IST 606: Collection Development and Management:
Selection and Acquisition of Library Materials
Fall 2008
Instructor:
Office Location:
Phone:
E-mail:
Office Hours:
Yu-Hui Chen
University Library - LI 304
(518) 442-3586
yc0770@albany.edu
by appointment
Course:
Prerequisite:
Day and Time:
Location:
IST 606 Collection Development and Management
IST 605
Wednesday – 4:15 to 7:05 p.m.
Draper Hall - DR147
Course Objectives
The purpose of this course is to examine the theoretical and practical aspects of the
selection, acquisition, evaluation, management, and use of resources to meet the
information needs of clientele in libraries and other institutional environments. The main
objectives are:





To identify the nature and significance of the relationship between the community
and the collection development and management processes;
To introduce the main elements, principles, and techniques of collection
development and management;
To examine the problems and challenges of collection development and
management;
To develop insights and methods for dealing with issues pertaining to collection
development and management; and
To identify the opportunities and challenges posed by electronic materials.
These objectives will be achieved through lectures, readings, discussions, exercises, and
the examination and use of key collection development tools and sources. The
effectiveness of class discussion depends on the active participation of all students.
Policies
Attendance
Your in-class performance is key to your success in this course. Attendance,
itself, is not graded. Instead, graded in-class activities and assignments constitute
an important part of the course grade. Missing class means the student earns an
automatic “0” credit for the activities or assignments missed. Missing an
activity/assignment that happened at the beginning of class earns a score of “0”.
Likewise, missing an activity/assignment that occurs after a student leaves early
also earns a “0”. No make-up opportunities will be available.
If you know that it will be difficult for you to consistently get to class on time
and stay for the entire period, you should take this course at a time that better
fits your schedule.
Make-Up Policy
There are no make-up opportunities for missed assignments. Please do not ask to
make up missed work.
No-Fault Safety Valves
Since there will be occasions in your life when missing a class meeting is simply
unavoidable, this course has two NO-FAILT safety valves.
Safety Valve One: You may drop 2 in-class assignment/activity grades. So, if
you must miss class for any reason, it will be possible to drop the zero you would
automatically receive for missing the assignment/activity. Be careful not to waste
your drops on frivolous things early in the semester because you may need them if
you catch a cold or need to leave town for a day later in the semester. If you do
not use your safety valve for missed classes, you will be able to use your safety
valve to improve your grade by dropping any low scores you make even when
you DO attend.
Safety Valve Two: If you become seriously ill during the semester, or become
derailed by unforeseeable life problems, and have to miss so many assignments
that it will ruin your grade, you and I will schedule a special meeting in order to
make arrangements for you to drop the course to save your grade point average.
Don’t wait until too late to see me when you get in trouble.
Late Papers
Papers are due on the due date. Late individual papers will be accepted, but at the
cost of a full letter grade for missing the original deadline, and an additional letter
grade for each additional 24 hours late. In the event of illness, please contact the
instructor before the due date. No "Incomplete" will be given to students who fail
to submit final project by the end of the semester (December 17, 2008).
Cell Phones
Please make sure you set your cell phone to vibrate when you are in class.
Academic Integrity
Students are on their honor to be ethical and honest in carrying out all the
assignments and requirements of this course. Any violations of this code, such as
cheating, copying, plagiarism, or misrepresentation of one’s own work, will meet
2
with the appropriate penalties and discipline as outlined in UAlbany regulations.
Disciplinary actions for such offenses are severe, and include loss of course
credit, suspension, and expulsion from the university. If you are not clear about
what constitutes plagiarism, or the limits of acceptable group collaboration, please
ask the instructor for clarification.
Special Needs Accommodation
Students who have special needs due to learning or other disabilities will be
accommodated, and should inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester.
Students who request accommodation will be asked to provide appropriate
documentation, which may be obtained through the student services office.
Communication
Students should check their e-mails routinely, since this is the best method of
communication with the instructor concerning assignments, questions, and
readings. Feel free to call me or make an appointment, if that would be helpful
for you. Please use “IST 606” at the beginning of the subject line when you send
e-mails to me.
Evaluation
Attendance: 50%
In-class activities/group discussions, oral presentations on assigned readings,
quizzes, and reflective journals.
Group Project: 10%
Collection evaluation methods (10%)
Final Project: 40%
Collection development simulation (40%)
Scale:








A
AB+
B
BC+
C
C-
= 96+ excellent
= 91-95
= 86-90
= 81-85
= 76-80
= 71-75
= 66-70 below graduate-level work
= 61-65
Course Resources
Listserv:
3
Students are encouraged to subscribe to COLLDV-L. In addition to topical
postings, many job ads appear here. To subscribe, use the following format to
send an e-mail message to listproc@usc.edu:
subscribe colldv-l your first name your last name
Journals:
You should familiarize yourselves with the following journals (available at
Dewey Library):
 The Acquisitions Librarian
 Against the Grain
 Booklist
 Choice
 Collection Building
 Collection Management
 Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services
 Library Journal
 Publishers Weekly
 School Library Journal
 The Serials Librarian
 Serials Review
Websites:
The Bibliographer’s Toolkit created by University at Buffalo provides
comprehensive lists of resources. You are strongly encouraged to check it out at
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/staff/cd_toolkit.html
"LibLicense: Licensing Digital Information: A Resource for Librarians."
http://www.library.yale.edu/~llicense/index.shtml
Course Readings
Textbook:

Required: Evans, G. Edward. Developing Library and Information Center
Collections. Greenwood Village, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2005. 1 copy is
available on Reserve at DEWEY Library. Copies are available for purchase at
Mary Jane Books.

Recommended: Johnson, Peggy. Fundamentals of Collection Development &
Management. Chicago: American Library Association, 2004. Copies are available
for purchase at Mary Jane’s Books. 1 copy is available on Reserve at DEWEY
Library.
4
Books on Reserve (available at DEWEY Library):






Alabaster, Carol. Developing an Outstanding Core Collection: A Guide for
Libraries. Chicago: American Library Association, 2002. [Dewey Z 687.2 U6
A43 2002]
Anderson, Joanne S., Chris Desjariais-Leuth, Maureen Gleason, Caroline C.
Long, Marilyn Myers, Mary Ellen Quinn, and Kathleen A. Sullivan. Guide for
Written Collection Policy Statements. Second Edition. Chicago, IL: American
Library Association, 1996. [Dewey Z 687 A518 1996]
Biblarz, Donna, Stephen Bosch and Chris Sugnet. Guide to Library User Needs
Assessment for Integrated Information Resource Management and Collection
Development. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2001. [Dewey Z 687 G847 2001]
Bosch, Stephen, Patricia A. Promis and Chris Sugnet. Guide to Licensing and
Acquiring Electronic Information. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2005. [Dewey
Z 692 C65 G85x 2005]
German, Lisa, et al. Guide to the Management of the Information Resources
Budget. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2001. [Dewey Z 689 G86]
Lambert, Dennis K., et al. Guide to Review of Library Collections: Preservation,
Storage, and Withdrawal. 2nd ed. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2002. [Dewey
Z 687.2 U6 G64 2002]
Articles and Book Chapters on ERes:

Allen, Barbara McFadden. “Consortia and Collections: Achieving a Balance
Between Local Action and Collaborative Interest.” Journal of Library
Administration 28.4 (1999): 85-90.

Atkinson, Ross. "The Citation as Intertext: Toward a Theory of the Selection
Process." Library Resources & Technical Services 28 (April/June 1984): 109-119.

Banks, Julie. "Weeding Book Collections in the Age of the Internet." Collection
Building 21.3 (2002): 113-19.

Barreau, Deborah. "Information Systems and Collection Development in Public
Libraries" Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services 25.3 (2001):
263-279.

Bartlett, Rebecca Ann. "University Presses and Academic Libraries: Both 'Crisis'
and Pie in the Sky." Choice 41 (May 2004): 1619-1622.

Blummer, Barbara. “The Use of Digital Technologies in the Selection and
Purchasing of Library Materials among Special, Academic, and Public Libraries.”
Against the Grain 17 (June 2005): 22-26.
5

Bob, Murray C. "The Case for Quality Book Selection." Library Journal 107
(September 15, 1982): 1707-1710.

Bosch, Stephen, Lucy Lyons, Mary H. Munroe, Anna H. Perrault, and Chris
Sugnet. "Measuring Success of Cooperative Collection Development: Report of
the Center for Research Libraries / Greater Western Library Alliance Working
Group for Quantitative Evaluation of Cooperative Collection Development
Projects." Collection Management 28.3 (2003): 223-39.

Bradford, Jane T. “What's Coming off the Shelves? A Reference Use Study
Analyzing Print Reference Sources Used in a University Library.” The Journal of
Academic Librarianship 31.6 (2005): 546-558.

Brin, Beth L. "Building a Library Collection to Support New Engineering
Programs." Science & Technology Libraries 19.3-4 (2001): 19-37.

Comer, Alberta, Elizabeth A. Lorenzen, and Audrey Fenner. "Biz of Acq-Is
Purchase-on-demand a Worthy Model? Do Patrons Really Know What They
Want?" Against the Grain 17 (February 2005): 75-78.

Dearnley, James, Cliff McKnight, and Anne Morris. “Electronic Book Usage in
Public Libraries: a Study of User and Staff Reactions to a PDA-based Collection.”
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 36.4 (December 2004): 175182.

Doyle, Helen J. "The Public Library of Science: Open Access from the Ground
Up." College and Research Libraries News 65 (March 2004): 134-136.

Fenner, Audrey. “The Approval Plan: Selection Aid, Selection Substitute.” The
Acquisitions Librarian no. 31/32 (2004): 227-240.

Fowler, David C. "Licensing: An Historical Perspective." Journal of Library
Administration 42.3-4 (2005): 177-97.

Frazier, Kenneth. "What's the Big Deal?" Serials Librarian 48.1-2 (2005): 49-59.

Hastings, S. K. “Selection and Evaluation of Networked Information Resources.”
The Acquisitions Librarian 10.20 (June 1998): 109-122.

Headley, Stephen. “Comparing and Contrasting Serials in Public and Academic
Libraries: How the Other Half Lives.” Serials Librarian 48.3-4 (2005): 289-293.

Intner, Sheila S. "Ten Steps to Great Collections." Technicalities 22.4 (JulyAugust 2002): 1, 5-7, 24.
6

Jacob, Merle. "Weeding the Fiction Collection: or Should I Dump Peyton Place?"
Reference and User Services Quarterly 40 (2001): 234-9.

Koufogiannakis, Denise. “Building an Undergraduate Book Approval Plan for a
Large Academic Library.” Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and
Information Practice and Research 2.1 (2007): 1-9.

Kovacs, Diane K., and Karen R. Diaz. "Building a Core Internet Reference
Collection." Reference and User Services Quarterly 39.3 (spring 2000): 233-39.

Kuhn, Maria S. “How to Select a Vendor for an Approval Plan: Through
Friendship, Personality or an RFP?” Against the Grain 18.1 (February 2006): 5051.

Laskowski, Mary S. “Stop the Technology, I Want to Get Off: Tips and Tricks
for Media Selection and Acquisition.” The Acquisitions Librarian 16.31/32
(2004): 217-25.

Linhoff, Patricia and Barbara Holden. "Taking Collections to the Streets: The
Role of Outreach in Supporting Adult Literacy." Public Libraries 43.1 (Jan./Feb.
2004): 20-21.

McAbee, Sonja and John Graham. "Expectations, Realities and Perceptions of
Subject Specialist Librarians' Duties in Medium-Sized Academic Libraries."
Journal of Academic Librarianship 31.1 (Jan. 2005): 19-28.

McGuigan, Glenn S. and Garry W. White. “Subject-specific Policy Statements: A
Rationale and Framework for Collection Development.” The Acquisitions
Librarian 15.30 (2003): 49-62.

Metz, Paul, & John K. Stemmer. "A Reputational Study of Academic Publishers."
College & Research Libraries 57.3 (May 1996): 234-247.

Miller-Francisco, Emily. “Managing Electronic Resources in a Time of Shrinking
Budgets.” Library Collection, Acquisitions, & Technical Services 27 (2003): 507512.

Mueller, Susan. “Approval Plans and Faculty Selection: Are They Compatible?”
Library collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services 29 (2005): 61-70.

Nisonger, Thomas E. "The Internet and Collection Management in Academic
Libraries: Opportunities and Challenges." The Role and Impact of the Internet on
Library and Information Services. Wetsport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001. 59-83.
7

Nisonger, Thomas E., & Gloria Guzi. "Approaches, Techniques, and Criteria for
Serials Evaluation in the Electronic Environment." The Serials Librarian 40.3-4
(2001): 393-407.

Peterson, Elizabeth. "Collection Development in California Indian Tribal
Libraries." Collection Building 23.3 (2004): 129-32.

Pettijohn, Patricia. “Crossing Boundaries: Selecting for Research, Professional
Development and Consumer Education in an Interdisciplinary Field, the Case of
Mental Health. The Acquisitions Librarian no. 31/32 (2004): 163-176.

Puacz, Jeanne Holba. “Electronic vs. Print Reference Sources in Public Library
Collections.” The Reference Librarian nos. 91-92 (2005): 39-51.

Rawlinson, Nora. "Give `Em What They Want." Library Journal 106 (November
15 1981): 2188-2190.

Rippel, Chris. "What Public Libraries Can Learn from Superstores?" Australasian
Public Libraries and Information Services 16, 4 (Dec. 2003): 147-55.

Sandler, Mark. "Collection Development in the Age of Google." Library
Resources and Technical Services 50, 4 (Oct. 2006): 239-243.

Schapiro, Michael. "Developing Virtual Spanish-Language Resources: Exploring
a Best Practices Model for Public Libraries." OLA Quarterly 9 (Summer 2003):
15-19.

Scheschy, Virginia M. "Publishers on the Web: From Addison to Ziff." Library
Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services 23.1 (Spring 1999): 73-78.

Schmidt, Karen A. "The Ordering, Claiming, and Receipt of Materials."
Technical Services Today and Tomorrow. 2nd ed. Englewood, CO: Libraries
Unlimited, 1998. 9-20.

Snow, Richard. “Wasted Words: The Written Collection Development Policy and
the Academic Library.” Journal of academic librarianship 22.3 (May 1996): 191194.

Stephens, Annabel K. “The Public Library Planning Process: Its Impact on
Collection Development Policies and Practices.” Acquisitions Librarian 10.20
(June 1998), 15-23.

Thomas, Susan E. “Another Side of the E-Book Puzzle.” Indiana Libraries, 26.1
(2007): 39-45.

Toobin, Jeffrey. "Google's Moon Shot." New Yorker (Feb. 5, 2007): 30-35.
8

Van Fleet, Connie. “Popular Fiction Collections in Academic and Public
Libraries.” The Acquisitions Librarian No. 29 (2003): 63-85.

Walters, William H. "Criteria for Replacing Print Journals with Online Journal
Resources." Library Resources & Technical Services 48 (October 2004): 300-304.

Wicht, Heather. "Selecting and Acquiring eBooks: So Many Choices, So Many
processes." Against the Grain 17 (February 2005): 26, 28, 30.

Wajda, Carrie N. “Selection, deaccessioning, and the public image of information
professionals: Learning from the mistakes of the past.” Library Student Journal 1.
2 (Nov. 2006): 1-9.
Additional Information on the Web:

AcqWeb's "Directory of Collection Development Policies on the Web." Available
at: http://www.acqweb.org/cd_policy.html.

AcqWeb's "Directory of Publishers and Vendors." Available at:
http://www.acqweb.org/pubr.html.

Bertot, John Carlo, Charles R. McClure, Denise M. Davis, and Joe Ryan.
"Capture Usage with E-Metrics." Library Journal 129, no. 8 (2004): 30-32.
(http://www.libraryjournal.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA4115
64)

Smyth, Elaine B. “A practical approach to writing a collection development
policy.” Rare books & manuscripts librarianship 14, no. 1 (Fall 1999): 27-31.
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/rbm/backissuesrbmlvo/smyth.pdf
Course Schedule (Tentative)
Due to holidays, this class does not meet on October 1, October 8, and November 26.
August 27 (Class 1)
Introduction to the course; Understanding and Assessing User Communities
Reading


Evans, Chapters 1, 2
Biblarz book (Guide to Library User Needs Assessment for Integrated
Information Resource Management & Collection Development)
9
September 3 (Class 2)
Collection Development Policies; Essential Components of Collection Development
Policies
Reading







Evans, chap. 3
Johnson, chap. 3 (pp. 72-84)
Alabaster, chap. 2 (pp. 21-43)
McGuigan & White article
Snow article
Stephens article
Wajda article
September 10 (Class 3)
Developing Collections; Selection Process; Selection Tools/Reviewing Sources
Reading





Evans, chap. 4, 10
Johnson, Peggy. "Appendix: Selection Aids," in her Fundamentals of
Collection Development & Management.
Alabaster, chap. 3 (on ERes)
Fenner article
Intner (2002) article
September 17 (Class 4)
Collection Development in Public Libraries; Publishers and Publishing
Speakers:
Reading







Mary Trev Thomas, Bethlehem Public Library
Evans, chap. 5, 11
Barreau article
Metz & Stemmer article
Bartlett article
Bob article
Rawlinson article
Scheschy article
September 24 (Class 5)
Selection of Serials – Print and Electronic, Other Electronic Materials
10
Reading









Evans, chap. 6, 7
Johnson, pp. 199-214
Bosch book (Guide to Licensing and Acquiring Electronic Information), chap.
2, 3
Atkinson article (1984)
Davis article
Hastings article
Laskowski article
Pettijohn article
Walters article
October 15 (Class 6)
Budget Allocation; Acquisition of Monographs
Reading











Evans, chap. 10, 12
German book (Guide to the Management of the Information Resources
Budget)
Blummer article
Dearnley, McKnight, and Morris article
Koufogiannakis article
Kuhn article
Mueller article
Schmidt article
Thomas article
Van Fleet article
Wicht article
October 22 (Class 7)
Acquisition of Serials and Databases; Challenges in Collection Development
Speaker:
Reading






Jean Guyon, Serials Acquisitions, University Libraries
Johnson, chap 7
Bosch book (Guide to Licensing and Acquiring Electronic Information), chap.
4, 5
Fowler article
Frazier article
Headley article
Nisonger article
11
October 29 (Class 8)
Government Documents; Collection Development in Various Subject Areas
Speaker:
Reading







Catherine Dwyer, Government Documents Librarian & Head of
Reference, University at Albany Libraries
Jesus Alonso-Regalado, Latin-American Studies Bibliographer, University
Libraries
Evans, chap. 8
Brin article
Comer article
Herring article
Kovacs article
Peterson article
Schapiro article
November 5 (Class 9)
Deselection; Cooperative Collection Development; Scholarly Communication
Reading










Evans, chap. 13, 15
Johnson, chap. 8
Allen article
Banks article
Doyle article
Jacob article
Lambert book (Guide to Review of Library Collection), chap. 4, 5
Miller-Francisco article
Sandler article
Toobin article
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/05/070205fa_fact_toobin
November 12 (Class 10)
Evaluation of Library Collections
Reading





Evans, chap. 14
Johnson, chap. 9
Bosch article
Paucz article
Nisonger & Guzi article
12
November 19 (Class 11)
Preservation and Conservation; Outreach and Marketing
Speakers:
Reading






Karen Brown, Preservation Librarian, University Libraries
Evans, chap. 16, 17
Johnson, chap. 6
Linhoff and Holden article
McAbee and Graham article
Rippel article
RUSA"Guidelines for Liaison Work in Managing Collections and Services."
December 3 (Class 12)
Group Presentations on Collection Evaluation Methods
Each group will give a 15-minute (including Q&A) presentation
December 10 - Final project due by 4:00 p.m. Please drop it off at DR113.
13