (Buckland, 1995). Buckland (1989) first argues that the archival and
bibliographic functions will continue to be important, but the dispensing role will shift from long-term to temporary local storage for
electronic media. Moving on specifically to collection development, he then asks the fundamental question (Buckland, 1886,
1957): “What will collection developers do as local collections diminish in significance relative to networked electronic
resources?”

Buckland argues that the need to think differently about selection based on demand and selection based on value, which he
refers to as privileging some works/documents over others, concluding that “value-based privileging” will be more important than
demand- based decisions” that will be implemented by providing customized access to the information universe for particular
client groups, thus anticipating more recent discussion around personalization and customization of content through portals.

Brophy (2007) similarly confirms that selection should continue to be a central task for the modern library, but characterizes the
role in slightly different terms, introducing concepts such as sense-making, mapping and codifying, which can be seen as
contemporary interpretations of Buckland’s (1989, 1995) bibliographic/advisory role.

Demas, McDonald and Lawrence (1995) offers a more pragmatic view of collection development for the e-library, arguing the
need to “mainstream” electronic/networked resources by integrating them conceptually and operationally into collection
development practice. Drawing on applied research and development at Cornell University, they describe the use of “genre
specialists” to develop expertise in different categories of resources (such as applications software, numeric files and multimedia
materials); an Electronic Resources Council, to assess impact and co-ordinate activity across functional integration; and a five-
level “tiers of access” framework to match delivery mechanisms to anticipated demand. Many libraries established new teams
and/or specialist positions to deal with new formats, but often as temporary structures to manage the transition (Dorner, 2004).
Many libraries also used separate budgets for hard copy and electronic resources.

Evaluation and selection have emerged as key continuing roles for collection development in the digital world, but the information
universe from which libraries can select and collect resources for their communities is far more diverse and dynamic than the
print-based world.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

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CHAPTER II:

INTRODUCTION TO COLLECTION MANAGEMENT

LS20: Collection Management

COLLECTION MANAGEMENT

DEFINITION OF COLLECTION MANAGEMENT

Collection Management encompasses the activities concerned with the selection and acquisition of library materials, sometimes
described as collection development but goes beyond this. It also includes the systematic maintenance of a library’s collection
covering resource allocation, technical processing, preservation and storage, weeding and discarding of stock and the monitoring
and encouragement of collection use (International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science, 1997).

The systematic management of planning, composition, funding, evaluation and use of library collection over extended periods of
time, in order to meet specific institutional objectives (Cogswell, 1987).

Collection management is one phase of library management which deals with the 6 sequentially arranged tasks, i.e., collection
evaluation, formulation of collection management policy statements, budgeting, selection and acquisition, preservation and
resource sharing (Buenrostro, 1996).

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT VERSUS COLLECTION MANAGEMENT (LAW, 1999)

There is no general usage for the terms “collection development” and “collection management” – in fact, the two are used as
rather loose synonyms. However, reflection would demonstrate that they do imply different concepts and some distinction is
necessary preamble to any discussion. Collection management relates to the selection and acquisition of material for an
expanding collection and decision on the material to be included in that collection. Collection management will subsume this, but
also includes:
1. The allocation of the book fund and the balance between books, journals and conservation,
2. The disposition of stock between open and closed access,
3. The decision to acquire access to electronic resources and other media through purchase or lease,
4. Location decisions as between branches of the library and stores,
5. And finally, the monitoring and encouragement of collection use.

In sum, collection management also includes issues concerned with conservation and disposal and is aimed more at the
presentation of the collection to the user than at the collection itself. It should be clear from this wide definition of collection
management that a variety of types of staff will be involved in different ways and at different times. As with all library activities,
there is no “right” or “wrong” way to manage the activity. The library must decide the importance it attaches to the management
of its collections and then deploy staff and other resources in the light of local needs and opportunities law (Law, 1999).

Collection development is perceived as a concept more appropriate to earlier times of expansion in higher education and
academic libraries: it implies the building and growing of printed local collections, the selections and acquisition of library
materials. Collection management is a more demanding concept, which goes beyond a policy of acquiring materials to policies
on the housing, preservation and storage, weeding and discard of stock. Rather than selection and acquisition, collection
management emphasizes the systematic maintenance and management of a library’s existing collection: the systematic
management of the planning, composition, funding, evaluation and use of library collections over extended periods of time, in
order to meet specific institutional objectives (Cogswell, 1987). It is usually held that, to be effective, collection management must
be based on an agreed, regularly reviewed collection development policy, formulated after an assessment of user needs and an
evaluation of the existing collection (Jenkins and Morley, 1999).

SIX COMPONENTS OF COLLECTION MANAGEMENT (BUENROSTRO, 1996)

Collection management is one of the phases of the total library management program which can be described in terms of six vital
components: evaluation/assessment, collection development policy statements, budgeting, selection and acquisition,
preservation and resource sharing. There is some logic in listing the components in this order. While working in a library, we are
faced with too many tasks that we failed to make our way through this list one function at a time. Thus, we end up doing them all
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at some to a large scale and some to a lesser scale at the same time. We do not know that this list of functions is arranged in a
logical sequence beginning with evaluation up to resource sharing. These components are enumerated and briefly discussed
below:

1. EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT

The first component that heads the list is evaluation/assessment of the library’s collection. The result of the evaluation tells the
library how thoroughly the present and previous collecting efforts have covered the literature of the field. It allows the library to
determine its strengths and weaknesses. Although it evaluates the intensity of collecting efforts, it does not evaluate how well
those efforts have satisfied user’s needs. So that a user – centered evaluation must be conducted to increase the knowledge
based about the users, determine how they behave and their opinions are. It is through use and user studies, accessibility and
availability studies that the success of the collection in satisfying user’s needs is determined. Both types of assessment may
provide confirmation of things we intuitively know about users and collections but more importantly they provide new insights that
increase our understanding, help set priorities, and point in the direction of effective solutions. The knowledge base provided by
the evaluation will set the stage for other components of collection management.

2. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY STATEMENTS

The second component of collection management is the creation of written collection development policy statements. A policy
statement is a document that puts the library in context by outlining institutional goals and objectives and describing the program
of teaching and research that the collection supports. Policy statements typically outline the subjects collected and define
collecting levels, past, present and future. Policy statements serve a number of different and variety of useful purposes, such as:
 It requires selectors to think and analyze the user community, its needs and the collection
 The policy helps relate the collection to the user community and always be considered and evolving document that is
revised and updated as the curriculum and the collection change
 The policy serves as the communication tools in a number of different ways. Among librarians in a given institution, it
helps all understand the collection as a whole and identifies who has the primary responsibility. It also provides a
training tool for new librarians who are new to selection or new to the library.

3. BUDGETING

The third collection management component is budgeting. At this point, the collection development policy statement is used to
rationalize the acquisition budget. The collection development policy statement is implemented through the allocation and
expenditure of the acquisitions budget. Without policy, ups and downs in funding will have an undue influence on the collection.
In absence of a comprehensive policy, ad hoc policies must be hurriedly put together in order to cope with budget cuts. Budget
allocations require that you match funds with needs. Allocations provide guidelines for selectors by setting limits on their
spending and helping them pace their selections throughout the budget year and also provide a plan against which to measure
accomplishments. Monitoring expenditures throughout the budget year will reveal how well the goals are being achieved and the
needs met.

4. SELECTION AND DESELECTION

The fourth component of a collection management program is selection and its corollary, deselection or weeding. In our
collection we add and we also subtract books, serials and other library materials. Selection is a decision making process that
implements the collection development goals found in the policy statements.

5. PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION

The fifth component is preservation or more accurately, conservation. This function includes handling repairing, binding and
replacing the collection that has been built so carefully in the preceding steps. The ignorance of librarians on books as artifacts
will allow materials to deteriorate without further action. Since no country in the world can spare money for restoring all its library
holdings, it is therefore essential to lay stress on preservation and conservation techniques.

6. RESOURCE SHARING

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Resource sharing is the sixth component of collection management. Libraries should enter into planned cooperative collection
development activities only where an analysis of their needs and resources dictate such to be the best course of action: low
current need, high resources is the area where cooperative collection development is not needed, while high current need, low
resources is the area where cooperative collecting activity should be preserved.

Making the library responsive to the needs of the community is analogous to making the library’s collection alive and growing.
Building the collection is not merely selecting and acquiring books and other library materials. It requires full attention on the part
of the library administrators and many hands to achieve the goal of the library in providing the right and adequate information to
the users. The library’s collection must be managed very well if the library aims to accomplish its objectives. The term book
selection and acquisition and collection development seem to be limited in terms of coverage and scope. On the other hand,
collection management with its six components is the fundamental integrative factor in the management of libraries which
includes in its scope selection and acquisition of collection development.

THE PROCESSES OF COLLECTION MANAGEMENT (FIELDHOUSE)

On a practical level, collection management encompasses a wide range of activities: selection and acquisition, budget allocation
and management, serials and electronic resource management and access control, stock evaluation, weeding, storage and
preservation, as well as liaison with users, managers, suppliers, and publishers and collaboration with other institutions.
Collection managers are also responsible for the quality of both bibliographic and electronic records and the use of appropriate
metadata to describe resources accurately to facilitate access. These activities are not the domain of any specific library sector,
although the extent to which they are developed will be influenced by organizational policies and strategies.

a. POLICY AND STRATEGY

Collection development and management have become synonymous with each other and a strategic approach to the meeting of
user’s information needs emerged during the 1980s and the 1990s. Gorman, in his introduction to Collection Management for the
21st Century: A Handbook for Librarians (Gorman and Millar, 1997), identifies a growing preference for the phrase collection
management, rather the development, as the fundamental activities of collection building, selection and acquisition, began to
involve wider issues such as budgeting, relegation and stock, preservation, performance measurement, technology and resource
sharing. Branin (1994) noted that, as early as 1981, Paul Mosher identified the trend towards collection management calling for a
more managerial approach to matching resources and user needs. By 1993 Mosher was, according to Branin, also urging
librarians to manage the convergence between print and electronic systems effectively.

To reinforce this change, collection or stock development policies were formulated by libraries to meet organizational strategies,
and address issues raised by the transition from print to online resource as well as demonstrate prudent management of
resource budgets.

This strategic approach led to the more rigorous management of processes to address growing budget constraints, due to
spiraling costs and the phenomenal growth in journal publishing. The tasks of selection and acquisition also came under scrutiny
in order to ensure that resources relevant to users’ needs were provided within the shrinking budget.

b. SELECTION

Historically, library collections were developed to meet the perceived and potential needs of users. Stueart (1980) noted that
stock selection for university libraries was the task of academics, and for public libraries was the responsibility of ‘cultured’
members of the community. This resulted in collections that might once have been assumed to meet the needs of the local user
community, but as result of global access to online library catalogues via the internet, inadequacies in library collections have
been exposed to the scrutiny of all.

Stock selection has traditionally been a key function of collection development, but questions arise about who influences the
activity: should librarians dictate what resources are available, or should user preference have priority? The selection and
acquisition of materials might depend on many factors including:
 The value and relevance of content
 Book review
 Publisher standing
 Author reputation
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 Accessibility
 Cost

Other methods of selection include usage statistics, ILL requests and user suggestions. Because good practice in resource
selection requires an understanding of the information needs of the community the library serves, it could be argued that
librarians should take responsibility for identifying appropriate resources, being in a position to respond to demographic changes
and research trends and keep up to date with the environment in which the organization exists. More important, they know what
is relevant to the collection, the quality and accuracy of its content, its potential use and what resources are accessible
elsewhere. They are aware of the collection’s strength and weaknesses, how to identify and evaluate resource and who to select
from. They also understand the often complex roles of agents and suppliers. Public libraries often depend on stock profiles
supplied to vendors, who match publications with expressed needs and provide materials on approval. User-purchase
suggestion schemes supplement librarian-led selection, and studies of users’ information- seeking behavior indicate trends
towards user or patron-driven selection and acquisition, especially in respect of electronic books and journals (Peters, 2001;
Nixon, Freeman and Ward, 2010)

The processes of selection are considered in depth by Clayton and Gorman (2006), Johnson (2009), and Evans and Saponaro
(2005), but the big question for collection managers is the extent to which electronic resources such as books and journals will
impact on selection and acquisition in the future.

Licensing, access and economic models for electronic books have yet to reach maturity. The JISC National e-books Observatory
object (JISC, 2009) sought to evaluate the use of e-books in higher education in the UK and investigates publishers’ concerns
about loss of print sales. No conclusive evidence to uphold these concerns was found, although librarians felt that the e-books
market was overly complex, with inappropriate business models, complicated licenses and high prices.

c. ACQUISITION

The acquisition of library resources, which involves ordering, receipting, preparing items for the shelves and providing access to
electronic information, has also been transformed by technological developments. Manual order creation has largely been
supplanted by downloaded bibliographic records and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Agents and vendors now dominate the
supply chain and librarians have to contend with pricing models and negotiating licensing terms and condition. Suppliers may be
contracted to provide shelf-ready books, relieving library staff of routine tasks such as labelling and security tagging. In many
cases classification, or shelf marks, are assigned by suppliers according to schedule provided by the library.

Acquisition, a technical services function once considered to be a backroom operation, is now very much incorporated into the
business of libraries as service providers. Acquisition librarians work as part of team, liaising with other members of library staff
to provide relevant resources in a timely manner.

One significant issue is access to, rather than ownership of, information. The ever- growing amount of content held in publisher-,
vendor- or aggregator-owned databases, which libraries gain access to by signing up to licensing agreements rather that outright
purchase, raise serious questions about the sustainability and preservation of library collections to provide long-term access to
materials that have been acquired from library budgets.

Gifts, donations and exchanges can be a valuable means of acquiring out-of-print items and filling gaps in collections, but can
pose dilemmas for collection managers. They must be assessed for relevance to the collection and processing donated items
can be time- consuming. Large collections may contain material that is of little value it is worth ensuring that such items may be
disposed of by the library if it accepts the donation. Some gifts may come with specific conditions attached, such as retention or
keeping a collection together, which may be unacceptable. A specific donations, or gifts policy, either contained within the
collection management policy, or published as a separate document, which states the terms on which gifts are accepted helps to
address political considerations, such as the ‘valuable’ collection offered by a notable person.

d. BUDGETS

Budget management has been a major challenge since the early 1990s. Ford (1999) identifies increasing demands on library
budgets from documentary delivery services, copyright and licensing fees to electronic products (together with the associated
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hardware and software), and online searching. Ford also explores the wide range of factors that determine budget allocation
formulae, identifying the typical problems and pitfalls that can entrap the unwary.

The struggle to stretch library budgets to keep pace with spiraling costs and the rapidly increasing number of publications, whilst
maintaining expenditure at levels sufficient to provide adequate resources, to meet the needs, is a continuing theme. Financial
constraints, further exacerbated by the economic recession of 2008/9 have prompted strategic reviews of budget allocation
models and concerns about unsustainable expenditure on resources (Dinkins, 2011; Kay and Zimmerman, 2008; Goulding,
2009).

The principle of budgeting is to ensure the fair distribution of money to meet user’s needs and to ensure timely expenditure. To
achieve this, when money is, in real terms, diminishing, librarians can employ a number of strategies to maximize budgets, such
as reducing expenditure on books to meet the increasing cost of subscriptions, entering into co-operative or consortial
purchasing agreements, and reviewing access, for example to journal content, by adopting PPV schemes. However, such
measures do not come without penalties and the implications for libraries include:
 Less comprehensive collections
 Collections owned by information providers
 Reducing support for some collections to maintain it for others
 Finding new revenue streams
 Reducing overheads, such as staffing costs

Other options for maximizing budget include evaluating open access journals and revising budget allocations, a strategy
described by Steele (2008).

Budget models and fund allocation can be politically sensitive and will depend on any number of variables, such as the number
of users, teaching and research priorities and historic expenditure:
 LUMP SUM BUDGETS are based on previous allocations plus an amount to cover inflation, or increased demand for
resources.

 FORMULA-BASED BUDGETING is transparent and enables expenditures to be managed according to specific

criteria, but can be inflexible.

 NEEDS-BASED BUDGETING supports core collections by top-slicing amounts to cover, for example, general
reference or electronic resources. It can also reflect demand for teaching materials, or specific formats.

 ZERO-BASED BUDGETING is founded on the principle of predicting the year’s spend, based on essential and
desirable resources and projects. While this reflects expenditure needs, unexpected needs, unexpected currency
fluctuations and cost increases can be problematic.

Whichever model is adopted, it would be sensible to bear in mind how to expenditure relates to the library’s objectives as stated
in the collection management policy. Budget planning is essential to accommodate annual subscriptions or serials and standing
orders and maintain appropriate levels of committed and spent funds. To avoid any possibility of cut, it is prudent to monitor
expenditure to ensure that the allocation is exhausted at the end of the financial year.

e. SERIALS MANAGEMENT

In terms of library collections, the management of serials has undergone the most radical transformation and their selection and
administration has been transformed by electronic publication and the Big Deal, aggregated packages of electronic journal
content licensed by vendors to institutions for the cost of subscriptions to journal titles, plus a premium to include wider content.

Historically, titles would be selected according to their impact factor, academic recommendation or affinity to a learned
organization. Individual subscriptions would be taken out with publishing bodies and issues checked in manually. Because of
limited print runs, missing copies would have to be chased within a short space of time to ensure continuity of holdings. Print
subscriptions were typically managed on a title-by-title basis and obtained from publishers. The very fact of ownership meant
they occupied a significant amount of shelf space, and were frequently bound by volume in order to preserve them. Access to
content was by means to annual indexes, bibliographies and abstracting services.

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The revolution in serials management began in the 1990s, when full-text electronic journals began to encroach on the periodical
scene. Despite obstacles posed by licensing terms and pricing models, librarians began to be able to offer remote access to vast
quantities of content by negotiating terms with publishers.

The bewildering array of pricing models resulted in a complex situation: free electronic versions in print subscriptions, electronic
only (on which VAT was payable), print subscription plus an additional payment for electronic access (again liable to VAT) are
just a few examples. In this environment new skills are necessary to manage access to, rather than the acquisition of, journal
content and the impact if the tensions between managing print and electronic journal provision on the working practices of serials
librarians. An awareness of publishing trends and developments in open access is essential to keep abreast of an ever-changing
market. Skills such as license negotiation, IT troubleshooting, statistical analysis and an understanding of business and pricing
models are fundamentals.

The explosion of electronic journal titles has resulted in new management systems to provide administrative support and
effective access for users. The Digital Library Federation’s Electronic Resource Management Initiative (ERMI), sought to simplify
the tasks of processing license agreements and administrative activities by bringing together librarians, publishers and vendors
to define standard specifications. Library management system providers and serials agents, such as Ex Libris, Innovative
Interfaces, Serials Solutions and EBSCO offer electronic resource management (ERM) tools to manage aspects such as
licenses, bibliographic data, link resolvers, A-Z listings, subscriptions and cost data, renewals and usage statistics.

The emergence of electronic resources and the increase in publishing rates to the point where economically, libraries can no
longer sustain comprehensive journal collections have impacted on serials publishing models by introducing more informal
routes. As well as electronic journals, collection managers must engage with open access publishing, which has led to the
building of institutional repositories and strategies for self-archiving publications.

f. CO-OPERATIVE COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT AND CONSORTIA

Collaborative purchasing is one aspect of co-operative collection development, often considered to increase benefits by reducing
costs and ensuring comprehensive subject collection. Resources sharing, interlibrary loans, bibliographic record exchange,
reciprocal borrowing and assigned subject specialization also contribute to the concept. However, co- operative collection
development, which attempted to reduce duplication in libraries, has run a rocky path, and there are many issues which can
cause initiatives to founder. Political conflicts between local and wider needs, logistical problems and ideas that collaboration will
provide something for nothing are potential pitfalls.

g. STOCK EVALUATION: RETENTION AND DISPOSAL

Library hygiene is an important element of collection management as overcrowded shelves full of outdated texts will not attract of
please users. Collection evaluation, also referred to as collection assessment or review, helps to keep stock relevant and up to
date, increase its visibility, make the most of valuable shelf space and maximize reshelving rates. In the days when collection
building and development were a priority, stock evaluation was neglected as irrelevant, time-consuming and potentially
controversial activity.

Collection evaluation includes the weeding, or deselection of stock, the relegation of low-use material to on-site or off-site
storage and the disposal of items that contain outdated or harmful content (e.g. medical or legal textbooks), lack of relevance or
are in poor condition. Caution is advisable as, in some subjects, historical publications or different editions of a title can be
valuable research resource. Weeding academic library stock should therefore be a consultative process and criteria for the
disposal of unwanted items should be defined in a collection management policy, to avoid misunderstandings. Weeding can be a
risky understanding; it has been known for users to find discarded items on sale in second- hand bookshops and return them
(sometimes indignantly) to the library. Materials for disposal may be candidates for book sales, offered to dealers or exchange
programmes, recycled or consigned to landfill.

Evaluation methods may be:

 Quantitative and user-oriented, based on circulation statistics or in-house use
 Collection-centered and qualitative, based on currency, relevance, condition and duplication or multiple copies.

Often a combination of both methods is used to identify candidates for relegation or disposal. Relegation may depend on the
availability and cost of suitable secure storage.
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h. PRESERVATION

Preservation is very much a part of collection management if library materials are available for as long as they are needed. For
printed materials, factors such as environmental conditions (e.g. humidity, lighting levels), handling, pest control, binding and
rebinding, and repair programmes contribute to the conservation of stock. Supervised access or provision of surrogate items
such as photocopies (subject to copyright restrictions), microforms or digitized versions of texts may be appropriate in the case of
fragile materials.

A preservation policy, which may be separate from, but linked to, the collection management policy, provides a clear statement
of intent in respect to the acquisition and retention of library resources. The preservation implications of purchasing a paperback,
rather than hardback version of at text are self-evident and other materials, such as newspapers, raise issues about the
preservation of content over form.

Digital preservation or curations are increasingly important issues. Collection managers have in the traditional environment, been
in control of the physical resource life cycle and preservation, whereas with electronic sources, control has shifted to suppliers
and publishers. The tensions between access, ownership and the persistence of electronic content have been challenging
collection managers since the mid-1990s. With the trend for reference and other information to be published electronically, the
preservation of born-digital resources and web archiving are expanding fields.

i. DISASTER PLANNING

Disaster planning stemmed from events such as the 1966 floods in Florence, 9/11 , the 1992 burning of the National Library in
Sarajevo, the Prague floods of 2002, the Sri Lankan tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Tragedies on this scale are, fortunately, not everyday occurrences, but leaking pipes and floods can and will happen from time to
time. Calzonetti and Fleischer (2011) stress the value of being prepared to deal with a disaster and the importance of having a
disaster management plan in place which assesses potential risks, includes contact addresses, designates disaster
management teams, identifies salvage priorities and sets out service continuity arrangements.

CONCLUSION

It is clear that in the digital age, the processes of collection management are in a state of flux. E-books and e-journals shift
responsibility for selection and acquisition from librarians to users, who now have the power to influence the purchase of
monographs, and publishers, aggregators, and vendors, who bundle titles together to provide access to vast quantities of
content, but limit cancellation options. The internet, Google and Google Scholar are used by academics and students alike for
information seeking, bypassing the resources identified by and paid for from hard-won (and hard-pressed) budgets by librarians
who have assessed them for authority, quality and currency. The expectations of digital natives who, with the constant availability
of vast quantities of freely accessible “stuff,” display very different relationships with information, knowledge and learning than
scholars hitherto, have to be accommodated, if not met. The dis-intermediation of the library is seen as a real threat and
complacency is an unaffordable luxury for collection managers, who must be proactive and innovative in raising the library’s
profile, for example by using Web 2.0 technologies to promote new resources and services. In a world of wikis, blogs and social
networking, where self-publishing is simplicity itself as a search-engine mentality dominates, the role of the collection manager
can be called into question.

As we have seen, budgets are stretched to the limit, not only because of the exponential growth in and associated cost of
publications but also due to economic recession, which publishing models such as open access may help to redress. Although
library budget models and the proportional spend between staff and resources can be reviewed, there is surely a point where
staffing levels can be cut no further if services to those users who still venture through the library’s doors are to be maintained.
Digital preservation is another area in which collection managers need to keep a watching brief. The digitization of collection held
by universities, national libraries and archives simplifies access to teaching and research resources, and harnessing these for
the benefit of students and researchers is a role that collection managers are well-equipped to fulfill.

Pedagogic theories underlying teaching strategies will undoubtedly develop: evidence- based and resource-based learning and
the introduction of virtual learning environments (VLEs) have, for example, offered new opportunities for providing access to

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library resources and keeping abreast of trends in teaching methods should be on the collection management librarian’s
professional development agenda.

COLLECTION MANAGEMENT TO SUPPORT LEARNING (WEBB, 1999)

Students judge the quality of library by the extent to which it supports their learning resource requirements during the course of
their studies. Meeting student and academic staff expectations is much harder than it might appear, and is related to the role of
the library within the institution, and to teaching and learning strategies, as well as to the operational management of an
academic library. The strategies which are adopted to meet student expectations depend on organizational contingency factors,
and no ideal solutions can be prescribed: each organization should, through informed judgments, find its own answers.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH ACADEMIC STAFF

Effective support for learning requires a partnership between academic staff and the library. It is essential to establish a clear
sense of the extent and nature of provision, so that guidelines can be drawn up and mutual understanding develops. The
guidelines may be established at a macro, that is university level, or at a departmental level. In some institutions, they are
formalized as collection development plans or service level agreements. It may be easier to look at patterns of provision for
different subject areas if devolved budgets cover the acquisition of all materials in a single subject area.

Course design influences the patterns of demand. This is highlighted by Higgins (1996) who described three different patterns of
course design and their resource implications:

Scenario 1: The course is delivered so that all the students are taught the same things at the same time. There will be pressure
on short – term access to resources. Resource needs are very clearly defined. Collection management can focus on the
provision of multiple copies and ensuring access to the material.

Scenario 2: Students are given more freedom in their choice of assignments, and can choose from a range of essay titles or
projects, or choose their own. A number of broad areas may be taught concurrently. This puts less pressure on a narrow range
of resources, but the collection must be broader than in the case of Scenario 1. Students may need more help and support.

Scenario 3: A single text or a study pack is used. This will put pressure on access to the text unless it is supplied, or students can
purchase it. This approach also reduces scope for independent study.

Scenario 1 reflects experience in many institutions when modular courses are introduced. Single modules may be taken by
students across several modules and programmes of study, leading to greater demand and less standardization. For example, a
final – year module might be taken by students on different undergraduate time of year; there is intense pressure on resources,
and greater incidence of delinquent behavior such as vandalism and hiding of stock.

QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Quality assessment visits examine the student learning experience and measure student achievement against the aims and
objectives set by the subject provider. They address the wide range of influences that shape the experiences and achievements
of students and include the full breadth of teaching, learning and student assessment activities; students’ achievements; the
curriculum; staff and staff development; the application of resources (library, equipment, information technology, laboratory;
student support and guidance and quality assurance. The assessment visits starts from a self – assessment document produced
by the subject staff but assessors also review and observe the whole of the students experience during their visit to the
institution.

STUDENT FEEDBACK

Library managers must ensure that feedback from students is gathered systematically and used to inform the planning and
management process. There are therefore three critical relationships in the learning support equation. This can be expressed in
a strategic triangle:

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Teaching Staff

Library Staff Students

Figure 1: Student Feedback: Strategic Triangle

The library and its activities are at the heart of the institutional activity, but they do not form the only critical relationship in the
university or college. As well as working to achieve partnership with academic staff, librarians need to establish links with
students and their representatives. This may be done through consultation, focus groups, surveys and analysis of management
information. The ways in which the data are acquired may vary, but the data must be statistically valid and reliable. Analyzed
results should be used to assist in establishing priorities for service development and resource utilization, and for feeding back to
teaching staff, university managers and to the users. For example, students’ comments about lack of microfilm may be used to
feed into the budgeting process when bidding for extra equipment funds.

COLLECTION MANAGEMENT IN A MASS HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM

The student popularization is changing in many ways. As well as the net expansion in numbers and increased age range, the
distribution of students across different levels of course has changed. Post graduate numbers have increased in years, so the
balance of higher education has shifted markedly towards the higher levels. Although the overall balance between full and part
time study has not changed significantly over time, most post graduate students study part – time and most of them are also in
part – time employment (or even full – time employment). A greater variety of modes of study is available. Most universities offer
part – time courses in addition to full – time programs. Open and distance learning courses have expanded at postgraduate level
and undergraduate and other courses are franchised. Modular courses also enable students to take a pick – and – mix approach
to study, and in theory at least, drop in and out of course when they wish. More students appear to be choosing study locally
rather than moving away from home or their immediate geographical area.

Academic library managers and all staff who are involved in collection management face the problem of meeting demand from
what is usually an insufficient resource base. In recent years, these pressures have become more intense as staffing and
materials budget have declined. At the same time the range of activities within higher education institutions has changed almost
every university and college has tried to improve its research base; student numbers have increased; the range of courses
taught has expanded; and the student body is more diverse. Similarly, in the past 50 years, the concept of the academic library
has changed from storehouse to service to learning center (in some institutions at least). Libraries today offer a wide range of
services and facilities and hold material in diverse formats, and information technology has changed the way libraries and their
staff work. Collection management is in some ways more complex than ever before, because of the range of media, but it is
much easier now to identify, obtain and manage access to material, and to obtain statistics which can be used to inform decision
– making.

The concept of a perfect library – where everything is available to every user when that item is required – is changing. It is
changing, not merely in the sense of access versus holdings, but towards planning structured access to material. It could be
argued that controlling access by need has always been important to libraries, especially those which have large separate
undergraduate collections. The shift to independent study and the impact of electronic information has blurred that boundary.
The idea of collection development to support learning is different. It is based in an assumption that the library and all that
pertains to it can be managed in a holistic way to support the learning experience. It should make access to key resources as
easy as possible, enable independent study where needed, but not clutter the student’s path to learning by filling shelves with
ancient stock or insisting arcane procedures to access a database. It is focused on the ideal of maximum exploitation of
resources. Heseltine (1995) argues that the shift from towards digital or virtual is less significant than the expansion in higher

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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education and the changes brought about by the increasing diversity of the distance learning courses, and thus the role of the
library is also diminished. The changing environment of teaching and learning affects collection management policies as does
the changing potential of IT.

LIBRARY COLLECTION MANAGEMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY (Agee, 2007)

Librarianship is a rapidly-changing and very exciting profession. There are not enough well-qualified acquisitions librarians today.
While librarians often come from humanities backgrounds, it is less-common to find someone with accounting skills or business
experience. Acquisitions librarianship can be difficult and challenging for someone who is learning both the language of business
and the practice of librarianship. This is an interesting aspect of the profession because the acquisitions librarian works with
vendors from many companies and also oversees the receiving of all the new materials. There is an everyday satisfaction in
seeing the many new titles that have been purchased as they arrive and are unpacked. In acquisitions librarianship there are
fundamental business or accounting methods that apply in a general sense to any location, because they involve practical
recordkeeping and procedures.

CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY

The acquisitions librarian acquires materials to build the best possible collection; a primary objective is to meet the information
needs of local library users. To meet those needs is essential to begin by considering the community outside the library’s walls.
Academic librarians often serve a large and diverse community of users. To have a collection of value to library users, it is
necessary to know who those users are and what segments of the university population do they represent. Even though
librarians seldom know the university community in its absolute entirety, an attempt must be made to analyze the users as
carefully as possible.

Data to Collect

Many areas should be considered for qualitative and quantitative data collection in community analysis. Specifically, data
collection is encouraged for the following areas:

 Demographic characteristics  Educational Groups

 University History  Cultural Activities
 Local Topography  Health Facilities
 Transportation Routes  Employment
 Traffic Patterns  Recreation
 Commercial Activities  Entertainment
 Communication Patterns  Characteristic lifestyles of the university and its
 Housings subcultures

This broad scope of data collection shows the comprehensive portrait of the university community that must inform the librarian.
Only after gathering and interpreting data, both quantitatively and qualitatively, can the acquisitions or subject librarians begin to
develop collections of value for the entire university community.

Academic populations vary widely, each having unique cultures, demographics, and other characteristics that inform how
collections should be built. Size and scope, such as liberal arts college of a few hundred students or a doctoral-extensive
university with tens of thousands, are factors when considering the academic community to be served. Curricular focus, budget,
and the traditions of the library on campus are also important factors when scanning the local environment.

Academic libraries, especially in large facilities with 10,000 or more full time equivalent (FTE) enrolments, often have faculty with
contractual responsibility for specific areas. Subject librarians represent faculty and students in individual curricular areas,
perhaps even developing subject area collection development policies. Librarians create policies, programs and practices that
include all students and faculty, as well as prospective students or community members. These university library communities
may or may not reflect the larger metropolitan community, but designated librarians who are aware of diverse groups and act as
liaisons with these university-affiliated groups are essential during an analysis of potential library users. Subject librarians,
campus outreach librarians, administrative librarians, and librarians with many other titles can provide significant insights during
the building of a collection.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
20 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
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Community Analysis

The desk-bound librarian can also gather valuable data. Many universities have an Institutional Research Office that gathers
demographic information and compiles campus statistics. If performed well, this analysis can also show the number of languages
spoken on campus, the range and size of age groups represented, and many other information-relevant factors. There are many
aspects of community analysis that provide insights for librarians so that better collections can be built.

DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES

For the library to serve its university well, the librarians must know who lives in the campus community. If those living on campus
and in the community are not library users, it is incumbent upon the library staff to acquire relevant information, provide program
and services, and work to involve all ethnic, age, and socio-economic groups of the community. This information must be
gathered systematically, not in a random manner, or by incidental conversation. Information about services, programs,
collections, websites and marketing should be solicited according to a plan. Because information will be gathered from distinct
groups (faculty or undergraduate students, resident or commuter students) systematic gather of consistent data will allow valid
comparison of data from all groups.

a. SURVEYS

One effective method for gathering information is survey. A survey does not need to be lengthy (which might
discourage participation), but the question must be well written so that the information that is intended to be gathered is
actually gathered by the answers given to the questions asked. This does not mean that preconceived notions about
the findings should be built, but instead that each question should be constructed in an unambiguous way that will yield
clear and meaningful answers to the subject of the query. Whether an answer is for or against, yes or no, or on either
side of an issue is unimportant during data collection – as long as the answers address the intended issue.

Both the general populations – library and non-users – must be addressed. It is important to gather responses from
people who do not use the library. Non-library users may have very good reasons for not using the library; reasons that
may be unknown to the librarians prior to the survey. Care needs to be used when sending a survey. For example, if
the librarians mail out a survey it either needs to be tightly focused on one target audience, or else broadly focused to
include a cross-section of all community residents.

Giving a survey to library users typically results in a higher number of responses than distributing a survey to non-
library users. However, hearing from both groups is important. Using a survey instrument is a good way to formally
gather data according to specific and consistent parameters. Other methods may be less consistent.

b. FOCUS GROUPS

Inviting participants to a focus group is another way to gather data. Because such a group is very open and has less
structure than a survey, there is considerably less consistency and compatibility between data sets. The group could
be, for example, 6-8 faculty members, 8-10 teens, or indeed any other target group. While there should be a general
structure to the questions asked, a focus group allows more discussion, comment, and depth than a survey.
Participants’ opinions and views can be explained at greater length, or put into a relevant context such as their
personal situation.

c. SPECIAL POPULATIONS

Many special populations may exist in a library’s community of users. These range from users with special needs, such
as the disabled or those who only read a non-native language, to local resident groups such as high school students
who study in the library, or a local investment club that researches business information and stock market reports. The
term “special populations” is not a negative or pejorative term, but merely one that identifies groups of library users, or
potential library users, who have special information needs. It is necessary for librarians to become aware of special

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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populations and monitor who and what these groups are as they occasionally change. Without this awareness there is
no responsible means of acquiring the best information to meet their needs.

d. CYBER CAFÉ COMPETITION

In this dynamic era of information explosion, academic libraries compete very directly with local bookstores and cyber
cafés. If a local commercial bookseller or cyber café allows behavior that students consider normal, such as studying in
groups, talking, and eating, libraries may lose these students because existing policies and practices are too static to
recognize genuine student needs. There is little value in carefully building monograph, serial or database collections if
policies are too rigid to recognize student behavior and encourage them to be library users. Libraries may have great
collections, but students will visit book stores, coffee shops, and cyber cafés rather than libraries that have outdated
polices that restrict their behavior.

Students may have remote login access to library resources. This allows the student to work in a comfortable
bookstore, coffee shop, or cyber café environment with library materials, regardless of library policy about food, friends,
or music. It is essential that librarians’ review and update policies to reflect the contemporary needs of information
seekers. In order to make lifelong learners and library users of current students, they must feel comfortable in library
settings. In the past that may have meant having quiet spaces and good reading lights, but today it is more likely to
mean having a tolerance for coffee mugs and Internet connectivity. Students are the future, and library policies need to
compete effectively with commercial information sources so that students will be future library users.

COLLECTION EVALUATION

After looking closely at the community to be served and identifying special populations, it is important to turn a critical eye inward
to determine what materials the library has available. Such a review is called a collection evaluation.

TWO METHODS

There are two general methods for evaluating an existing collection: user-centered and collection-centered. These two methods
of critically evaluating the collection both ultimately lead to the library user. On the other hand, a user-centered evaluation might
consider data from circulation, inter-library loan (ILL), consortia or other borrower groups. On the other hand, a collection-
centered evaluation may focus on the quantity of books in a popular genre or subject area, or the physical quality of frequently
circulated materials. Both methods are potentially valuable, often a combination of the two methods is used in a customized
assessment of a particular collection. Many collection evaluation methods may be adopted, or adapted, depending on the kind of
library, size of collection, or assessment goal being considered. Different methods would be used if an academic librarian in a
large library were evaluating the holdings of only one discipline, compared with a librarian evaluating in entire library collection at
the end of the year in a small college setting. Regardless of the method used, the activity of a collection evaluation provides
invaluable information to the librarian, such as renewed familiarity with the collection, insights gained about circulation patterns,
or a review of the collection’s physical condition on a book-by- book basis. A collection evaluation is the foundation for future
collection building, regardless of the scope of the assessment or methods used.

BENEFITS OF AN EVALUATION

A collection evaluation will help the librarian become more aware of current holdings. Specifically, a collection evaluation benefits
the librarian because it will;
 Show librarians whether or not their collection development goals are being met;
 Identify material formats, including supporting technical resources, and identify overall value or balance that various
formats bring to the collection;
 Reflect whether the collection development policy or the circulation policy need to be updated;
 Assess curriculum or special subject support;
 Identify or justify funding needs or budget lines;
 Determine the quality of the collection;
 Identify strengths and weaknesses of the collection;
 Bring the use of library materials, versus inter-library loaned or consortial materials, into sharper focus;
 Identify materials that need to be repaired or replaced;
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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 Identify materials for deselection (weeding).

The whole wide range of benefits listed above is a good starting point for goals of an assessment, even though this list is far from
comprehensive. Each library will have local factors that influence the design of a collection evaluation, parameters, to be
assessed, and the results gained by reviewing the collection.

COLLECTION MANAGEMENT STEPS

An improved awareness of materials in the library will be valuable for the librarian at both the title level and from the perspective
of the overall collection. For example, a librarian may better realize which titles are circulated often (and will need to be repaired
or replaced), but also if there frequently used titles fit into a defined category or genre (which therefore might be a good area for
purchase of additional new titles). An evaluation can help a librarian see the total collection of materials across an entire
spectrum from when an item is newly selected for purchase and addition to the collection, through the consideration of where it is
best located, if it is available in the best format, whether it might be rebound or repaired for longer availability, or if the item
should simply be discarded. These decision points may be applied to any item in the collection, and the librarian can get a better
comprehensive view of the collection after considering many items at the individual level. For example, if a large percentage of
items need to be withdrawn the implication is that the collection is either quite old or had a very heavy use. Consequently, more
titles in the subject area may need to be purchased to meet user needs.
THE FIVE STEPS OF COLLECTION MANAGEMENT

1. Select for purchase (strengthen holdings).

- Select items in a subject area for purchase.

2. Move within the collection.

- Move some items, perhaps from reference to circulating collections (if reference is crowded or the item’s copyright
date is old). Or, perhaps from open stacks circulation to closed-stack reserves if materials are being misused
(such as defaced or destroyed books).

3. Consider alternative formats.

- Planned replacement and anticipated changes; titles going from print to electronic format in the near future are a
trend in some subject areas. Early adoption of the electronic format may minimize cost for print titles, and their
subsequent maintenance. For example, when an increasing number of legal or reference titles become available
electronically.

4. Repair or rebind.
- Repair or rebinding of those monographs that are valued by library users and can no longer be obtained in current
markets.

5. Replace or deselect.
- Replace, if possible, items worn beyond repair and deselect those that no longer add value to the collection or
meet the needs of information.

Taking steps such as these will increase the strength of the collection while reducing the weaknesses.

USER-CENTERED EVALUATION

One excellent method of efficiently gathering user-centered assessment data is via the library online management system, if one
is available. Data gathered from an online system or from paper records will reveal insights, such as circulation trends. By
organizing available circulation data, sorted into call number areas, and then generating reports from the data, valuable data can
be gained. With data reports of users’ circulation statistics, the librarian can easily assess frequency of circulation for any subject
area or title and compare the frequency of circulated titles to the density of holdings in that subject area to meet demand. In one
designated call number area, a count of the total number of titles circulated in one year divided by the total number of books held
in that area will yield a relative rate of use for those materials. This rate can be compared, using the same method, with other call
number areas. This method can be adjusted by factoring the copyright dates of each title in the area – such as only titles from
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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the most recent ten years serving as the total – compared with circulation data for the area. This can provide a sense of how
many materials are being used from more newly-acquired materials compared with older materials.

What is not circulated is also important. If titles can be identified that have not been circulated (and have probably not been
pulled from the shelf for in-library use),a list of seldom-used materials may be compiled. If these materials are not badly worn (do
not need to be discarded) and have information that is current (do not need to be replaced because of outdated content), they
become likely titles for off-site storage. Having seldom-used materials in off-site storage allows the library collection to maintain
historic perspective, have the material available when it is occasionally requested, but also open more on-site shelf space for
heavily circulated titles. Providing storage for less-used materials make library shelf space available.

Other user-centered assessment methods, especially suitable for academic librarians, are those based on bibliographies form
student-written papers, questionnaire survey of students, faculty surveys, or focus groups. While computerized library
management system may provide quantitative data efficiently, excellent qualitative data from groups of students or faculty may
explain collection use that is not reflected in statistical compilations.

Serials, specifically electronic full-text databases, may be another application or user- centered evaluation methods. Statistical
data might come from an online circulating catalogue or from monthly reports of database use. This data may need to be drawn
from the online catalogue or received as a report from a database provider. Regardless of how the information is gathered, it will
be helpful when decision need to be made, such as whether to renew an online subscription. A wealth of use data is available in
report form from commercial electronic resource providers.

COLLECTION-CENTERED EVALUATION

While user-centered evaluation can focus on computer data, collected centered evaluations often focus on a very physical
assessment of the books in the stacks. One method of collection-centered evaluation is to pull individual monographs from the
shelves.

This is the physical evaluation of materials that is described in the text accompanying the figure below, not the retrieval of
computer-generated numbers that is described in the user-centered evaluation section. The work of pulling titles from the shelf
may be undertaken by paraprofessionals, but the librarian with subject-specific knowledge needs to supervise the activity. It is
necessary that librarians design the activity with a plan that will gather specific information. In a large academic collection, for
example, every third book may be pulled for evaluation. While a paraprofessional may assess the physical condition of binding,
pages, and general wear and tear, it is incumbent upon the subject specialist to decide whether the book should be repaired or
withdrawn and possibly replaced. A simple card or checklist that is designed with the project in mind, such as the figure below
will serve to gather data. A single-column card may be used for each book, or a multi-column card, as shown below, when
planned sampling of the collection is being recorded.

The same card or checklist data field information could also be collected using a laptop or personal digital assistant (PDA) with
suitable spreadsheet or database software.

EVALUATION
L.C. # L.C. # L.C. # L.C. # L.C. # L.C. # L.C. # L.C. #
CONDITION OF
BINDING
NUMBER OF
PAGES
COPYRIGHT DATE

NUMBER OF
COPIES
REBIND

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College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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WITHDRAW

OTHER

NOTES

L.C. # = Library catalogue number

By working through the stacks, pulling every designated book and noting the condition and other relevant data, a library quickly
reacquaints with the subject materials and reviews them through planned sampling. It is certainly possible to handle each title in
a small subject area or small collection. Despite computer library management systems that provide quick collection information,
there is still value in maintaining human knowledge and awareness of collections. Bibliographers who find time to physically
reacquaint with the books in their subject areas will have a refreshed familiarity of the resources actually available. Human labor
and judgment epitomize physical assessment. Handling materials in the stacks will also help librarians recognize possible
concerns about title density (do circulation statistics for these titles indicate too many or too few items in the classification?) and
space on shelves (does crowding indicate a need for shifting volumes to other shelve or to off-site storage?). The human
exercise of specialized knowledge and judgment adds remarkably to the collection evaluation process.

OUTCOMES AND GOALS

Another beneficial outcome from any collection evaluation is the improved overall collection information that librarians gain.
Information about the collection can give librarian evidence in support of updating policies, procedures, or best practices. This
might easily extend to ILL or other intra-library matters. ILL information might indicate that some titles or genres are frequently
borrowed (and should be purchased) or that a title is frequently loaned (and a second copy might be justified).

The overview of the collection that results from a comprehensive collection evaluation will show its strength and weaknesses.
One example would be the composition of the collection, such as whether a good balance among material formats is achieved.
There are many observations that can be gained from collection evaluation results. These provide practical directions for
improved management of the library’s collections and for updating policies that may no longer serve library users’ needs.

By looking inward at the existing collection, a longer future timeline can be considered and a cohesive view developed from the
overall collection information that has been discovered. This demands a willingness to recognize what exists and what could
exist, set goals, and create change. It is imperative that policies, procedures, and best practices reflect user needs. The value of
a library, even with an excellent collection, is minimized if library policies prohibit practices and services that library users expect.

The two general collection evaluation methods, user-centered and collection- centered can be adapted and applied in many
variations to local library situations. Evaluating the collections will inform librarians by refreshing their memory of titles held in the
collection, showing what is seldom used or used most often, increasing awareness of policies and practices that govern
collection use, and by showing overall library strengths and weaknesses. The collection evaluation is a tool that librarians have
available; one that can provide analytical results far beyond what might be initially expected.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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CHAPTER III:

SELECTION OF MATERIALS
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SELECTION OF MATERIALS

Good material selection is the heart of collection building. After determining the information needs of the community, it is the
responsibility of the acquisition and subject specialists librarian to concentrate their use of selection tools to meet the perceived
users’ needs. Fortunately, many excellent selection tools are available. These tools vary widely. The type of library and the
library’s collection goals best determine which tools will be the most efficient and valuable.

SELECTION TOOLS

Standards selection tools are available in many formats, and they are useful for many types of libraries. The traditional modern
format has been print. Printed publisher’s catalogues, for example, may be valued first sources for school, public, or academic
librarians. Parallel print resources compete with publisher catalogues for the attention of librarians. The New York Times
newspaper prints (and also has online) a “Best Seller” list of titles (that may or may not be of interest to academic librarians), and
they also print the New York Times Book Review. Book reviews are another set of selection tools; they too may be either in print
or online. A n advantage of most reviews is their objectivity. The New York Book Review is one of an established group, almost a
genre, of book reviews that are typically very well written; the reviews themselves often having literary value.

a. PUBLISHER CATALOGUES

Despite the presence of the Internet, publishers continue to print catalogues for distribution to their target markets.
Librarians are a key market for publishers, but catalogues often find their way to the acquisitions manager’s mailbox.
Although printed catalogues may seem redundant in the Internet age, they still find a valuable niche. The appeal of a
catalogue’s text, color, format and message go beyond the catalogue’s text, color, format, and message go beyond the
less tangible computer screen images from the Internet. As a tangible resource, print catalogues can be carried about,
notes and highlights can be written in, and they can be given to colleagues or shared while discussing materials to buy.
Print catalogues have a portability that is not available with online catalogues, especially in developing information
societies that may have unreliable electricity supplies or scarce access to Internet connectivity.

Print catalogues also have a disadvantage. Typically, in a publisher –printed catalogue a single point of view describes
the material. The description of a book is often far less objective than a published book review. Catalogues are
marketing tools, not scholarly resources for learning about newly-published title; a common concern with publisher’s
catalogues is that they are not objective. The intent of the catalogue is to promote the title; it is designed to sell books.
Publishers invest heavily in promotion. Pushing catalogues is an effective means of introducing new titles to librarians.

However, catalogues may also have a theme or be organized by subject areas. This allows subject selectors to find a
number of possible titles in a given area without having to search a variety of sources. Catalogue content depends on
the type of books represented by a publisher, but often their intended markets encompass a variety of library types.
Many publisher catalogues are designed for a niche market. These exist in most subject areas and can provide the
subject specialist with excellent print selection tools for new materials.

Catalogues give the librarian a tangible print resource that is easy to carry and use; it may be used alone or
compliment intangible computer websites; both are valid selection tools. Catalogues are often colorful, well-illustrated,
formatted attractively, and very descriptive of individual titles. Because publisher catalogues are easy for librarians to
use, provide current or advance information, and may arrange new titles together in a subject or thematic area, they
are often a useful first contact tool between a publisher’s new title and prospective buyer.

b. PROFILES AND APPROVAL PLANS

Large vendors usually sell books from many publishers. Some major library vendors offer the value-added profile and
approval plan service. The vendor representative and subject specialist cooperatively create a profile by defining
parameters, a call number range, that forms the basic scope of materials to include. Then, limiting factors such as
whether hard or soft binding or individual items within a series will be included focus the profile further.
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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After the subject specialist and vendor representative create the profile, two alternatives are usually available. The first
is that notification slips are sent. These are simple slips with the bibliographic and financial information of newly-
published materials that fit within the parameters of the profile. There is one slip for each title. They do not contain
reviews, only essential bibliographic and ordering information. The subject selector chooses whether or not to request
that the title be purchased. The second possibility is to have the vendor automatically ship the individual books on
approval. This is called an approval plan. Weekly or monthly, the books that fit the profile are automatically sent to the
acquisitions department. The appropriate subject specialist then reviews each title to decide whether it is approved,
and added to the collection, or rejected and returned to the vendor. While there is no obligation to keep approval titles,
most books sent are purchased.

A well-designed profile can create a high percentage of purchased books that were sent on approval. Fine-tuning
profiles, so that subject specialists receive specifically what they want, may take months. Even successful approval
plans need to be monitored to sure that profiles are continuing to reflect current needs.

Profiles and approval plans are valuable tools. They help vendor’s market books from publishers they represent, as
well as providing many libraries with core materials that are often purchased for collections. These are easy techniques
for publishers to sell many books quickly, for vendors to add value to their customers, and for librarians to get what
they often need. Subject specialists gain valuable time because they automatically get mainstream core collection
titles. The specialists can then use their time better, searching for niche publishers or titles that are valuable to their
collections but not carried by larger multinational vendors.

c. BOOK REVIEWS

Many general book reviews are available, both in print and online. While these may be well written and informative,
such as New York Times Book Review or the Bloomsbury Review, they are written for the reading public. These and
others, especially print based reviews are often insightful and even scholarly; some are themselves literary pieces of
value. These are, however, a number of review sources that are written specifically for librarians.

Reviews written specifically for librarians often include purchase recommendations for specific types of libraries. These
are usually written by librarians with subject specialization credentials, or by faculty or industry experts in the subject.
The reviews are typically concise, well written, and audience-specific. Reviews for librarians may be found in:
 American Reference Books Annual (ARBA)
 Choice magazine
 Library School Journal
 Emerald Reference Reviews
 Kirkus Reviews
 The publications of professional associations and organizations
 Scholarly journals

Many of the reviews listed above are available both print and online format. Their strength is not one of format, but of
the author’s scholarly subject knowledge. There are many reviews written by the general public that is available as
selection tools, but they may be of limited or inconsistent quality and most do not review scholarly titles. Many of these
less-scholarly reviews are easily found web resources. For example, the A mazon.com website includes book reviews.
However, these reviews can be written by anyone; reviewers need no credential or qualification other than registering
their details with the site. Other websites often prompt this same concern: who is the reviewer, and why should this
person’s review of the title have value? Despite the lack of credentials by the review author, easy-to-locate online
reviews are frequently used to get general content knowledge of the book; to get quick, unqualified view of whether the
book is worth buying and reading.

d. CONFERENCE EXHIBITS

Many library associations or professional organizations confer in formal gatherings. Often this is an annual conference,
but some organizations may convene more or less frequently to conduct their business at a member’s convention. It is
not unusual for these gatherings, whether small local organizations or grand multinationals to have an exhibit space for
commercial industry representatives with products or services to display the membership.
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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Most librarians enjoy learning about new products from conference exhibitors. Visiting corporate representatives in the
exhibit hall allows informal question and answer sessions, explanations of how things work, the opportunity to attend
formal product demonstrations, and of course, all of this information sharing is free of any obligation to purchase. The
exhibitors for their part enjoy having many potential customers available in one place; this is a great marketing
opportunity.

Exhibits are often elaborate, have the latest information from the company, and often include free samples or
promotional items (e.g. a pen bearing the vendor’s name) for the individual members who visit the exhibit. Visiting the
conference exhibit hall is a great opportunity to learn about a company and their products, as well as their competitors.
It is a great place to see what new, compare products are and develop new ideas. Every library setting is different and
every library has unique needs. Conference exhibitors usually depend on the conference membership as a primary
pool of product buyers. When company representatives are at a conference exhibit, they listen to librarians who visit
them. Exhibitors return to their company offices when the conference members go back to their libraries. It is important
to realize that the company representatives then work on developing or improving their products so they can better
serve the needs of their librarian - customers.

e. BOOK FAIRS

Book fairs are gatherings of large and small booksellers, distributors, and publishers that provide excellent
opportunities to meet small local or regional booksellers. Book fairs often have local materials and languages that may
otherwise be difficult to acquire. There are many book fairs in a wide variety of locations across the globe. These are
often community events that are as much local festivals as they are publishing showcases. Book fairs provide an
opportunity for cities or countries to endorse and encourage literacy, reading, authors and of course books. Publishers
and booksellers gather from afar to focus on local reader desires and show the newest and best of their inventories.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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CHAPTER IV:

SELECTION OF NON – PRINT MATERIALS

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SELECTION OF NON-PRINT MATERIALS (CABECEIRAS, 1982; BOSCH AND PROMIS, 1994)

I. OVERVIEW

The library not only acquires information in printed formats, but increasingly builds collections of non- print information as well. It
is essential that the professional librarian be able to identify with the institution – the library – which he or she dedicates a career.
He or she must know that the profession of librarian is not now, never was, nor ever will be static; it is an extremely important
entity within an ever-changing society and must be responsive to the needs of society.

In order to function effectively, the professional librarian will have to know how to cope intelligently and objectively with the key
change factors that continue to occur, the technological advances that are taking place and the librarian will need to know how to
initiate change as well as how to predict its ultimate effects. Finally, the librarian will need to know how to analyze what
information is being generated, select what is needed and wanted, store it, and then ultimately make it accessible on demand in
the format best suited for a particularly diagnosed request.

II. SELECTION OF MULTIPLE MEDIA FORMS

The major concerns in making the proper or best selection of information in a particular medium can be ascertained by making
the following inquiries:

a. Is the information suitable and presented in the best medium?

Determining the best medium is best for a particular type of information requires that the characteristics of the
information be carefully examined. A n obvious example is music; which is best presented in an audio form (audiotape
or disc recording) rather than in motion picture or videotape format. There are situations in which different media have
more subtle differences with regard to information content. Should a speech by a famous person be in printed or audio
form? A ny decision regarding any kind of medium must be predicted on knowledge and not preference. The most
effective method of making this type of decision is to identify all the media formats applicable to a particular piece of
information, list them in order according to how well they present the information, and find if needed the information is
available in the forms identified. The task requires knowledge of the characteristics of various communications media.

b. Is the information in the best medium, considering the patron/s who will be using it?

After the best media forms and their availability are determined, the next step is to identify the most likely ways in which the
patron/s will use the information. It could be for independent use, small or large group use, cultural enrichment, entertainment,
supplementary information, reference, research or extensive study.; the information may be used either inside or outside the
library facility; the information, by virtue or format, could be of short or long-term value (e.g., perhaps a film would be viewed only
once by a particular patron, whereas a book might be consulted in repeated occasions).

c. Are facilities, if needed, available and equipped to make the information accessible?

The final consideration in selecting a medium is to examine how accessible it is to the patron. The library has facility
and a policy of how the facility is to be used that defines conditions for the use and extent of use for each medium. A
medium is of little use if it is inaccessible to the patron. A book is ready to use straight off the shelf, but a film requires
projection equipment. Conversely, a book can be read by only one person at a time, whereas a film can be viewed by
one person or an audience of hundred. Closely linked to accessibility is convenience of use (i.e. which medium would
the patron prefer).

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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III. CRITERIA FOR THE EVALUATION OF NON-PRINT MATERIALS

1. Motion Pictures and Video Tapes

 Are picture images sharp?

 Is the sound intelligible and realistic?
 Is there sufficient actions?
 Is continuity natural and understandable?
 Is the composition satisfactory?
 Is content free of conflicts in music and speech or dialogues?
 Are pictorial sequences of appropriate length?
 Is spacing of the action appropriate?

By the Motion Picture Production Code of the US:

 Does it lower the moral standards of the audience?

 Does it portray the normal wants of life?
 Does it defend the sanctity of the matrimonial bond?
 Are the scenes passionate? If so, are they necessary or unnecessary for the plot?
 Are these scenes presented in detail?
 Is obscenity portrayed in words, gestures, references, songs, jokes or suggestions?
 Is it patronized by persons of all ages, of all social groups or by a limited audience?
 Are the characters realistic or stereotyped?
 Does it present any moral lessons? Of what value is it to the audience?

Before any film selection can be made, the librarian must know the library’s philosophy, policy, budget, and current holdings:

 PHILOSOPHY. What does the library regard as the purpose of having films? What kind of collection does the library
want (e.g., feature films, educational films, art films)? What are the plans or goals of the library for its film collection?
 POLICY. Who can use the films? When and where can films be seen (e.g. in the library only or can they be charged
out)? What are the provisions for making projection equipment available?
 BUDGET. Does the patron pay a fee? A re any funds allocated for a special genre of film? Is it better to buy a long,
expensive film or several short ones?
 CURRENT HOLDINGS. Is there a good balance in the collection? Do certain areas need rejuvenation with second
editions or updated topics? How large is the collection? To what extent are the films being used?

Criteria developed for the actual selection of a film deal with the specifics of the film and are concerned with obtaining films of the
highest quality. If the right film is selected, it will be in agreement with the library’s program and worthwhile to the library patron.

 CONTENT. Does it have something to say and know how to say it?
 AUTHENTICITY. Is it truthful and accurate?
 OBJECTIVITY. Is it biased or prejudiced? Does it present propaganda, or is it selling something?
 SUBJECTIVITY. Does it let the audience “get close” to the story?
 RELEVANCE. Does the film have any relevance to the patron?
 SPECIFICITY. Does the film make a point, and does it do so effectively? Is film the proper medium (e.g., could it be
better done as a filmstrip)?
 TECHNICAL QUALITY. How good are the photography, color, sound, lighting, continuity and organization of scenes
and camera technique? What is the picture primacy (i.e., the emphasis in a film should be on the visual and not the
audio)? What is the rate of development or sequencing?

The librarian must be aware of the patrons’ needs. The best film, in complete compliance with the library’s policy, is of no value if
the patron does not use it.

 GROUPS. A re there any special interest groups or institutions that would make use of the film?
 PROGRAMS. Is there a library film programs that the patron would attend to view the film?

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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 INTEREST. Do patrons have the background, need or interest to want to see the film?
 OTHER RESOURCES. Can the film be seen elsewhere (e.g., local theatre or on television)? Is the film available in
another medium (e.g. book)?

2. Pictorial study prints, filmstrips, slides and transparencies

 Is the content free of irrelevant materials?
 Are the desirable details shown in proper size and number for optimum observation and correct conclusions?
 Are the pictures free of distortion because of good balance between the artistic technique and educational needs?
 A re the colors employed natural and desirable?
 A re pictures available in units or well-organized sets?
 Do sets of pictures provide adequate continuity and range?
 Is the designated continuity of pictures appropriate for the teaching of objective?
 Are captions and explanations readable and suitable for the teaching purposes?
 Are captions and explanations of suitable length and in proper positions for the pictorial content being presented?

3. Models and display materials

 Is construction sturdy enough to withstand hard usage?
 Is the size suitable for the materials and the nature of the observation activities intended? Is the scale
appropriate?
 Are labels readily readable?
 Are arrangements of models realistic?
 Does the material contain sufficient details?

4. Audio programs
 Are the sound effects realistic?
 Is the speech clearly understandable?
 Is sufficient action implicit in the content?
 Is continuity understandable?
 Is the program free of conflicts between background sounds and speech dialogues?

a. Audio recordings

The task of the librarian is to select audio recordings that are best suited to the medium and are the kind that the
patron either needs, wants or appreciate. With the new technology available, the quality of the audio recording is
continually improving, while at the same time, audio equipment is becoming less expensive and easier to operate.

Before selecting any audio recording, the librarian must first formulate a policy about the type of audio service the
library will provide. Decisions must be made regarding how and where recordings will used, what type of collections will
be acquired and what services will be provided.

Music collections, which are the most popular audio holdings in most libraries can, and perhaps, should be educational
as well as entertaining. The librarian selecting musical recordings should be especially aware not only of the kind of
music to acquire, but also of the best performing artists. Ideally in considering types of collections, it is best to make
selections that best serve a multiplicity of needs. The following questions are worthy of consideration:

 What range of patrons will the collection serve (e.g. age, interest, ability, needs)?
 What percentage of the collection should be developed to each topic?
 Does the collection have cross – applicability (i.e., is it educational, entertaining, multidisciplinary)?
 Is it the type of collection that has high audio primacy (i.e, is an audio recording the best format in which to have
this information)?
 Are supplementary materials essential to the collection (e.g., musical scores, guidebooks, printed scripts)?
 Should the collection, or particular recordings, be monaural, stereophonic, or quadraphonic?

5. Graphics
 Are the symbols understandable by the learners who are to observe them?
 Will it be relatively easy for the user to bridge the gap between graphic symbols and the real situation?
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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 Does the graphic material present the optimum amount of the materials for the grade level of the observers?
 A re label readable at desirable viewing distance?
 Is appropriate action implied?

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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CHAPTER V:

SELECTION STANDARDS ACCORDING TO TYPE OF LIBRARIES

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FUNCTIONS OF LIBRARIES

I. PUBLIC LIBRARIES

It serves the most heterogeneous public. It must provide books and other library materials in every class and must represent
both the popularization for the uninitiated and the more advanced works for the knowledgeable. The problem of a Metropolitan
Library is to create a method of selection which will adequately reflect variety of types of readers and the types of materials
needed to meet their demands. The problem of collection building arises from the more limited budget. It becomes imperative
that selection of materials be carefully done. The librarian may experience some frustration because many of the principles of
selecting materials simply cannot be implemented due to budget limitations.

II. COLLEGE LIBRARIES

Have a more homogeneous community of users than the public library. Since it is not primarily intended for research, it will not
require the more remote materials of narrow subject scope and intense specialization on the value and authority of a given title
rather than on its popular appeal.

The functions of the liberal arts college library are the following:
 To support the curriculum
 To provide a basic collection aimed at the development of the “humane,” the liberally – educated person apart from the
curriculum assignments
 To support a degree of faculty research.

III. UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The task of the university library includes that of the college library, plus some additional responsibilities. The university will
support a program of graduate education involving not only advanced courses with their special library requirements, but also
graduate research.

The university is ordinarily committed heavily to support faculty research. This emphasis on research will lead to the collecting of
much that is scholarly, perhaps little used and expensive materials. Selection of library materials will reach far beyond the
ordinary trade materials, as the library must hunt out for publications of scientific institutions and organizations of every country.
The university library should acquire those materials which now and the future will best serve the objectives of the university.

IV. SCHOOL LIBRARIES

It is primarily intended to support the curriculum. It has become more common for the school library to act as material center for
the teachers and the students, a teaching agency, a recreational center and a multi – media learning center. Books and other
materials chosen are supposed to support the socially acceptable indoctrination of children into the ways of our society it has the
most restricted purposes and homogeneous clientele of the types of libraries.

V. SPECIAL LIBRARIES

It is created and managed for very specific purposes – to support the research or business activities of one particular company or
agency. It exists to serve the relatively small group of employees. The range of subjects the collection covers may be restricted;
the library may concern itself with one narrow subject area.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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CHAPTER VI:

CHED STANDARDS FOR ACADEMIC LIBRARIES

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CHED MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 48

Updated Standards and Guidelines for the Grant and/or Retention of University Status vis-a-viz Higher
Education Institutions (HEIs).

Section 3.8. Library and Laboratory Facilities and Equipment

The Library and Laboratory facilities and equipment of the HEI must conform to the standards set by the
Commission. In addition as far as possible, the HEi should also provide its students with access to other
library resources and databases through the internet and other information technology facilities, including
CD-ROM databases.

Area V: Library

AREAS OF EVALUATION PTS. REQUIREMENT SPECIFICATIONS

1. Qualification of Librarian 1.0 At least one (1) full time is a master’s degree holder in
Library Science Program
1 full time for 500 students and 1 additional for every 1,000
increase.
2. Title References 6.0 2.1. Basic collection of 5,000 titles for population of less than 500.

2.2.
Enrollment Title/Student Volumes
500 or less 10 5,000
501-1,000 10 10,000
1,000-3,000 8 24,000
3,001-5,000 6 30,000
5,001-above 6 40,000
2.3. 5% of the Book Collection should be
Filipiniana/Orientalia
2.4. 40% of the book collection should be of major field.
3. Local Subscription 0.5 2 professional journals/program
1 pt. = 1 local journal
4. Foreign Subscription 0.5 1 international professional journal/program
5. Library Space 2.0 Able to accommodate 15% to 20% of student population in one
setting.
Total Rating 10.0

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
34 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
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CHAPTER VII:

E – SERIALS MANAGEMENT
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ELECTRONIC RESOURCE: E – JOURNALS MANAGEMENT

I. DEFINITION OF THE TERM

ELECTRONIC JOURNALS – a digital version of a print journal, or a journal-like electronic publication with no print counterpart,
made available via the Web, e-mail, or other means of Internet access. Some Web-based electronic journals are graphically
modeled on the print version. The rising cost of print journal subscriptions has led many academic libraries to explore electronic
alternatives (ODLIS, 2008).

II. INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALS: WHY ARE THERE SCHOLARLY JOURNALS? (MEADOWS, 2000)

The end of the 20th century marks a turning point for serials publication. The keenly debated question is – how will the balance
between paper – based and electronic serials change over the next few years? Trying to find an answer to this question entails
first understanding why the traditional paper – based system works as it does.

Anyone who claims to be communicating research must be trying to say something original about the world in which we live. The
newness may lie either in the observations, or in ideas about how such observations should be interpreted. Such content is
necessary condition for a journal to be scholarly, but it is hardly sufficient. After all, other categories of serials – newspapers, for
example – might be said to do the same. The difference is that the materials in a scholarly journal are expected to be based on
the application of appropriate research methods. These vary from subject to subject, but always need to be acceptable to
research community involved.

This explains in a rather summary way, what is meant by “scholarly” in the term “scholarly journal”

A. THE EARLY DAYS OF SERIALS

The nature of newspapers is actually relevant to the origins of scholarly journal. Prior to the 1660s, news of research was
normally transmitted either via books or letters. The latter were not usually meant to be private correspondence in the way that
most present – day letters are. Rather they conveyed information on work carried out by the writers and their friends to be
communicated by the recipients to their own circle of friends and acquaintances. Using letters obviously had its limitations. The
audiences for them were restricted in size, and the medium employed could hardly be called permanent. During the first half of
the 17th century, newspapers became an increasingly acceptable way for disseminating news. It is hardly surprising that the idea
should have occurred of putting together letters, and publishing them in the same way as the different news items in a
newspaper. This led in the 1660s to the appearance of the first two journals that can be classified as “scholarly” in the modern
sense, Philosophical Transactions in England and Journal des Scavans in France. It is an interesting exercise to scan early and
more recent copies of Philosophical Transactions, and o see how the early letters, reproduced in the form they were received ,
have gradually transmuted in their layout into the modern journal article.

B. THE GROWTH OF SERIALS

The 19th century saw a growth in the size of a literate middle class throughout Western Europe and North America. The result
was a demand for more general reading matter, including more by the way of serial literature. In consequence, it became
increasingly feasible to publish magazines and journals aimed at an educated audience. In Britain, for example, starting with the
Edinburg Review (established in 1802), a wide range of general periodicals was created during the 19th century. Even so,
subscriptions were quite low – a few thousand – so their financial position could sometimes be precarious. Even more
specialized publications could survive, if the material was presented for a general audience. As example is the Scientific
American, which first appeared in 1845.

In the 20th century, readers have experienced continuing growth both in their disposable income and in the amount of leisure
time available. The market for serials has therefore increased greatly. Beginning with newspapers and then extending to
magazines, the overall circulation of serials aimed at a general audience expanded throughout the first half of the 20th century.
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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For specialist journals, the market remained restricted during this period, and society publications continued to dominate. World
War 2 acted as a catalyst for change. The scientific and technological advances triggered by the war – most obviously, the
atomic bomb – ensured that post – war governments saw an urgent need to pump more funds into research and development
work, and, consequently, into training of specialists. Though this support was aimed primarily at scientists and engineers, the
growth in universities stimulated an increase in student, and therefore staff, population across faculties. The result was a rapid
increase both in the number of people interested in publishing original work and in the audience for such writing. The learned and
professional societies experienced some difficulty in coping with this new situation. The first societies often had quite wide
interests, and this was reflected in the contents of the journals they published. As time passed, researchers’ interest became
more and more specialized. They were catered for by the creation of more specialist societies producing more specialized
journals. However, such fragmentation occurred at a relatively leisurely pace. In the period of rapid change after the World War
2, the need for specialist knowledge became increasingly emphasized. Commercial publishers, with their greater flexibility, were
better able to step into this gap quickly than were society publishers.

C. JOURNALS MANAGEMENT

The publisher will mesh its journals in with its other activities, such as book or database publishing. A publisher of both books
and journals may find that there is valuable cross – fertilization – of ideas, of authors and editors – between the two. The
publisher needs to keep a healthy balance between journals at different stages of maturity: not launching too many new journals
which are in decline. Profitable, mature journals will help to support those which new and not yet profitable, or those which are
still valuable but declining. A publisher which handles journals on behalf of others (for example, learned society journals) has to
be particularly careful not to become too vulnerable to a large proportion of its business being taken elsewhere at short notice.

Unlike books, journals are managed continuously, and improvements can be made all the time. The number of pages can be
increased or decreased, design can be changed, the mix of content (perhaps to include review articles or bibliographies) can be
altered, and prices are reviewed every year. The journal publisher is continuously monitoring not only the data available from the
editorial office and the subscription system, but also information from the market place about journals in general, and about the
individual journal in particular.

When a journal goes electronic, however, very many additional possibilities present themselves:

 Linking to and from secondary databases, references in other journals, supporting data

 Inclusion of non – printable material such as sound, video, executable programs, animations or three – dimensional
diagrams

 Addition of features such as discussion lists, table of contents alerting services, facilities for bookmarking or annotation.

The possibilities are endless, and expensive. The skill lies in identifying which are actually of such value to customers that they
will pay for them.

III. THE ELECTRONIC JOURNAL (MEADOWS, 2000)

The Internet and the universal adoption of the World Wide Web have made it possible to distribute research more widely. It was
originally hoped that this would also reduce the costs of scholarly communication. The initial investment costs for publishers are,
however, huge and systems need continual development, by expensive staff. Ongoing costs do not appear to be very much
lower than for traditional print publishing. Furthermore, while authors and subscribers still want the security and permanence of
print alongside the electronic version, costs actually increase.

Advantages of electronic journals which are often suggested include:

 INTERNATIONAL REACH – although readers all over the world can in theory read an electronic journal article, is they
have the appropriate equipment; the real question is whether people will access it in the first place. To do so, they will
need to know of its existence and its website address. This requires international promotion, although more direct links
between databases and journal articles may also help.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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 SPEED OF PUBLICATION – as soon as an article is ready for publication, it can be published, and is immediately
available to readers. Many of the important processes of publication, however, will not in themselves be speeded up.
Peer review and subsequent revision are often the most time – consuming steps between submission of an article and
its eventual publication. Similarly, the editorial processes are at least as time – consuming as for print. Additional work
may also be required such as adding link, supplementary material, etc.

 ADDITIONAL CAPABILITIES – electronic media make it possible to do more with research information, for instance,
linking backward and forward between references and articles, using video and moving images as illustrations, etc.
Colour illustrations may be prohibitively expensive in a printed journal, but present no such problem in an electronic
journal. Appropriately used, these features can make research papers more useful and interesting. However, they
require new skills in authors and additional expense for the publisher.

 CONVENIENCE – one of the great advantages of an electronic journal is access from the user’s own desktop. There is
no need to go to the library, and risk finding that someone else is using the required journal issue.

 SEARCHABILITY – another key benefit of electronic journals is the ease with which the reader can search for articles,
browsing the tables of contents of previous issues, for example, to find a hazily remembered article, or searching for
particular words or phrases. This hugely improves retrieval compared with looking through every issue in turn on the
library shelf.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
37 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
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CHAPTER VIII

EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT OF E - RESOURCES

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EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT OF ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (GREGORY AND HANSON, 2006)

Collection assessment can be defined as the systematic, organized process of describing the state of a library’s resources and
their effectiveness at a particular time. Assessment requires that the collection be measured, analyzed and judged according to
specific criteria for relevancy, size, quality, and use. Librarians have generally thought of library assessments in terms of their
library’s book or serial collections, but assessment and evaluation are equally important for electronic resources and printed
resources and in determining the effectiveness of library’s mix of electronic and printed resources. If a library has an integrated
collection development policy, and in most cases it should, then the assessment of electronic resources must not be conducted
in isolation but rather in terms of how those resources fit into the library’s overall collection.

If your library is operating under a separate collection development policy for electronic resources, an assessment can be
configured solely to evaluate electronic resources. However, as stated, the increasing array of electronic resources means that
segregating them in policy/philosophy is probably detrimental to the overall planning and development of a library collection as a
whole. In addition to electronic resources that are physically housed in the library, most libraries now rely heavily on networked
resources, which are generally accessed via the Web. Although some of the techniques that are normally used in accessing print
collections still apply, networked resources do add complications to the assessment project. There are also some techniques
which can be added to the traditional mix.

A. ASSESSMENT DATA

In addition to statistics generally kept in libraries concerning the print collection’s size and growth, libraries evaluating electronic
collections will also need to collect data in the areas:

 Type of Internet connection used by the library itself and that used by patrons to access the library remotely.
 Capabilities and distribution of computer workstations and printers provided in the library building.
 Internet and other network service costs, including the cist associated with remote dial – in capabilities.
 Web page and database hits, searches, printing and like.

Collection assessment and evaluation covers a number of different activities. First, the proper assessment if a collection involves
a comprehensive description of the library’s resources at a particular point in time. This description will include not only an
assessment of past and current collecting strengths, but also an assessment of what the library’s future collecting strengths
should be. Increasingly, librarians must also look at the overlap in the full titles that are already owned or licensed by the library.
An assessment project also evaluates the effectiveness of the library’s collection in supporting the mission and goals of the
organization of which it forms a part; it should lead to a plan of action detailing how the library’s collection development activities
should proceed in order to obtain the best match between the collection and mission of the library.

B. STANDARD AREAS OF DATA COLLECTION

Traditionally, libraries have gathered qualitative and quantitative assessment data in the following areas:

 Circulation statistics
 Title count
 Median age of item
 Shelf observation by subject experts
 Holdings checked against standard lists/bibliographies
 Interlibrary loan requests
 User surveys
 Focus groups

The information gained from these methods is equally important in terms of electronic resources and how they fit into the library’s
overall collection. However, there are some additional data collection methods, set out in the following that can be used to obtain,
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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relatively easily, the additional information needed concerning the library’s electronic resources. Although vendors can supply
statistics for the use of their networked resources, the proliferation of federated or metasearch software has lead to situation in
which these statistics require additional study by the library to determine the true usefulness of particular sources to their patrons
because of the very nature of the federated search. In addition, not all vendors report usage statistics in the same way, so care
always has to be taken when comparing across vendor products.

C. TECHNOLOGICAL ADDITIONS TO STANDARD DATA SOURCES

 SCRIPTED USER SURVEYS/ASSESSMENTS – provides users of electronic resources with a pop – up (or some
other method) box onscreen, allowing them to rate the value of the resources to their information need (a user survey,
so to speak, at the point of actual use of an electronic resource).

 TRANSACTION LOG OR WEB LOG ANALYSIS – provides data for analysis of user transaction activity at a Web site
or in an interaction with any electronic resource made available by the library. Some electronic resource vendors
provide useful statistics about usage on a regular basis. These statistics can be used to make decisions concerning
database renewal or the necessary number of simultaneous users. Examples of statistical data that might be gathered
include number of queries per specific database, number of sessions, number of menu selections, number of items to
examine, citations displayed, and the number of times users were denied access because the maximum number of
simultaneous users was exceeded. Statistics, unfortunately, do not usually provide much information about the relative
usefulness of a resources and whether the patron received exactly the information about how the particular product is
being used, that information can then be supplemented through one or more of the qualitative assessment techniques.

 NETWORKED USAGE ANALYSIS – Measures the use if Web – based services by collecting network or terminal use
statistics, such as the load on the network server or router, user access points and number of users. This information
shows network load and capacity and indicates what services are being used and how frequently.

 VENDOR – SUPPLIED STATISTICS – For networked electronic resources, the vendors can supply the library with a
great deal of statistical information related to the use of the particular resource. Often these statistics are not
comparable across products and almost certainly not comparable across vendors. Given that the statistics provided to
libraries are non-standardized, the librarians use caution if they are not to compare “apples and oranges” when making
decisions based on those data.

The quantitative measures described in the preceding were initially the major ways by which librarians evaluated networked
electronic resources, but as time goes by, more and more use of a mix of techniques including quantitative but also qualitative
measures are being utilized by librarians in their collection development decisions.

D. QUALITATIVE TECHNIQUES

 CONTENT ANALYSIS – The analysis of the content of a networked resource, including accuracy of information
presented, aesthetics, readability, currency and relevancy judgements. Although content analysis could also be
performed on a print collection, this technique is much more likely to be used as a library collection assessment
technique for electronic resources than for print resources. This technique is attractive because of the greater problems
of authoritativeness that electronic resources typically present. Usability is also important to consider. Does the system
“crash” when too many persons attempt to access it? Are the Web sites stable or do they move to other URLs
frequently? Can you get “stuck” in the site with no clear way for the user to break out of it? Developing the answers to
all of these questions requires devotion of significant time by librarians.

 FOCUS GROUPS – small groups of users are selected to explore key issues in such areas as electronic content,
performance, and services. One might consider focusing on both heavy users of electronic resources and also
reluctant users to get a full picture of user concerns and needs. Do users find the library’s electronic resources to be
user – friendly? Can they easily find their way around Web – based resource sites? Do they find the instruction and
help provided on online sites to be adequate?

 CASE STUDIES – particular “communities” of users, such as elementary school students, business – oriented users,
researchers, etc. are selected in order to study in depth their use of your electronic resources and how electronic
resources contribute to their needs and particular users.
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
39 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
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The preceding quantitative and qualitative measures can be used to describe essential characteristics about the library’s
collections such as:

 Collection adequacy to support the library services – Can the materials owned or accessed from the library supply the
information needs of an appropriate percentage of library users? Each library must decide for itself based on available
staff and resources, what percentage make sense for its particular situation.

 Formats and types of materials acquired – What kinds of materials are being acquired and, second, what kinds of
materials should be acquired in order to meet the demands of local patrons?

 Usage patterns – Both in – house use and circulation should be considered. Do multiple patrons need simultaneous
access? Do users need access from home or office?

 Language of materials acquired compared to circulation and ILL requests – Does the library need to provide popular
and / or scholarly materials in Spanish, Chinese, or other languages?

 Reading levels acquired compared to items circulated – Does the reading level of materials acquired match the reading
levels of the library’s users.

 Current priorities compared to current usage and requests – For example, do the current priorities for materials as
reflected in your budget match current patterns of usage as reflected in circulation statistics or in requests made to
librarians and staff at circulation or reference desks? Does an analysis of interlibrary loan requests reveal an area of
current demand, but few materials to support that demand are being acquired by the library?

Collection maintenance actions determined from collection assessment include:

 ADDITION DECISIONS – In examining the data collected, which titles or groups of materials does the library need to
acquire?

 PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION DECISIONS – Did data collection identify materials of local or heavy use
that require preservation action?

 REPLACEMENT DECISIONS – What lost or mutilated or heavily worn materials are still in demand by patrons?

 UPDATING COLLECTIONS – Where has your collection become outdated and in need pf replenishment with newer
materials?

 WEEDING DECISIONS – Are there areas in the collection that are no longer being used? What materials have
become too outdated to be of use to clients?

Some internal library factors play an important role in either the location of resources by patrons or in how the library operates.
They need to be considered when planning an assessment project because they can affect both the data collection process and
the interpretation of those data. These factos include”

 Cataloging and indexing of resources – Are the resources being evaluated, properly catalogued and indexed so that
clients can find the resources? Buying an electronic resource and not finding proper access mechanisms dooms it to
underuse no matter how outstanding its quality.

 Screen display – Is it clear and are its instructions easily understood? Does it load quickly on the computer?

 Is the software flexible enough to accommodate users with disabilities?

 Is reading level separation adequate? This factor can be crucial particularly in a public library setting.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
40 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
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 Circulation management policy selection criteria – Has the library established adequate selection criteria, and are
those criteria being followed?

 Purchasing and weeding data record – keeping procedures – Are proper procedures in place to evaluate a product
correctly?

 Collection submits – Especially in public libraries, the way resources are distributed among various submits of the
collection can be vital for the effective use of the resource. For example: Should it be available from the children’s
room? Near the popular fiction collection?

Remember that the evaluation of electronic resources is a new and growing area of interest in the library and information science
field. While in the past we have attempted from time to time to evaluate various online services, the increasing array if electronic
resource in libraries today is causing increased interest but as yet there are no ineffably “tried and true” methods. It was originally
intended for print materials and then gradually add more and more data to be collected that is strictly for electronic resources.
This change will lead to more methodologies for data collection that are specifically geared toward electronic resources. The
statistical data that is being supplied from vendors is often not standardized and can vary greatly among vendors. At present
there is a real need for vendors to standardize the statistical data that is reported to libraries if librarians are to be able to make
resources.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
41 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
LS20: Collection Management

CHAPTER IX:

STANDARDS FOR PHILIPPINE LIBRARIES

LS20: Collection Management

ACADEMIC LIBRARIES

STANDARD I: MISSION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

A. The academic library shall develop an explicit statement of its mission in conformity with the mandate of the parent
institution.
B. The development of library mission and goals shall be the responsibility of the library head and staff in consultation
with the officials of the parent institution
C. The statement of library objectives shall be reviewed periodically and revised as necessary

STANDARD II: ADMINISTRATION

A. The supervision and control of the academic library shall be clearly defined within the organizational structure of the
parent institution
B. The academic library shall be administered and supervised by a full time professional librarian with at least Master’s
Degree in Library and Information Science
C. The academic library shall have an advisory library committee composed of representatives of the faculty and students
D. The academic library shall formulate a development plan which shall include a program for a continued development
and improvement of library resources and services

STANDARD III: HUMAN RESOURCES

A. The academic library shall have a sufficient number and variety of staff to develop, organize and maintain the collection
and provide information and reference service to meet the needs of its clientele
1. SIZE
a. The size and qualifications of staff shall be determined by several factors, including size and scope of
collection, number of hours, rate of acquisition, rate of circulation, nature of processing and nature of service
demand
b. Ratio of professional librarian and other staff vary depending upon the range of operations and services
provided by the library and upon its total workload requirements
- For the first 500 students: One full time professional library and two full time clerical staff
- For every additional 1000 students – 1 additional full time professional librarian
B. QUALIFICATIONS
1. PROFESSIONAL STAFF
- The professional staff includes the head library and staff doing professional work. The Head Librarian
must be a Master’s Degree holder in Library and Information Science (MLIS) for the college library. For
the university library, a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS) preferable pursuing a
Ph.D. in any program.
- Qualifications of a professional staff shall be at least:
a. For College library – Bachelor’s Degree in Library and Information Science
b. For University Library – Master’s Degree in Library / Information Science

2. SUPPORT STAFF
- Includes the paraprofessionals and staff doing clerical work. The educational qualifications for
paraprofessionals shall be Bachelor’s degree in any related field in Library / Information Science and the
clerical staff shall likewise be a Bachelor’s degree holder.
3. STATUS
- Librarians shall be given faculty (academic) status with corresponding privileges and other benefits
comparable to those of the faculty members.

4. A continuing staff development shall be provided with the corresponding financial assistance from the institution

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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STANDARD IV: COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

The academic library shall have library resources relevant to its mission, adequate in quality and quantity, helpful in serving the
needs of scholarship and research, as well as progressively developing and growing in accordance with institutional
development and expansion plans

A. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT
1. Collection development shall be the responsibility of the Advisory Library Committee
2. The academic library shall have written collection development policies which shall be approved by the members
of the Advisory Library Committee.
3. The academic library shall conduct periodic review of its existing collection

B. HOLDINGS
1. SIZE
a. The core collection of 5000 well selected title for college library and 8,000 titles for university libraries is
necessary for the college / university to effectively support its educational programs.
b. In addition to the core book collection, a core periodical collection of current and relevant titles (local and
foreign) shall be provided. The recommended number of periodicals based on the enrollment as follows:

ENROLLMENT NUMBER OF PERIODICAL TITLES

Less than 1,000 than students 50 titles
1001 – 3000 students 75 titles
Over 3000 students 100 titles

c. Every major field of specialization shall be covered at least 3 journal titles of undergraduate concentration, 6
journal titles of graduate concentration and 10 journal titles of doctoral work or its equivalent
d. For reserve books, at least 1 copy for every 25 students shall be provided
e. Thirty percent (30%) of the collection shall be published within the last 5 years
f. Non – print resources and electronic / digital resources shall be made available through adequate facilities
and equipment
g. The academic library shall provide Filipiniana material equivalent to 15% of the total collection
h. The annual growth rate of the collection shall be maintained in accordance with program offerings and
enrollment

C. ORGANIZATION
1. The library collection shall be organized to ensure efficient identification and retrieved. It shall be cataloged,
classified and or indexed according to accepted standards of bibliographic description and a system of
classification.
2. The catalog shall be in format (card or electronic) that permits concurrent or simultaneous use by library clientele

D. PRESERVATION AND WEEDING

1. The academic library shall have a program for the preservation and weeding of its collection

E. SECURITY
1. The academic library shall have policies on security of its collection to safeguard the collection from damage, loss,
mutilation and theft.
2. The academic library shall provide control and security measures in its building and facilities such as emergency
exits, fire extinguishers and built-in emergency lights

STANDARD V: SERVICES AND UTILIZATION

A. The academic library shall provide services to its readers in support of the objectives of the parent institution. The
productive use of library resources and facilities, by its clientele is an ultimate test of its effectiveness
B. The Reader’s Services shall include the Reference and Information Services, Circulation, Library Instruction,
Audiovisual, Electronic Resources, Photocopying and other services shall be provided by the academic library
C. The academic library shall open for an uninterrupted period weekdays and on Saturdays
D. The academic library shall have equitable lending policies for its clientele
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
43 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
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E. The academic library shall make its collection and services accessible to all users
F. The academic library shall promote its readers’ services program through regular announcement of its new
acquisitions, conducting user orientation and other public relations activities.

STANDARD VI: PHYSICAL FACILITIES

A. The academic library shall have an adequate space and appropriate facilities which are accessible to the students,
faculty and other users. It shall be designed to allow for future rearrangement and expansion.
B. The academic library shall have adequate space to accommodate the reading, and research needs of its clientele; to
house the growing collections, the proper offices for staff, librarians’ office and storage space; and areas for special
services such as the electronic and audiovisual programs
C. The academic library shall have a seating capacity of not less than 15% of the total enrollment
D. The facilities of the academic library shall be adequate in size with proper lighting and ventilation furnished with
functional furniture and equipment to encourage its maximum use and convenience of the clientele.
E. Facilities for people with disabilities (PWD) shall be provided

STANDARD VII: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES AND SERVICES

A. The academic library shall have facilities for information technology and communication services.

STANDARD VIII: FINANCIAL RESOURCES

A. The academic library head shall prepare an annual budget covering the needs and priorities of the library in
accordance with the existing policies of the parent institution
B. The library fee shall be set at realistic level
C. The academic library shall explore other ways of augmenting the library’s financial resources when the institutional
funds are inadequate

STANDARDS IX: LINKAGES AND NETWORKING

A. The academic library shall explore internal and external linkages
B. The academic library shall participate in inter-institutional activities and cooperative programs whereby resource
sharing is encouraged

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
44 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
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SPECIAL LIBRARIES

STANDARD I: MISSION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

A. GENERAL STATEMENT
- To provide efficient accurate relevant and timely information service to its respective institution through
a systematically organized collection
- Maintain a proactive role as information provider and disseminator to be globally competitive as well as
uphold and promote the principles of high ethical standards of library profession at all times.
B. SPECIFIC
1. Update library reference collection and information resources in whatever form the information appears
2. Upgrade library tools, equipment, facilities as well as needed applicable technologies for the effective and wider
dissemination of information to its internal and external clients
3. Maintain written manuals of operations, which shall include library policies, procedures and regulations reviewed
and revised regularly as circumstances may require adapting to the changing needs.

STANDARD II: ADMINISTRATION

A. LIBRARY ADMINISTRATOR / MANAGER
1. As an independent unit of the organization it serve, special libraries shall be administered and managed by a
librarian possessing the required expertise, subject specialization, education, experience and other qualifications
provided for under R.A. 9246 otherwise known as “Philippine Librarianship Act of 2003” to ensure effective,
efficient and productive operation of library at all times.
2. To ensure that library staff /personnel are qualified for the job, hiring of employees shall be vested on the library
administrator or director who shall be directly responsible to the appropriate hierarchy of the governing body of the
institution they serve.
3. The library administrator / director in collaboration with the management or appropriate committee whichever is
applicable shall have the authority to select and recommend reference materials to be purchased. To safeguard
the library collections, same should ensure librarians by the responsible institutions to secure the collections. The
library collections should also be insured against natural disaster, grave theft, losses, etc.

B. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
1. As center of information, special libraries shall provide its users equal access to library collection, equipment and
technologies in accordance with the institutions existing rules and regulations. A wide collection of reference shall
be made available to scholarly research and studies to encourage and enable everyone to make use of
information and learning resources through information and communication technology.

STANDARD III: HUMAN RESOURCES

A. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
1. Depends on the recruitment policy of the office or institution and the prevailing Philippine laws

B. QUALIFICATIONS
1. The library shall be headed by a professional librarian
2. Library personnel shall consist of the following:
a. PROFESSIONAL STAFF
- The minimum requirement is one (1) professional staff equipped with the subject specialization of said
library such as law, business, banking, medical, etc.

b. PARA-PROFESSIONAL STAFF
- Should be college degree holder with knowledge of Information Technology or in government agencies
or institution, civil service eligibility is required.

c. MESSENGER / UTILITY SUPPORT STAFF

- College degree is ideal. However undergraduates may qualify for the position

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
45 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
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C. NUMBER OF THE LIBRARY STAFF

The number of library staff is dependent on the following:
1. Mission – vision of the library
2. Type of special library
a. Government – Plantilla as approved by Civil Service Commission / Department of Budget and Management
b. Private – Management policy as to the distribution of staff for the whole institution including the salary scale
and internal policies
3. Type of Service

D. TRAINING OF STAFF FOR CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

1. There must be a separate and distinct continuing education for librarians and for the support staff provided by
accredited library associations and providers
2. The staff may attend institution sponsored training, workshop, etc.

STANDARD IV – COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

A. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT IS DEPENDENT ON THE FOLLOWING:
1. Scope is dependent on the mission / vision, function and type of library service for each institution
2. Size is likewise dependent on the same criteria
3. Growth of the collection is dependent on the budget allotment or fund allocation of the institution

B. ORGANIZATION
1. Collection must be systematically organized according to generally accepted standard classification (e.g. Dewey
Decimal Classification [DDC], Library of Congress Classification [LCC],) and other recognized classification
scheme
2. Indexing should be observed

STANDARD V – SERVICES AND UTILIZATION

A. GENERAL
1. The library should provide information service pertinent to the institution’s information requirements

B. SPECIALIZED
1. The specialized library must provide material and services appropriate to the organization’s goal, size, number of
staff and institutional responsibilities taking into consideration availability of other information resources

C. LIBRARY HOURS / GUIDELINES

1. Accessibility to the library services shall be during regular office hours and may be rendered beyond regular hours
as the need arises.

D. TECHNICAL SERVICES
1. Acquisitions
2. Cataloging and classification
3. Indexing

E. READER SERVICES
1. Circulation
2. Reference
3. Periodicals
4. Audiovisual
5. Interlibrary loan / Resource sharing
6. Photocopying

STANDARD VI – PHYSICAL FACILITIES

A. LOCATION
1. The library shall be centrally and conveniently accessible to the institution it serves

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
46 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
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B. PHYSICAL ARRANGEMENTS IS DEPENDENT ON THE FOLLOWING:

1. Research needs of its primary users
2. Space available for the library
3. Classification scheme use

C. SPACE ALLOCATION
1. Reading Area
2. Technical Services area
3. Stack and other shelf areas
4. Other areas as may be needed as required

D. Levels of recommended illumination as required by the NBC

LOCATION LUMEN / METER

Reading Room 7.532
Storage (shelves and files) 3.228
Staff areas 7.532

E. FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT

1. The library shall provide adequate standard furniture and equipment for the needs of the users, collections and
library staff.
a. Equipment
- Basic Requirements
o Facsimile
o Photocopying machines
o Computer hardware (with printer and scanner)
o Air conditioning unit
o Emergency light
o Telephone landline
o Typewriter
- Optional Requirements
o Online facilities
o Television monitor
o Video camera
o Audiocassette recorder
b. Furniture
- Computer tables and swivel chairs
- Office staff desks and chairs
- Cabinet for storage of supplies
- Filing cabinets for vertical files
- Magazine newspaper rack or stand
- Reading tables and chairs
- Books shelves
- Bulletin Board display

F. SECURITY AND CONTROL MEASURES

1. To safeguard the library, security and control measures should be provided as follows:
a. Emergency exits
b. Fire extinguishers
c. Emergency warning device
d. Security system
e. Electronic surveillance system

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
47 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
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STANDARD VII – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES AND SERVICES

A. The special library shall have facilities for information technology and communication services

STANDARD VIII – FINANCIAL RESOURCES

1. The special library shall be provided with adequate and continuing budgetary support as a separate item from the
budget of the office of which it is a unit. The library budget shall be dependent on its program / projects for the ensuing
year
a. The total library budget shall cover the personnel, operating and other necessary capital expenditures required to
sustain an effective professional library service
b. The library shall prepare an annual budget

STANDARD IX – LINKAGES AND NETWORKING

1. Special libraries must encourage resource sharing to enrich their collections subject to existing policies of institutions
and government rules and regulations.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
48 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
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SCHOOL LIBRARIES

STANDARD I – MISSION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

A. Clearly defined goals and objectives for the school library media center shall be established in terms of the philosophy,
goals and objectives of the school
B. A set of policies, procedures, rules and regulations shall be formulated to ensure consistency in the operation of
services
C. A written Manual of Operation as well as Student/ Faculty Guides shall be maintained and continuously updated to
serve as guide to the staff in the implementation of tasks and to the users in the utilization of services.

STANDARD II – ADMINISTRATION
A. A unified program integrating library and audiovisual programs under the leadership of a qualified and competent
professional is recommended
B. Where there are two or more professional librarians, one is appointed as the head to oversee the smooth
implementation of services as well as the supervision of personnel.
C. The school library media center shall be regularly evaluated in terms of its services, personnel and resources, not only
by the students but also by the faculty

STANDARD III – HUMAN RESOURCES

A. The school library media shall be appropriately staffed by full time licensed librarians and trained clerical support, the
number of which is proportionate to student population
1. SIZE
For an enrollment of 500 or less 1 full time librarian
1 support staff
For an enrollment of 1000 1 full time head librarian / media specialist
1 full time librarian / media specialist
2 support staff
For an enrollment of 2000 1 full time head librarian/ media specialist
2 full time librarian / media specialist
4 support staff
Note: There shall be an additional librarian and two additional support staff for every additional one thousand
enrollment.

2. QUALIFICATIONS
a. PROFESSIONAL LIBRARIANS
o BSE / BEED., major or minor in Library Science
o BLS / BLIS graduate – certified by BFL (or licensed)

*The head librarian / media specialist must have graduate units in Library and Information Science
(LIS) or related field (e.g. MA major in Educational Technology), and 5 years’ experience in the
library.

b. LIBRARY ASSISTANT - College / secretarial graduate

c. AUDIOVISUAL TECHNICIAN – 2 year course in Electronics
B. The professional / licensed librarian shall be given a faculty status, enjoying the same benefits as those of the teaching
faculty
C. Participation in seminar – workshops, conferences and other continuing professional education activities shall be
encouraged and subsidized.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
49 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
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STANDARD IV – COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

A. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT
1. The school library media shall acquire print, non-print and electronic materials as well as equipment that will
support and reinforce the curriculum and meet the needs, abilities and interests of users
2. These materials shall be current and in good condition and must reflect an appropriate balance among all
types of resources (see Recommended Annual Growth Rate in the Appendix A)
3. The school library media center shall maintain a local history collection composed of materials about the
school community, its history, programs, people, etc.
4. The librarian / media specialist, in coordination with the faculty, shall be responsible for the selection and
acquisition of all materials based on a written Collection Development Plan
5. The recommended size of the various collections for an enrollment of less than 1000 students are as follows:
SCHOOL LIBRARY: Enrollment of less than 1000 students
3000 Book titles for the elementary level
Book titles for the secondary level is necessary to support the curricular offerings of the
5000
school
20% (Twenty Of the total collection shall be published within the last ten (10) years
percent)
15 Basic subscription of titles of general interest magazines
10 Titles of professional journals
3 Basic subscription of newspapers – national coverage
1 Basic subscription of newspapers – local new coverage
Updated collection of pamhplets, clippings, government documents, vocational
information and other materials appropriate to the curriculum and interest of students
shall be provided
NON – PRINT COLLECTION
1 Map for each geographic region
Special map (i.e. economic, weather, political, historical, etc.) for each type being
1 studied. The number of duplicates will be determined by the number of sections that will
be using the map at the same time
2 Globes
100 Titles of video recordings on different subject areas
200 Titles of sound recordings on different types of music
15 Titles of slide sets
25 Titles of transparency sets
50 Titles of electronic resources (e.g. CD – ROMs, audio books, etc.)
Acquisition of pieces representing pictures, charts, study prints, photographs and other
1000
types of graphic materials
AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS
A variety of audiovisual equipment available in amounts adequate to serve the instructional program of the
school.

B. SELECTION AND ORGANIZATION

1. Book selection shall be a shared responsibility among the librarians, teachers and administrators
2. Basic policies for the selection of printed and non-print materials shall be formally and clearly formulated
3. All print and non-print materials and equipment shall be properly organized, stored, displayed following
standard rules and procedures for east retrieval and dissemination
4. An inventory and weeding of the collection shall be conducted regularly
C. PRESERVATION AND SECURITY

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
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1. The school library media shall have a program for the care and preservation of all its collection. It should also
have an adequate safeguard against loss, mutilation and theft.

STANDARD V – SERVICES AND UTILIZATION

A. The school library media center shall be open before, during and after classes to meet the needs of the clientele and
maximize the use of library resources, facilities and services.
B. Announcements of acquisition and other promotional activities shall be made periodically
C. Coordination with the faculty shall be done to promote effective use of the school library media center
D. Instruction on the effective use of the library media center and on various information sources shall be given to the
students as well as to the faculty
E. The school library media center shall be available for use by individual students and by class groups throughout the
school day. Flexible scheduling enables the teacher to bring his class to the library at the times best suited for the
purpose of class supervised research.

STANDARD VI – PHYSICAL FACILITIES

A. The school library media center shall be housed in a barrier-free and flexible facility, and that can accommodate a
seating capacity of 10% of the total student population.
B. The library shall provide a storage space for the print collection, a reading area, a workroom and a store room, an
office for the head librarian/media center coordinator, as well as a space for formal library instruction
C. In schools where the library is also a media center, space shall be provided for listening and viewing, as well as for the
storage, distribution and repair of audiovisual materials and equipment
D. The school library media center shall be appropriately equipped with attractive and at the same time, functional
furniture to make it inviting to young users.

STANDARD VII – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES AND SERVICES

A. The school library and media center shall have facilities for information technology and communication services.

STANDARD VIII – FINANCIAL RESOURCES

A. The school shall provide adequate funds for staffing and sufficient funds to acquire resources and supplies in support
of the school library media center programs
B. To sustain the library’s growth and development, a library / AV fee shall be collected, reviewed, periodically and
updated whenever necessary
C. Funds shall be administered by the librarians and apportioned according to the needs of the school curriculum
D. Funds shall be budgeted for staff development, investment in new and improved means of information access and
delivery shall also be allocated

STANDARD IX – LINKAGES AND NETWORKING

A. The school library media center shall participate in resource sharing networks in order to increase the opportunities to
intensify the collection and services
B. The school library media center shall establish linkages with other resource centers in the vicinity / community (e.g.
barangay, public and special libraries) and refer students to their collections.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
51 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
LS20: Collection Management

PUBLIC LIBRARIES

STANDARD I: MISSION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

A. To provide library and information service to the needs of the community
B. To build within each library an information center about its respective community – its resources, history, people,
customs and traditions, etc.
C. To develop nationally, a network and linkages among public libraries with the National Library as the center to facilitate
research reference needs of patrons

STANDARD II: ADMINISTRATION

A. Each public library shall operate under the administrative supervision of the local government unit and under the
technical supervision of the National Library
B. A public library shall be managed by a professional librarian
C. The public library as a local government entity shall have, as its immediate superior, the local chief executive or any
legally designated local official in accordance with the Local Government Code

STANDARD III: HUMAN RESOURCES

A. The public library shall be manned by qualified and professionally trained librarians and shall be supported by support
services staff
B. Qualification and Number of staff – the number of staff in a public library shall depend on the population served and the
size of the collection:
1. The head of the public library should be a professional librarian
2. The non-professional staff should conform to existing laws and government regulations
2.1 Regional, congressional district, provincial and city libraries
o At least four professional librarians, three support services staff excluding those holding non-
classified positions like utility workers, etc.
2.2 Public libraries of first class municipalities
o Shall have at least two professional librarians and adequate support / non-professional staff
as needed
2.3 Lower class municipalities including barangay reading centers
o There should be at least one full time library staff, and, if fund allows, one clerk and one utility
worker
3. The increase in the number of library staff depends on the increase of population of the community served.
For every increase of 50,000 people, a corresponding increase of one professional and one support staff is
suggested.
4. Professional librarians are individuals who are license holders
5. Librarians shall be appointed to any of the following positions in the plantilla of positions provided by civil
service servants in the local government units in accordance with the Salary Standardization Scheme for
Government Workers.

CONGRESSIONAL PROVINCIAL AND CITY LIBRARIES

Librarian IV SG 22
Librarian V SG 24
CITY AND MUNICIPAL LIBRARIES
Librarian III SG 18
OTHER LIBRARIES – DEPENDING ON THE CLASS
Librarian I SG 10
Librarian II SG 14

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
52 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
LS20: Collection Management

6. Support Services Staff – Salary grade in accordance with RA 7743

6.1 Technical staff shall possess diploma or certificate of two – year computer education or its equivalent
and with the required civil service eligibility
6.2 Clerical staff shall have finished special studies in Secretarial Science and with required civil service
eligibility
6.3 Library Aides should have at least two years library work experience

7. Other Staff – The public library should have, depending on its size and availability of funds, the following
maintenance personnel in accordance with Civil Service Commission Memorandum Circular No. 10
7.1 Library equipment operator for the photocopying machine; microfilm reader / printer, overhead
projectors
7.2 Bindery personnel
7.3 Messengerial staff liason personnel
7.4 Utility worker

STANDARD IV: COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

The collection must reflect the objective of the library and the needs of the community served
A. The collection shall include books, multimedia and other non-book materials such as those in the state-of-the-art
technologies, periodicals, maps, pamphlets and other audiovisual materials
B. The library shall maintain the local history collection
C. The size of the library collection is dependent on the allocation from the National Library and from the budget funds
provided by the local government unit in the annual appropriations
D. A minimum of initial collection of 3000 volumes of books is deemed appropriate for public libraries in the regions,
provinces, cities and first class municipalities regardless of their population
E. For libraries in municipalities lower than the first class, an initial book collection of 2000 is recommended while for
barangay reading centers, 500 volumes is recommended
F. Selection and acquisition of books and other library materials shall rest on the librarian with the assistance of her
professional staff. Materials for acquisition recommendations by library clientele shall be considered
G. A provision for at least 10% annual increase of the collection must be provided each of any library categories.

STANDARD V: SERVICES AND UTILIZATION

A. Library services shall be provided with the highest degree of efficiency and integrity in keeping in mind that the public
library is a service agency of the government for the people
B. The library shall reflect the needs of the community which shall include books, pamphlets, ephemeral materials, non –
print materials, classified and cataloged according to the standards for easy access and retrieval
C. Open shelves system shall be promoted to give users the free access to all materials
D. The library shall maintain local historical and cultural materials for preservation and conservation
E. The library shall provide materials for wholesome development of the community regardless of age, creed, religion and
cultural affiliations
F. The library shall observe library hours for the maximum benefit of the community
G. The library shall initiate the organization of groups or volunteers to handle fund raising to financially support the library
and handle activities such as storytelling and book talks for the children; book discussions, exhibits, poetry
interpretation, play reading, lectures, demonstrations, puppet shows, etc.
H. For library promotion the following services shall be encouraged:
1. Reference and research service
2. Circulation and books for home use
3. Organization and maintenance of a children’s section
4. Reading guidance for children and out of school youth
5. Outreach programs and services especially to depressed areas of the community
6. Organization of Friends Group to act as support of the Library
STANDARD VI: PHYSICAL FACILITIES
A. BUILDING
1. SITE

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science
53 | I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O L L E C T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
LS20: Collection Management

1.1 The library shall be centrally located within the Community and not to be annexed to other agencies
1.2 The library shall be accessible to all library users by all means of transportation
1.3 In the development plan of the local government unit, the library shall be a component of an integrated
cultural complex
1.4 The building shall provide access to physically disabled individuals

2. SIZE
2.1 Size of the public library shall consider the following:
a. Community population
b. The Growing library collection
c. Size of library staff
d. Services to be rendered

2.2 Each library shall provide adequate space for:

a. Reading Areas
b. Stack Area
c. Work room
d. Multimedia room
e. Storage Room
f. Staff lounge
g. Toilets for the public library staff and for the public
h. Space for other facilities
2.3 Provision shall be made for a minimum seating capacity of 48 – 60 people at any one time for regional
provincial, city and first class municipal libraries and at least 36 – 48 for other municipalities and at least
12 – 24 for barangay reading centers

B. EQUIPMENT
1. Equipment and furniture shall be adequate to generate an environment conducive for the pleasant and
effective use of the materials and services
2. Furniture shall be functional and in harmony with the architecture of the building
3. Equipment shall be selected properly in such a way that they will help in the efficient operation of the library
to keep abreast with the time
4. Layout of equipment and furniture shall allow the smooth mobility of readers and materials
STANDARD VII: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES AND SERVICES
A. The public library shall have facilities for information technology and communication services

STANDARD VIII: FINANCIAL RESOURCES

A. The public library shall be provided with adequate and reasonable budgetary appropriations to carry out effectively its
plans and programs
B. The library budget shall cover the following items:
1. Personal Services to include salaries and wages and other benefits common and due to all civil service
servants
2. Maintenance and other operating services (MOOE) to include among other funds for travel expenses,
attendance to seminars, trainings, conferences, etc. subscriptions to serials, newspapers and periodicals
3. Capital Outlay to include funds to purchase library equipment, information technology equipment and
materials, furniture and other reference materials
4. The library budget shall be adjusted annually as the need arises to make relevant with the time.
STANDARD IX: LINKAGES AND NETWORKING
Public libraries must encourage networking /resource sharing to enrich their collections subject to existing rules and regulations

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

College of Education
Bachelor Of Library & Information Science