Competency F

Use the basic concepts and principles related to the creation, evaluation, selection, acquisition, preservation and organization of specific items or collections of information

Much of the success of a library or archive depends on its collection. Most of the services these institutions offer, such as research assistance and information gathering, center around the collection. This is why collection development is an important part of any information profession. Librarians and other information professionals need to understand how to create and maintain collections that serve the needs of their communities. Collections are not static but instead change with the resources of the institution and the needs of the patrons. Therefore collection development is not a one time event, but an ongoing process.

Creation

A collection is created when a group of physical or electronic items are organized and arranged, and made findable. This can be as simple as an indexed list, or as complex as a keyword-searchable database. Collections are created to meet a need. Often these are the general needs of the community. Census information can be used to help anticipate these needs, by providing libraries with information about things like the range of ages, cultural backgrounds, and economic levels of their patrons. Using this, the library can then decide where to focus their resources, such as on foreign language materials, large type editions, or children's and young adult collections. As the demographic changes, collections may be added or weeded to match the changing needs.

Evaluation

Collections must periodically be evaluated to make sure they are still meeting the needs of the institution. Individual items may be weeded if they are too worn or if they don't get enough use. Entire groups of items may be reduced or removed if there is no longer a demand for them. For example, a library may get rid of its collection of VHS tapes due to reduced circulation and to make room for more DVDs. On the other hand, a collection may be expanded or added due to increased demand, such as expanding juvenile nonfiction in response to an increase in children needing research for school assignments.

Selection

Selection can be done in a number of ways. Items might be bought to round out an existing collection. Items might also be added because of patron demand. Libraries will also anticipate demand by ordering books by popular authors, or items that have gotten a lot of media attention. There are also book lists and reviews, which librarians can use to keep informed about new releases.

Archives often have criteria that they use to select new acquisitions. For example, a historical society would be looking for items that are part of the history of the city or area the society serves. Others may only accept items from certain time periods, or from certain figures or groups.

Acquisition

Acquisition is also done in a number of ways. There are vendors that specialize in items for libraries. Libraries might also order items from commercial vendors such as Amazon. Items are often ordered in batches, such as an order of picture books, romance novels, or DVDs, as the budget for each becomes available. Items also make their way to the library through donations. These usually come from patrons, and may be individual items or several boxes worth. Many donated items get sold at Friends' book stores, but some end up on the library's shelves.

Preservation

Preserving items is a major concern for both libraries and archives. For libraries, the issue is usually monetary; items that are damaged or lost would have to be replaced. Unless a book is out of print, finding a replacement is not usually an issue.

Archives, on the other hand, house mostly rare and one-of-a-kind items. Replacement is usually not an option, so existing items must be preserved. Items are usually kept in acid free storage, with special consideration given to photographs, film, and media such as cassette tapes and computer disks, among other items. Access and handling are usually regulated.

One way to provide access without further damaging the original item is to create a reproduction. This is usually done with microfilm or, more recently, digitally. These come with their own preservation issues, but if a copy is lost or damaged the original is still preserved.

Organization

Information is useless without a way to find it. The way libraries and archives are organized has a direct impact on how useful they are. The organization of books in libraries is often taken for granted, but many organizational decisions that are made at the library or branch level. The layout of the collections within the building determines what books a patron sees first, and sections near the entrance tend to get browsed more. Patrons may become frustrated if the layout doesn't follow an easily understood system. Decisions must also be made at the item level. A librarian or cataloger must decide whether a book belongs in children's or young adult, for example, or in young adult or adult fiction.

In archives, decisions must be made such as whether photographs should be kept with the papers they are associated with, or pulled out and kept separately. Similar decisions must be made for media and oversized items. If the collection is separated, there needs to be indicators that tie the collection together.

The first piece of evidence is the pathfinder assignment from my class on reference and information services. We were given a reference question from a classmate, and had the task of finding, organizing, and presenting our findings. Although the assignment was to simulate a reference question, this is the sort of thing that might be created as part of a digital collection.

The second piece of evidence is the survey and appraisal form from my archives and manuscripts class. The assignment was to go though an unprocessed collection and write up a summary that included what would be kept, what might be de-accessioned, and what might need special storage or consideration. This is the sort of evaluation that would take place after acquisition in anticipation of a detailed processing.

The third piece of evidence is a review of two articles that take different stances on the issue of digital records in archives. Digital records present problems for both immediate storage and long term preservation. These articles look at possible solutions, such as distributed custody, where the records are kept where they were created, or transferring the records to the archive, and what to do with the records when the storage medium becomes obsolete.

The fourth piece of evidence is the Web page I created for one of my information technology classes. The assignment was to take three different kinds of media—text, images, and audio—and organize them based on the metadata we had created earlier, keeping in mind the potential information needs of our audience. In this instance, I thought that people would most likely be looking either for information they could put to use themselves or information about research other people were involved in. I decided that the most important factor was whether the information was about a current solution, a projected one, or a retrospective. Within those, I thought the information would be most useful grouped by personal transportation, homes, and mass transportation.