What criteria do consumer health librarians use to develop library collections? a phenomenological study

摘要

Objectives: The criteria for determining whetherresources are included in consumer health librarycollections are summarized in institutional collectiondevelopment policies (CDPs). Evidence suggests thatCDPs do not adequately capture all of these criteria.The aim of this study was to describe the resourcereview experience of librarians and compare it towhat is described in CDPs.Methods: A phenomenological approach was used toexplore and describe the process. Four consumerhealth librarians independently evaluated cancer-related consumer health resources and described theirreview process during a semi-structured telephoneinterview. Afterward, these librarians completedonline questionnaires about their approaches tocollection development. CDPs from participatinglibraries, interview transcripts, and questionnaire datawere analyzed. Researchers summarized the findings,and participating librarians reviewed results forvalidation.Results: Librarians all utilized similar criteria, asdocumented in their CDPs; however, of thirteencriteria described in the study, only four weredocumented in CDPs.Conclusions: CDPs for consumer health libraries maybe missing important criteria that are consideredintegral parts of the collection development process.Implications: A better understanding of thecriteria and contextual factors involved in thecollection development process can assist withestablishing high-quality consumer healthlibrary collections