Resources for College Libraries Project Report
1 December 2015 to 30 June 2016
Compiled for the Resources for College Libraries Editorial Board ALA Annual meeting
by Anne Doherty, RCL Project Editor
Highlights
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Updated Religion taxonomy implemented, impacting over 2,500 titles
BIP excluded records clean-up commenced with 338 titles deleted, 509 updates identified, and
293 marked for further review
Six Libguides created using select CR + Choice content
By the numbers
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RCL grew from 86,412 to 87,483
RCL net title gain: 1,071
CR contracted from 4,581 to 4,569
CR net title loss: -12
Total titles in RCL Plus (RCL+CR) database: 91,531
Total titles in RCL ebrary ebook collection: 21,159
*All figures based on public database counts, 1 June 2016
Resources for College Libraries (RCL)
The period of time between midwinter and annual meetings is historically slower for RCL editorial work,
given that annual revision deadlines for RCL are set for summer. However, work goes on. Much of it is
administrative, yet subject editors also completed a substantive midwinter content update based on
available new editions. Additionally, editors in the 22 history and interdisciplinary area studies subject
areas were tasked to incorporate relevant feedback from the 2015 peer review, including title additions,
deletions and minor taxonomic updates.
:: RCL TITLE OVERVIEW ::
Total
Net gain
Choice-reviewed,
title count
Choice-reviewed,
percentage of total
Choice OATs
Online
resources
OOP*
87,483
1,071
33,189
38%
6,728
1,281
22,427
*Out-of-print title information based on RCL database, Feb-April 2016; all other figures from 1 June 2016
The only major taxonomic overhaul during this period included the finalization and implementation of a
revised subject schema for Religion. Impacting over 2,500 titles, the new subject hierarchy departs from
a more rigorous adherence to LC classification and is more stream-lined and user-friendly.
As reported previously, there is a gap of approximately 1,500 titles between active titles in RCLAS and
records appearing in the RCL user database. These missing records—called excludes—primarily consist
of foreign-language titles with an international source and titles which have been excluded by the
publisher in BIP (e.g. Oneworld Publications has largely pulled BIP records for print editions in favor of
their ebook catalog), together with a small number of manually-created titles, either for monographs or
alternate formats. During the first phase of the project to assess and update this content, the Project
Editor deleted 338 titles, identified 509 titles available in an alternate or updated edition, and classified
293 for additional editorial review. Coming steps will include individual subject editor review of firstphase decisions, the addition of found BIP content, and the removal of 'ghost' data in RCLAS (that is,
data which remains active in RCLAS without a corresponding BIP record). The aim is to complete the
project by the end of the calendar year, at which time ProQuest will begin running quarterly reports on
RCL excludes data so that the editorial team can track and resolve any missing data more regularly in the
future.
In preparation for the summer's annual editorial revision work, a good deal of data-gathering (and
distributing) occurs. This includes generating current title lists, out-of-print title lists, and new edition
reports across the RCL subjects, along with revision checklists to guide editorial efforts. The 23 social
sciences and science and technology subject editors worked toward a June 1 editorial revision to
accommodate the peer review; the remaining 38 arts and humanities, history, and interdisciplinary area
studies subjects are due for annual update by August 15.
Resources for College Libraries: Career Resources (CR)
Following the 2015 peer review of content, CR subject editors incorporated editorial improvements,
including title additions and deletions, together with new edition updates. Whereas in previous years
the annual revision deadline for CR has been set in midwinter, this year the process was revised to align
the CR editorial calendar with RCL; that is, a midwinter new edition update and August 15 annual
revision deadline. This schedule should benefit individual subject editors as well as leading to improved
editorial cohesion across the RCL +CR projects.
:: CR TITLE OVERVIEW ::
Total
Net gain
Choice-reviewed,
title count
Choice-reviewed,
percentage of total
Choice OATs
Online
resources
OOP*
4,569
-12
615
13%
121
266
642
*Out-of-print title information based on RCL database, 11 April 2016; all other figures from 1 June 2016
In conjunction with the newest version of the Choice Reviews online database and to increase content
aimed at two-year colleges, we are producing a series of Libguides featuring Career Resources title
selections that have also been reviewed in Choice. Six out of eleven guides are scheduled for release by
the Annual meeting with the remaining guides anticipated later this summer. Each guide highlights a CR
subject discipline and feature a total of 631 CR titles with the original Choice reviews included. Kudos to
Choice intern Emma Raddataz for her attentive work producing these guides. The development of
additional guides drawn from RCL and/or CR content is being considered.
Editorial team
While most editors participating in the ongoing development of RCL oversee subjects for multiple years
(indeed twenty-seven, nearly half, of the RCL subject editors have been involved since initial
publication), every year new collaborators join the project and editors recommit to the project.
Importantly, at this time all CR subject areas have an acting subject editor and both of the new editors
are affiliated with community college libraries.
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:: NEW RCL EDITORS ::
Subject
African History, Languages, and
Literatures
Agriculture
American Literature
Biology
RCL editorial openings: Astronomy
Editor
Araba Dawson-Andoh
Institution
Ohio University
Margaret Knapke
Melissa Van Vuuren
Barbara Harvey
University of Dayton
Georgetown University
Grand Valley State University
Editor
Robert Kelly
Elizabeth Nelson
Institution
Hutchinson Community College
McHenry County College
:: NEW CR EDITORS ::
Subject
Building and Construction Trades
Sciences
CR editorial openings: None
Though the annual subject editor overturn is low, the ongoing demand for peer reviewers across the RCL
and RCL: Career Resources disciplines requires near-constant recruiting. Current efforts are focused on
the 23 social science and science and technology disciplines undergoing peer review in 2016. Individual
referrals or recommendations may be directed to the Project Editor.
In an effort to promote and recognize the important work of external referees, last fall ProQuest offered
all reviewers from 2015 a 10% institutional discount to RCL. Referees were also acknowledged in the
January issue of C&RL News (see here). Announcements on disciplinary discussion lists, ACRL
Insider/Update, and personal invitations all remain important recruiting channels.
The subject expertise and the dedicated commitment exemplified by RCL + CR editors remains a rich
asset to the project and a testament to RCL's credibility as a collection development tool. Find the full
RCL subject editor and referee roster here and the CR subject editor and referee roster here.
RCL bibliographic essays
RCL + CR subject editors contribute a column entitled “Collecting to the Core” to Against the Grain
(ATG), a journal aimed at collection development librarians, publishers, and vendors. Published six
times per year, these 1200-2000 word bibliographic essays highlight RCL resources essential to the
academic library. Contributors are recruited from the RCL editorial pool and participation is voluntary.
Scanned pdfs of the published articles can be accessed on the RCL marketing site and archived articles
more than three years old are freely available on the Purdue e-pubs site. Access to recent content may
be limited to ATG subscribers.
It is noteworthy that two of the six scheduled essays for 2016 mark the second contributed column by
individual editors. This is both a testament to the editorial group and a signal of the limited pool for
contributors. The 2017 publication schedule should be finalized by fall.
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:: 2016 SCHEDULE ::
Editor
Subject
J. Wendel Cox
Native American Studies
Working topic
Francis Paul Prucha's The
Great Father
ATG issue
Dianne Dietrich
Astronomy
Classic textbooks
April 2016
Susan Wiesner
Dance
Moving texts (i.e. video)
June 2016
Jeremy Darrington
Political Science
Campaigns and elections
September 2016
David Fahey
World History
Commodities histories
November 2016
Kate Corby
Education
Dec 2016 /Jan 2017
Beth Sheehan
Criminal Justice and Law (CR)
Educational Technology
Cross-disciplinary
resources
February 2016
February 2017
Product development, marketing, sales and ProQuest partnership
RCL is a copublication between ACRL/Choice and ProQuest. All editorial content is developed and
managed by Choice staff and contributors and the marketing, sales, IT, customer service, and product
development is maintained by ProQuest, often in consultation with ACRL/Choice.
The RCL database is currently available in three subscriptions options: RCL, RCL: Career Resources (CR),
and RCL Plus (RCL + CR content) with pricing based on FTE. RCL data is also included as a qualitative
component in the Intota Assessment collection usage analysis tool. While new sales have ceased for the
Bowker Book Analysis System (BBAS), which uses only RCL data for collection assessment, BBAS remains
available to renewing customers.
The RCL ebook collection offered by ebrary contains 21,159 titles as of this writing, a gain of 1,851 titles
since last reported. The current terms of the licensing agreement for RCL is in tandem with the Choice
OAT ebrary collection and will be extended for two years through the end of 2017 with a one-year autorenewal. The impact of the ProQuest Ebook Central platform combining ebrary and EBL title lists
remains to be seen.
The current Choice-ProQuest agreement for RCL extends through 2016. For a detailed sales and
revenue update, see the attached financial report prepared by Mark Cummings, Choice Editor and
Publisher.
Future Directions
As noted in the financial report, the fiscal future of RCL is largely tied to the sales and marketing efforts
of ProQuest, and specifically to product developments related to the Intota and Ebook Central
platforms. We expect to know more about the future of the partnership by the board's next meeting,
with contract renegotiations slated for fall.
Perhaps fittingly, the ALA Annual program sponsored by the RCL editorial board is entitled "Collections
at the Crossroads: revising and re-envisioning the core subject collection." As we enter the tenth year of
online publishing and revising the core RCL subject collections, it is an apt time to reflect and, possibly,
re-envision the role of a core collection in the changing landscape of academic libraries. As always,
board contributions are welcome as Choice continues editorial development of RCL products.
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