Strengthening Regional Collections One Request at a Time: Using Resource Sharing Technology to Facilitate Coordinated Collection Development

摘要

There can be many barriers for success in Coordinated Collection Development (CCD) projects. Delivery and ownership are major concerns, and libraries are committing institutional funds, often to contribute to group or consortial collections, which requires trust and a consistent measuring of whether the CCD venture is a good use of scarce collection dollars. CCD efforts often require advance agreement on policies, collection areas, and dedicated funds, which can lead to decreased overall satisfaction. In many CCD projects, mutual trust is not built through a shared practice and workflow that allows for choice and data-driven decisions but is established through CCD agreements that are often complex and difficult to adjust. To address as many areas as possible that can prevent success with CCD ventures, the IDS Project and St. John Fisher College created a CCD tool that focuses on building diverse group collections through communication and efficient workflows connecting resource sharing and demand-driven acquisitions. Key to the project is finding how to most effectively share relevant information and provide opportunities for building diverse collections while also ensuring that purchased items fit local collection needs. Using real-time consortial and institutional resource sharing data, libraries could know what items are being requested that fit the institution’s desired areas to build collections. The goal of the program is for libraries to use real-time information to purchase titles that fill user demands across a consortium, leading to more diverse collections and stronger and more flexible CCD projects.