University of Hawaii at Manoa
Information & Computer
Sciences Dept.
Library & Information Science
Program
LIS 615: Collection
Development
(3 Credits) (Spring 2004)
Classroom: Hamilton
Library, Room 4V
Schedule:
5:00 - 7:40 PM
Thursdays
Instructor: Andrew B. Wertheimer,
Assistant Professor
Contact
Information:
4N Hamilton Library
2550 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu HI 96822
TEL: 808/
956. 5839 FAX: 808/ 956. 5835
OFFICE
HOURS:
TUE:
1:00-4:30 PM; THU: 3:15-4:45 + 7:40-8:00 PM
E-mail:
wertheim@hawaii.edu
Please
put LIS 615 in the message line. I try to respond to e-mail within one
day.
Homepage: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~wertheim/615SO4.html
Course
Catalog Description (from the LIS Program home page):
Principles and issues of collection management and care. Criteria and tools for selecting and deselecting materials. Relationships with publishers/ producers.
Prerequisites: None
Program
Learning Objectives
This
introductory course addresses the following objectives of the LIS Program,
enabling students to:
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of the philosophy, principles, and ethics of library
and information science;
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of the development and communication of knowledge;
3.
Attain basic competencies and knowledge that are essential for providing,
managing, and designing information services in a variety of information
environments;
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the development and interrelationship of
librarianship and information science;
5.
Demonstrate an understanding of the theories and processes for selecting and
organizing information sources;
6. Demonstrate
an understanding of the theories and processes involved in retrieval,
dissemination, and utilization of information sources.
Course
Learning Objectives:
This is
an introductory course, enabling students to:
1.
To identify and assess accurately the needs for library materials and resources
demonstrated by understanding users and nonusers of libraries, as well as the
universe of knowledge.
2.
To become familiar with the general organization and practices of the
publishing and information industries and the book trade, broadly conceived, as
they relate to libraries and society at large.
3.
To learn to apply appropriate principles and standards in the selection of
library resources.
4.
To evaluate library collections and to recommend alternatives for specific
situations.
5.
To gain an overview and a working knowledge of the processes of acquisition of
library resources.
6.
To gain practical experience in preparing a grant proposal, then developing a
model collection.
7.
To gain experience in critical and persuasive writing, and public speaking on
relevant professional concerns.
It would
be impossible to learn everything there is to know about collection development
/ management (CM) in one semester. It is even more difficult to forecast
the skills needed to manage collections in the future as technologies and
markets change. CM is made up of a series of skills that are learned over
a lifetime of reading and experience. This course though may be your only
formal instruction on the topic. With that in mind I hope that when you
complete this course you will feel confident about your ability to actually do
practical CM. I also hope the class will leave you with some theoretical
concerns related to CM that will guide you throughout your professional career.
Primary
emphasis is on reading, group discussion, and critical analysis. Many subjects
are introduced from a historical perspective. Oral and written assignments are
designed to promote these activities. The assignment due dates are on the
course schedule. Attendance and constructive participation are required.
Grading:
I hope
that you will focus more on learning and experience than your grade in this
course. I am confident that any LIS student can achieve a B in this class if
he/she makes a sincere effort on the assignments, actively participates in each
class session and hands in all assignments in time. It truly is my
pleasure though to recognize superior performance with grades above this. Your
grade will be determined on the following basis.
Collection
Management Project
(CMP) 45%
Brief
Article Critiques (3 x 5%)
15%
Journal
on Shadowing a CM Professional 10%
Collection
Development
Policy
10%
CMP
Proposal (Brief Paper)
5%
CMP
Proposal
Presentation
5%
CMP
Reflection
Journal
5%
Participation
5%
Grading
Scale:
100-98
A+, 97-94 A, 93-90 A-;
89 - 87 B+, 86-83 B,
82-80 B-;
79 - 77 C+, 76-73 C,
72-70 C-;
69 - 67 D+, 66-63 D,
62-60 D-.
My
personal and professional ambition is to facilitate your learning, so I welcome
specific or rough proposals for alternative learning experiences to
assignments.
I
reserve the right to reject or make counterproposals, but encourage you to
consult me about this. If you are interested, consult with me well in
advance of the deadline of the assignment you want to substitute.
Class
participation is
based on: [a] Attendance (e-mail me in advance if you are unable to attend).
You need to bring a doctor's slip or evidence of a family funeral in order to
be officially excused. [b] Active participation in classroom discussion. This
does not mean monopolizing discussion, but does mean being prepared and
actively contributing to discussion.
If you
were absent because of illness or emergency, please submit evidence along with
your paper. Please notify me in advance of any excused absences.
Important
Dates:
20
January Last day
to withdraw from class without a "W."
21
January Last day
to add the class, change grading
option or to receive a 100% refund for the course.
2 February
Last day to
receive a 50% refund for the
course.
Required
Textbook:
Edward
G. Evans, Developing Library and Information Center
Collections. 4th ed. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000
(621 pp.). ISBN 1-56308-832-0 PB $50.00 retail (at the University
Bookstore).
Additional
required readings are specified below. Articles are available via Electronic
Reserves. Books are placed on reserve at the Sinclair Library
For your
CM project you will likely need to spend some a good deal of time in a good
library to examine reviews.
Course
Schedule (subject to change)
Class
1: Introduction
[a] Review syllabus, and course
objectives; How to approach the text;
[b] Historical development of
Collection Management.
Readings: None.
DUE:
Nothing.
Class
2: Introduction
to Publishing
[a] Guest
Speaker: William
H. Hamilton, Director,
University of Hawaii Press
[b] Stages
from Writer to Reader
[c] Types
of Publishers
[d] Socio-Economic
Role of Publishing
Readings: EVANS Chapters 5, and 6.
DUE:
Nothing.
Class
3: The
Selection and Acquisitions Process:
Practical Dimensions
Readings: EVANS Chapters 1, 4, 11, and 12.
DUE:
Nothing.
Class
4:
[a] User
Needs
[b] Community
Analysis
Readings:
EVANS Chapter 2.
DUE:
Select Tentative Topic for CMP
Class
5:
[a] Collection
Development Policies
[b] Censorship
and Intellectual Freedom
Readings: EVANS Chapters 3, 19
DUE:
Nothing.
Class
6:
Censorship
and Intellectual Freedom (Day 2)
Readings: Skim: ALA
Office for Intellectual Freedom,
Intellectual
Freedom Manual (6th
ed.) (Chicago: ALA, 2002)
DUE:
Nothing.
Class
7:
[a] CM
in School Library Media Centers
[b] Deselection
Readings:
EVANS Chapter
14
DUE:
Collection Development Policy.
Class
8:
[a] CM
in Public Libraries
[b] Government
Documents
Readings: EVANS Chapters 9, 10, and 16.
DUE:
CMP Proposal (Paper)
Class
9: CM
in Academic and Special Libraries
Readings: EVANS Chapter 17.
DUE:
Nothing.
Class
10:
[a] CMP
Proposal Presentations
[b] Budgeting
Readings: EVANS Chapter 13.
DUE:
CMP Proposal Presentation (in class, 4 min.)
25
March
No
Class
Happy Spring Recess!
Class
11:
[a] Guest Speaker: Professor
Peter Jacso, Electronic
Media (Databases, e-Books),
[b] Videos,
DVDs, and CDs
Readings: EVANS Chapters 7 and 8.
DUE:
CM Professional Shadowing Journal.
Class
12: Outsourcing
Collection Management
Guest
Speaker
Reading:
Rebecca Knuth,
& donna G. Bair-Mundy "Revolt Over
Outsourcing: Hawaii's Librarians Speak Out About Contracted
Selection." Collection Management 23 (1/2) (1998): 81-112.
Additional Materials available online at
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/hspls/reos/reos9810.html
DUE:
Nothing.
Class
13: Acquiring
Small Press, Alternative Press, Grey Literature & Samizdat
Readings: Judith Serebnick,
"Measuring Diversity of
Opinion in Public Library Collections," Library Quarterly 65 (1995):.
EVANS
UPDATED Chapter
4 (FROM 3rd ed.)
Only available online at
http://www.lu.com/getpage.cfm?file=textbook2.html&userid=69265720
DUE:
Nothing.
Class
14: Cooperative
CM
Readings: None.
DUE:
CMP Paper and Reflection Journal
Class
15:
[a]
Guest Speaker: Lynn Davis on Preservation
[b] Evaluation
[c]
Class Wrap-Up
Readings: EVANS Chapter 15.
DUE:
Nothing.
There is
no exam in this course or class meeting during Finals Week. All papers and
extra credit must be handed in by 5 May.
**
Plagiarism, if caught,
will result in failing the class. It also will be reported to the department
for appropriate action. Please don't do it.
As a
review, any quotes should either be placed in quotation marks or block quotes
for longer extracts.
You may
use any recognized citation style (Chicago, APA, ASA, MLA) to cite sources of
quotations or other information as long as you are consistent in doing so. If
you will be citing the same source (such as in the article critique), then I
suggest you use parenthetical references such as the MLA style. For example,
you can write (Daniels 1995, 15), or (Daniels 15) if you have only one citation
by Daniels, or (15) if you only cite one article. For papers using
parenthetical references, you need to submit a bibliography of works cited. You
do not need a bibliography, however, if you use complete citations in the
footnotes. Information from personal conversations, letters, and the
Internet should also be cited with the date (and URL and author for the
Internet).
Please
use 12-point Times (or comparable) font. Double-space your written assignments,
and leave a 1-inch margin. Papers should also be stapled. Please do not submit
a cover page, but include your name, the date, and assignment name on the first
page of all materials. You are encouraged to use a title for each paper since
this often helps writers to establish a focused theme.
Papers
should be spell-checked and proofread. My interest is to see that you follow
the instructions and are able to develop a logical, analytical paper, and
provide evidence for your observations.
With the
exception of the shadowing journal, and article critique journals, assigned
papers should be written in a publishable, formal style. Journals though should
be more personal, and can use the first person-voice. Article critique journals
should use a complete citation of the article as a title. I am looking for
quality over quantity. I want to read your honest reactions and
reflections in journals. I do not penalize journals for disagreeing with
my ideas, but want to see efforts at making logical arguments based on
evidence.
Papers
are due during class. Late assignments will be reduced by 2% per day. No overdue assignments or extra
credit projects will be accepted after 5 May.
Collection
Management Project (CMP)
The main
assignment for this class will be a practical exercise in collection
management. I encourage you to select a type of library that you want to
work in, and a subject that you are familiar with or interested in. For
example, if you have a degree in Latin American literature and want to work in
a college library, then you might propose developing a collection of 50 items
relevant to Latin American poetry (including databases, books, and journals)
for someplace like Tokai University. Another proposal could be for
science books for an elementary school library media center. Another
proposal could be materials on bioengineering for a special library. You
may choose to do this either for a real library or create a fictional
library. In either case you should describe the library, the users and
the collection. You will eventually select 50 items (books, journals,
databases, etc.) for your CMP.
CMP
STAGE 1: Topic Selection (No Credit)
Your
first step will be to select the type of library and the collection
topic. You must secure approval for your topic by Feb. 5. You may collaborate with
other students in analyzing / creating the same real / imaginary library, but
you are responsible for doing your own work on the presentation and collection.
I want to discourage overlap of subjects, so topics will be claimed on a first
come first served basis, so let me know if you want to develop a collection
(for example, on AIDS for a junior high school library) ASAP.
Please
e-mail me your [a] topic and [b] type of library, and I will add this to the
class home page.
CMP
STAGE 2-A: Proposal (5% of your course grade)
The
brief (2-4 pages) proposal should include a rough description of the library,
the parameters of your collection, and a proposed budget. DUE 4 MAR.
CMP
STAGE 2-B: Oral Presentation Grant Proposal (5%)
You will
present your CMP proposal to the class on 18 March in the form of
"pitching" a grant proposal. You should pretend that I am the
chair of the (fictitious) KASHU FOUNDATION, and that
your classmates are board members. You will be giving an oral grant
proposal (4 min.) in which you will outline your suggestion and take Q&A from
the class. I will evaluate your presentation for 5% of your semester
grade. You may use overheads, handouts, PowerPoint, etc, but these are not
required.
CMP
STAGE 3: The Portfolio (45%)
The CMP
Portfolio is your final proposal to the KASHU FOUNDATION. It should include:
[a, 1-2 pages]: Institutional Description of the library, users, and
existing collection,
[b, 1-2 pages]: Parameters of the proposed
collection,
(c1-4, half-page to 1 page per
title): Information
on Selected Items.
[c1] Complete citation: Books should include Author,
Title, Publisher (and location), ISBN. Journals should include ISSN.
[c2] The list price in US$ for PA (paperback) or HC (cloth). You may calculate in a
discount if explained in the budget-narrative section. If the book is out
of print, you should indicate this and list the source of the O.P. Price (e.g.,
$14 HC Used, Ex-Libris, listed from Blue Mountain Bookstore on ABE), Databases
and journals should include full information on vendors and the cost of a 1-year
institutional subscription,
[c3] Citations to published reviews (Amazon.com-type
reviews do not
count).
[c4] Your own evaluation of this work (one paragraph,
summarizing reviews, author's qualifications, quality of book construction/
user-friendliness of database, etc.
If you did not examine the work in person, you should refer to the reviews and add your own rationale for selecting the item.
[d, 1 page]: Budget-Spreadsheet on Excel or another spreadsheet.
[e, 0-2 pages]: Budget-Narrative: This should explain aspects of
the budget, such as discounts and how database or journal prices were
determined if not clear from the spreadsheet.
[f, 1-4 pages]: Summary: This should include the
limitations of the collection and propose further growth areas. This should
also summarize the core of your collection. You should also use this
section as a sales pitch to emphasize the value of this collection to your
institution. I encourage you to think of this project as an ideal portfolio
project to show potential employers. DUE 22 April.
CMP
STAGE 4: CMP Reflection Journal (5%)
The
final portion of your CMP consists of a journal in which you will evaluate the
exercise as a personal reflection on the learning experience. Your essay
should record what you learned from the experience, such as what you learned
about certain publishers, reviewers, and review media. You should also reflect
on weaknesses in the CMP (e.g., you were unable to find many good children's
books on AIDS in Spanish for the hypothetical junior high school library
CMP). You should also critique your own abilities as a beginning
selector, as well as the tools you used. ALSO DUE 22 April.
Brief
Article Critique Journals (3
x 5%)
During the semester you should find three articles on CM that are of interest to you. These may come from the "Further Reading" bibliographies in Evans or supplemental readings suggested by the instructor. You may also suggest alternatives for approval. [Please send complete citations if you are suggesting an alternative.]
Journals are due on the week we go over that subject. You should hand in a 2 to 3 page paper containing: [a] a brief explanation of the thesis of the article, [b] your brief evaluation of the article, and why it is helpful or not to CM librarians. [c] You may also critique the research or suggest alternatives approaches.
You
should also be prepared to give up to give a brief informal overview of the
article for your students in class. [This should be for 2-3 minutes from your
desk without PowerPoint or other handouts]. These may relate to any unit
except weeks 1, 10, 12 or 14.
Shadowing
a CM Professional Journal (10%)
There is only so much that can be learned about collection management from a textbook or lectures. Thus, you have one assignment (worth 10% of your semester grade) to interview a CM professional. Contact someone respected in your field. This person may be any professional public / school/ special / academic librarian/ archivist who makes decisions about CM. I discourage you from working with someone in the same branch/ section where you work / intern if possible, unless you are interested in a specific area and have not discussed this in detail before.
Early in the semester you should contact that person and make an appointment.
This may be done at one session or several, but must include some time
specifically discussing practical and theoretical issues from this
course. In an ideal situation, this professional would allow you to
shadow him / her for a few hours so that you can see parts of a typical day of
weeding, negotiating, meetings, etc. E-mailed responses to a
questionnaire do not suffice. You are encouraged to do this as a group
as long as everyone participates in the interview/ shadowing. DUE 1 April. Be sure to send the CM
Professional a very nice thank you note for his/ her help!
The last
part of your assignment then is to write a summary of your visit (5-10
double-spaced pages). This journal should include background information of
what you did, what you learned from the experience, what experiences shaped
this CM professional. I also want to see evidence of your own reflections
on the experience. Your challenge here is to spend at least one page to
frame this practical experience with the theories and terms introduced in the
class.
Collection
Development Policy (10%)
You are
to create a draft Collection Development policy statement for a real or
fictitious library. This 2-5 page hypothetical document should be customized to
the given library. You will be evaluated by the appropriateness of the policy
for the type of library.
If you are writing a policy for a branch or collection you are
encouraged to refer to the main libraryıs policy statement. Examples of
existing policies will be mentioned in class, and are also cited in the Evans
text.
(DUE 5
May) (5 extra credit points) (LIMIT: 3 extra credit projects per student only)
Possible extra credit projects include a report on presentations
or professional conferences related to CM or some professional project (e.g.,
internship, presentation, paper, book review) as long as you are not getting
credit for this in another class. Consult with the professor regarding
possibilities.