1. The new collection development Planning and assessment to promote innovation Daniel C. Mack Associate Dean, Collection Strategies and Services University of Maryland Libraries College Park, Maryland The Charleston Conference Charleston, South Carolina Saturday 7 November 2015

2. What I’ll do today Academic library perspective but broadly applicable Talk about process and culture, not the specifics of planning and assessment There are lots of sources for information about planning and assessment for collection development; ask me for recommendations by email

3. Collection development issues Some traditional issues Subject coverage Scope and depth Geographic coverage Chronological coverage Languages Formats Some new issues Information technology, data curation and citation management Copyright, licensing, open access and DRM New modes for access & delivery of content Diversity, equity and inclusion Collections spaces Engagement and outreach with stakeholders in the library, the larger organization and the community

4. Your library may address some or all of these issues, but: How is collection development involved in planning and assessment for decisions about issues such as: Library spaces? New technologies? Diversity, equity and inclusion? All of these issues affect not just library collections, but the art and science of collection development. How can planning and assessment holistically incorporate collection development to encourage innovative ideas and new projects?

5. New roles for collection development librarians The transformation from bibliographer to subject specialist has already happened in most academic libraries: Librarians as liaisons to specific user communities Librarians as teachers for information literacy, media use, and lifelong learning Librarians as research consultants and interpreters of content Librarians as coordinators of spaces and technologies that promote use of collections These new roles are necessary to promote innovation and foster success among our users.

6. Holistic collection development planning and assessment require: Library-wide commitment to a holistic view of not just collections, but also of collection development Engagement and outreach beyond the library and the academy Accountability at every level: front-line personnel, supervisors, department heads, and senior administrators Ongoing planning and assessment to direct resources to strategic priorities Support for innovation, which by definition means doing new things

7. Library- wide strategic priorities Dept. tactical priorities Work plans

8. Librarians Staff Donors Volunteers Other libraries and institutions Consortia Corporate partners Individuals Advisory groups Student government Departments Centers & institutes Senate/govern ance committees FacultyStudents Within the library External partners Sources of innovative ideas

9. Incorporate innovation into individual work plans Ask each subject specialist, curator, archivist or other collection development librarian to identify how their collection development activities can support innovation Incorporate at least one collection development goal that supports an innovative initiative into each librarian’s work plan Always focus on developing user-focused collections Be an advocate for both collections and users

10. Examples for individual work plans Support development of a library maker space by de-duping print serials runs for which the library has perpetual access to reliable digital surrogates. Support diversity, equity and inclusion by working with Acquisitions to ensure that licenses for digital resources permit reformatting of content for users with special needs Support faculty grant applications by collaborating with technology personnel to advise on data curation requirements

11. Identify data, create assessment measures How many volumes can I withdraw? Translate this into how many square feet of library space can be repurposed to support the new innovative maker space. How many licenses will I review? How many users requested assistance with content reformatting? How many faculty did I assist with grants? What is the total dollar value of the grants? Coordinate data collection Not everything is quantifiable: identify qualitative measures too

12. Supervisors and administrators Require innovation in individual work plans Reward success and permit failure Note: success in this case means trying something new that supports strategic priorities. Exploration sometimes must permit failure Engage collection development librarians in decisions about spaces, programs and technology in all aspects of library planning

13. Supervisors and administrators, continued Do not call something a priority if you are not willing to allocate resources to it Provide tools, technology and resources necessary for new initiatives Be an advocate for your collection development librarians within the library, throughout the institution, to the central administration, and to external partners Middle managers are central to success

14. Assessing collection development Assess content to re-direct resources in support of changing mission and goals of the institution: Curriculum Research enterprise, especially if the institution supports advanced research Other stakeholders such as citizens for land grant institutions Assess formats to make creative and informed decisions about: Leveraging budgets Supporting needs of specific disciplines Empowering users with special needs

15. Assessing collection development continued Assess spaces and facilities to: Promote creation of technology-rich, collaborative spaces that promote innovation and creativity Provide excellent, state of the art support for print and other legacy formats Educate stakeholders that user spaces are collections spaces Assess technology to: Facilitate discovery, access and use of collections in all media and formats Offer users new tools to explore the content of collections and to create new information

16. Make it programmatic: move from random to results Activities, operations, services Random Coherent proactive program with assessable results Results

17. Make it happen Incorporate support for innovation into collection development activities Include activities into individual work plans, departmental tactical plans, and library-wide strategic priorities Hold front line personnel, managers and administrators accountable Work with your institutional culture Keep it simple and start small. Checklists are easy and effective: MS Word, PDF, web forms, whatever works best for your library and librarians

18. Create checklists for collection development librarians Review collection development policies: do they address spaces, technology, diversity, and other issues? Poll faculty and students for new initiatives in teaching and research What priorities drive the rest of the library, and what are their synergies with your collection development activities? Communication and collaboration are key

19. Create checklists for managers and administrators Provide staff with the training, technology, tools and other resources necessary for innovation Involve collection development librarians with planning and assessment at every level View collection development librarians as experts and resources for user needs in all library programs and operations Communication and collaboration are key

20. I want to hear your thoughts Contact Dan at dmack@umd.edu