From 2014-2016, Carleton University Library has been super-adding to the traditional ways it practices collection development. In addition to the subject liaison firm order selection model, the past two years the Library has added three successful new user-centred ways to acquire material for the Library. In the Collections department, we ended the approval plan and instead used its selection framework to create a DDA plan. In the Reserves department, we started a textbook purchasing program. And in the Interlibrary Loans department, we instituted print purchase on demand procedures.
We propose a triptych with three easy-to-read sections, dedicated to each of the preceding three initiatives. Each section will provide a concise but substantial overview of the initiative; set-up challenges and parameters of operation; data visualization of circulation statistics compared to the industry average; strengths and weaknesses; and key takeaways.
This poster may be of interest to librarians who would like to consider adopting one or more of these user-centred collection development initiatives, and to vendors who might like to hear about why user- centred models resonate well in the current academic climate of accountability and good financial stewardship.
2015 was not just a tough year for the mining sector in Canada. The drastic drop in the value of the Canadian dollar resulted in a fiscal crisis that left Western University Libraries with an unprecedented and unpredictable 25 percent decrease in purchasing power. With a large, successful DDA program to maintain, Western was faced with an economic crisis of their own.
The likelihood of a continued weak Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar led Western to determine that rolling with the fiscal times would be the only option. As a cornerstone of their acquisition strategy, the DDA would have to be revamped to ensure minimal impact on both stakeholders and the collection while working within the current fiscal realities.
This joint session shares the Western experience in working with ProQuest to develop a collection management plan that would transform a challenge into an opportunity by using a budget crisis to spur the creation of a replicable and repeatable DDA collection clean-up process. We will share the step-by-step project timeline, describe problems and outline how we worked together to develop solutions.