Library & Information Science, Course 266: Collection Development.
Dr. David Loertscher
Fall 2003
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In chapter five, you have the opportunity to try to create one or several measures of quality - to try to report how good or bad the collection is; or, how good parts of the collection are and how bad other parts are. Lancaster has written about evaluating the quality of library collections, but as I mentioned, it is extremely difficult to do and needs lots of minds working on the problem, particularly as information overload, information smog, information density, and information access becomes a major problem. In class I presented two ways to measure quality which you are welcome to use or not.
• A measure of age (comparing normal topical requests with the age of the information pool)
• A measure of opinion about collection quality by patrons who have just finished using it. For example, scientists at the Los Alamos science library (very top secret) check smiley or frowny faces when they log out of the library system.
What is the perfect library? One that has the right information for the right person, at the right time, in the desired format, anywhere that patron happens to be, and in the desired quantities, and with 100% reliability.(the library icon on every electronic device I own from cell phone to PDA, to computer terminal...)
Ask, "How do I know whether what I have is good stuff in terms of what my patrons need?" That should produce some sorts of ideas. Then try to figure out how you would measure goodness. Again, I am always impressed by your ability to communicate through words, charts, graphics, or other techniques trying to help the non-librarian or someone unfamiliar with your collection the kernel of the idea. Always remember that exposés don't always work and bragging can backfire. Think through a variety of strategies before you select one to present.
Be sure to close the chapter with a summary of the important points.