Selection
What is selection?
For the sake of argument we're going to define selection as the process that the selector goes through in identifying materials, in all formats, is to be purchased.
Methods of selection
- on paper (traditional)
- reading literature (instructors)
- approval plans
- homegrown electronic
- vendor based electronic
- and deselection/weeding
Selectors
From Jenny: useful article
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6471081.html?q=&q=who%27s+selecting+now Even though this article focuses on public library selection, in many cases the same issues apply to us.
Quote from above article
With our professional librarians pulled in so many different directions, we saw book selection as an area where we could relieve the pressure and still provide good collections, says Kathleen Sullivan of Phoenix PL's hot-button decision to hand selection to its vendors. It's most efficient when the vendor does the first cut and the library does the second cut, counters Christopher Platt, Queens Library, NY. But many librarians won't even touch the vendor-generated notification lists Platt gladly picks over, concurring with Shawna Thorup, Fayetteville PL, AR, that such lists can capture the best sellers but not the specialized. I don't think their exclusive use would best serve our community.
Clearly, using vendors to help facilitate collection development is both controversial and complex. Many librarians see title selection as more than just a professional pleasure; it's the best way they can serve their various constituents while developing a true feel for the collection. Hence, the powerfully negative reaction to Hawaii's attempt at full-scale outsourcing a decade ago. Aimed at streamlining collection procedures while shifting the library's focus to public service, that move was met with a storm of criticism regarding both cost and the quality of the materials supplied (see “Outsourcing Model—or Mistake? The Collection Development Controversy in Hawaii,” LJ 3/15/97, p. 28–31).
Community of Practice: Faculty
The common, probably the best method of selection, is participating in a community of interest. As we converse with our colleagues, read the current literature and blogs, pursue research, we are constantly aware of what others are reading. This is why the faculty has always been involved in selection. Not only are the faculty familiar with the current literature, they are best suited to introduce their students to the classics among the literature.
Professional Bibliographers
These professionals, whether employed in the university, by publishers, or by book jobbers, spend a significant part of their day familiarizing themselves with the literature. Bibliographers, because they are pursuing a research interest, tend to have a broad outlook on the literature. But because they can devote their entire work effort to exploring the literature, they have a relatively deep appreciation for the literature. Experienced bibliographers also are aware of the trends, growth and declines, of a literature over time.
Practicing Librarian
Most practicing librarians spend at least a portion of their time working with the community in which they work. The contact makes them aware of the need for materials that will meet the needs of the students and faculty that they encounter everyday.
Practicing librarians also review books for professional journals and compile bibliographies and subject guides for their students.
Tools of Selection
Communities of Practice
Personal knowledge is the most important tool that researchers and faculty use in making selection. They read each others work and converse about what they've read. They use their peers.
Professional Bibliographers
While the researcher is in contact with his peers, the professional bibliographer is in touch with the industry and business of publishing. They know the editorial tendencies of publishers, their markets, and the people in the business. They know the business of book buying, meaning they are aware of both buyers and sellers.
Practicing Librarians
The practicing librarian may not have direct contact with a research community. Nor do they follow the industry of publishing, but are major consumers of the review literature which comes from their peers and from bibliographers.
Automation of Selection
There is almost no way to automate or use information technology to choose the right material. The best we can do is to rely on the expertise of others, our confidence in the quality of the reviewer, and confidence in our own ability to judge the needs of our users.
Philosophical Issues of Selection
The Just in Case Library
Even with diligence and extreme personal effort, selection is a tough job. Selection in the print library must be undertaken knowing that it is inefficient. In order to have the book ready for the patron we must anticipate the need. This will never be perfect.
Circulation as the best indicator of quality selection
Circulation data is the best way we can tell that we have a good selection process. The fact that there is limited circulation data on reference material makes it much harder to judge.
Conclusion
- selection is tough;
- we need to balance the three major selectors and find what combination best suits our environment;
- we need to look at circulation data closely;
- we need to think hard and creatively to find evaluation methods for those materials that do not have circulation data.
- we need to look hard at the format of materials; print vs. digital and the increasing importance of the inclusion of audio and visual materials