1. Developing a Weighted Collection Development Allocation Formula
6/27/2010
Developing a Weighted Collection Development Allocation Formula
Jeff Bailey, Library Director
Linda Creibaum, Acquisitions and Serials Librarian
Star Holloway, Serials Access Librarian
Dean B. Ellis Library
Arkansas State University
November 7, 2017
Copyright Jeff Bailey, Linda Creibaum and Star Holloway, 2017

2. Ground Rules
Questions are welcome at any time, but we may defer answering a question until later in the session
Interactive discussions are welcome
There will be a break about halfway through

3. Background and History
In 1997 the Arkansas State University library had no equitable means of making allocations
Funds had not been reallocated/redistributed in many years
One department accounted for nearly 20% of all collection development expenditures
There was no funding to support new programs

4. Background and History (continued)
We searched literature to discover data-driven methods of making allocations, including the use of a formula
We chose to use a formula based on one developed by Colorado State University and described in SPEC Kit #36
Then we got to work

5. First Steps: Gathering Data
Do these steps before selecting formula factors
…and always document everything!

6. List Potentially Relevant Data
Doing this is much like a brainstorming session
Average cost of materials
Number of degrees awarded per department or program
Faculty per department or program
Number of course sections offered
Number of courses in catalog
Number of degree programs
Number of majors in each program
Total semester credit hour production (actual enrollment)
Use of materials

7. Gathering Data (continued)
Evaluate and refine the list
Eliminate duplicates and non-viable suggestions
Identify the factors that are most relevant to your campus

8. Some of Our Ideas What we used and what we didn’t
Average cost of materials (from Library and Book Trade Almanac)
Number of degrees awarded per department or program
Faculty per department or program (FTE faculty)
Number of course sections offered
Number of courses in catalog
Number of degree programs
Number of majors in each program
Total semester credit hour production (actual enrollment)
Use of materials

9. Gathering Data (continued)
Determine what data are available or could be gathered
Both internal (within your library and within the field) and external (campus, community, company, etc.)
Eliminate possible factors for which data cannot be obtained
Gather samples of available data

10. The Formula The original factors we used
Total semester credit hour production (actual enrollment)
Number of classes offered
Number of degrees awarded
Faculty per department
Average cost of materials from Library and Book Trade Almanac
Other factors that could have been used
Number of degree programs
Departmental external funding and/or research productivity
Use of materials
Number of courses in catalog

11. The Formula Weights
Rating each factor is key to the equitable distribution of funds
Weighting is the assigning of values to indicate the importance or impact of each factor in the formula relative to the other formula factors
The assigned weight values are inserted into the Excel spreadsheet and are used in formula calculations

12. The Formula Assigning weights to each factor
These should be based upon each institution’s priorities and culture
Library Committee
Faculty Senate
Institutional Administration
Something else?
We subdivided some factors before assigning weights
Do test runs and adjust weights if needed

13. (by non-mathematicians)
How the Formula Works
(by non-mathematicians)

14. Screen Shot of a Previous Formula Run
6/27/2010

15. Running the Formula You can do separate formula runs for…
Books
Journals
Print
Online resources (databases/ejournals/eBooks)
Any other budgets your library may have
Or any combination of these
We chose to run a single formula for all allocations

16. Additional Thoughts…
Before running the formula, determine how much of your budget to allocate and how much to keep back for library use (if any)

17. Additional Thoughts…
You may want or need to make adjustments to individual allocations after running the formula
Do no harm
Nonparticipation
Special entities or campus initiatives
If we use an adjusted, non-formula allocation, we end that allocation in 00 (for instance, $33,500) to indicate at a glance that it is an adjusted allocation

18. Some Advice
Your formula will probably need to be modified at some point in the future
We have changed our formula
Weights were adjusted
Added departmental external funding as a factor in 2012
Removed it as a factor in 2014

19. In Conclusion… Document, document, document!
Make the decisions and modify the formula to fit your library’s needs
Feel free to contact any of us with questions you may think of later

20. To download an interactive copy of the demo spreadsheet

21. Serials Access Librarian Acquisitions and Serials Librarian
Contact Information
Jeff Bailey
Library Director
Star Holloway
Serials Access Librarian
Linda Creibaum
Acquisitions and Serials Librarian
Dean B. Ellis Library
Arkansas State University
P.O. Box 2040
State University, AR