Collaborative Strategiesfor Collection Development & Resource Sharing

Presented to NW ILL Conference 2005 by

Cyril Oberlander, Director of Interlibrary Services

Alderman Library, University of Virginia

cwo4n@virginia.edu 434-243-2282

Collaborative StrategyCollaborative Strategy

What is it?What is it?

Environmental Scan; user strategy

Find it @ Library

User needs InformationChoice: BUY or BORROW

Find it from some Library, Bookstore, etc.

Request & pickup 3-28 days later…

•ILL or Circulation Borrowing System

•Suggest Library Acquire & Hold

or Bypass it all forALTERNATIVE

Sources

Collection Development & Resource Sharing

What is our strategy?

•Who’s on first

•Favorites vs. Service Channel Surfing

Presentation Objective: discuss…

What is the service relationship between Acquisition, Collection Development and Resource Sharing?

Where does it fall on a continuum of coordinated to distinct functions?

What service model and functional relationship are good enough or sustainable?

If it’s not broken…

What are the benefits and dangers of collaborative strategy building?

What resources and tools (automated & mediated) do we have?

Traditional Approach:Collection Development & Resource Sharing

Traditional Resource Sharing

•ILL borrows what it can from other libraries & some document suppliers.

•Sometimes refer ILL problematic requests to selectors: New, Videos, etc.

Traditional Acquisition

•Most monographic purchases derived from approval plan, Choice, faculty input, etc.

•Bibliographers Selection.

Convergence @ Collection Development•ILL data (frequently requested titles with cost comparisons) analyzed by selectors.

•Selectors use ‘what’s available locally’ in consortia catalogs to determine selection appropriateness.

Traditional Approach: Resources & Tools for Collection Development & Resource Sharing

Statistical Reporting to Collection Development

•Frequently requested titles by LC using STATCAT

•Circulation, ILL, Collection Ratios by LC using STATCAT & ILS

•Requested titles by User profiles using STATCAT & ILLiad

•Regional or Hybrid Reports by LibStatCAT

Statistical Reporting to Collection Development

•Frequently requested titles by LC using STATCAT

•Circulation, ILL, Collection Ratios by LC using STATCAT & ILS

•Requested titles by User profiles using STATCAT & ILLiad

•Regional or Hybrid Reports by LibStatCAT

Benefits

•Lots of great data for cost and use analysis

•Trend analysis possible

•Cool graphs

Bad News

•ILL role in CD decision making often limited to reporting data.

•Data is reflective of past needs, influenced heavily by the citation tools and vendors.

Transitioning Approach:Collection Development & Resource Sharing

Not so Traditional Resource Sharing

•ILLs have purchasing pilots with specific budgets and service parameters

Dissertations collected for faculty and graduate requests.

Pilots for new books, reports, videos, foreign titles, and/or patents.

Articles from commercial sources on accounts, or as a response to post-serial cut sensitivities.

Not so Traditional Acquisition

•University of Virginia Purchase Express. Benchmarks; decision to buy in 24 hours with 90% requests filled within 7 days.

Scope; primarily for domestic & British imprints currently in print.

Videos – generally purchased if requested.

Convergence @ Collection Development, some at ILL & Acquisition

•Multiple resource allocations and purchasing channels, with experimental hybrids closely monitored and/or limited.

Transitioning Approach: Resources & Tools for Collection Development & Resource Sharing

Possible Resources & Models

•Book sellers; Alibris (ALBRS & IFM), Amazon, and others

•CRL

•Document Delivery: BRI, CAI, Infotrieve, etc.

•OCLC: Open Worldcat & book dealers

•Publishers

•UMI/Proquest

Other Resources/Tools

•Credit Card / Gift Card (Friends of Library, etc.)

•Group/State purchases of electronic resources

Transformed Approach:Collection Development & Resource Sharing

“InfoRequest Service” A new blending of systems & workflows: Acquisition, Collection Development, Resource Sharing, Reference, Vendors & World

InfoRequest ILL/ILS systems get smarter…

•Use automated price queries to inform decisions on mediated requests.

•Use workflow alerts and parsing that checks user needs profile, approval plan profile & use histories with evolving collection building priorities, and selector contacts and preferences.

•Manage requests for Grey Literature as opportunity to collect & for reference.

•Parse requests with an understanding of cost-benefit analysis; Distance Ed, etc.

•Manage public domain digitizing for dual purposes; ILL & digital library collection building.

•System Interoperability between Acquisition, Circulation, Digital Library, Resource Sharing and Vendors (Book, Music & Video sellers)

Convergence @ User Request & Library Collection Building Profile

Strategic handling and parsing of requests according to user and library needs, intelligently allocating appropriate financial and functional systems and resources.

Transforming Approach: Resources & Tools for Collection Development & Resource Sharing

Collection Building Strategy 1:

Smarter Systems & Automation

First the easy one

•Automated Price Comparisons & Collection Building Scope Targets

Transforming Approach: Exploring ILLiad Streamlining…To borrow or to buy…can the answer be automated?

CostCostComparisonComparison

Transforming Approach: Encourage Streamlining… Automate purchasing articles on demand

Purchase

If we have to pay copyright of $33 (this example), plus any lender fees and turn-around times…

Then why not purchase the article directly from the publisher through ILLiad or the ILLiad-CCC Gateway?

Button appears if:•Publisher-ILLiad interoperable or•Opens publisher journal website

Interoperable means…PDF downloaded into ILLiad

Delivered to WebAutomatic Patron NotificationPayment on Account or IFM

Transforming Approach: Communication about Collection Building Targets

Collection Building Strategy 2

The process matters… communication is key to a collaborative organizational development of a strategy.

•Because we are talking alignment and boundary spanning, specifically; Interlibrary Loan, Acquisition, Collection Development, Distance Education/Remote Library Services and digitizing production services, chances are the dialogue and exploration takes plenty of talking, time, and trust.

•Why not start by asking if we can create a machine readable Collection Building Profile that can target, parse or resolve just-in time acquisition, buy on demand and resource sharing services. Targets may include:User & Use Profiles

User Needs (Remote User, etc.)New Department or ProgramCrisis Management/SituationalCollection Use RatiosOthers?

Item ProfileConditionCostFormatLanguageSubject (LC#, etc.)Others?

Transforming Approach: What is User-Library Service?

User-Library Service Strategy 1

Organizational understandings of users at institution and various levels.

User analysis develops richer connections between user needs and library resources and service. How do we discuss user analysis as an organization of various functional units with overlapping roles and services?Some user analysis of interest:

•Institution & Multi-Institution User Studies

•Student Research Strategy Survey (SRSS)

•Encourage organization to look and discuss user studies:

•OCLC Environmental Scan

•Pew American Life Studies

•Others?

Institution User Study: ILL Data & Users:

What are weWhat are wefishing for?fishing for?

ILL requestsfrom

Business users@ 6 ILLiad

libraries

Prototype display for disciplinary and interdisciplinary analysis.

Disciplines by Library of Congress Call Number: RILL Data from 6 ILLiad Libraries

Prototype display for disciplinary and interdisciplinary analysis.

Transforming Approach: Service Convergence; Collaboration & Communication about User’s Requests

User-Library Service Strategy 3Connect strengths of various units as collaborative resolution

to challenges.

Grey Literature request processing provides an excellent example of the benefits to collaborative strategy in user-library service convergence.

How do we want to handle requests for unpublished works?

As a group… ILL, Reference, Collection Development, Acquisition & Digital Libraries…

• Requestor receives specialized cancellation notice that briefly explains the nature of unpublished works and provides the author’s contact information, if available.

• Subject specialist is copied on the email encouraging further consultation between the requestor and the librarian.

• Grey Literature request is tracked for selection and acquisition discussions. Should we actively collect Grey Literature requested by ILL users?

• Other ideas?Buchanan, Sherry, Rose Jackson, Cyril Oberlander

, "Can Cooperative Service Solve the Grey Literature Challenge?," OLA Quarterly, vol. 10 (2/3) Fall 2004, p. 5-9 http://www.lib.pdx.edu/services/ill/projects/grey.htm

Transforming Approach: Real Cost Benefits…Cost Benefit Analysis Strategy 1Organizational understandings of Real cost-benefits of collaborative strategiesTraditional Approach: Why change? – it works! Change is inevitable, but outcomes are negotiable.

Purchase on Demand or Just in Time Acquisition have interesting cost data:

•In 2002, Univ. of Wisconsin ILL reports purchasing books at an average cost of $36.86 and received on average in 8 calendar days for domestic imprint, 31 days for foreign. Thomas Crane Public Library ILL reports that in 2001, the average cost was $17 per title and received in 16 days. (ALA, 2002)

•Robert Holley & Kalyani Ankem’s study of the out of print book market propose that for “monographs, purchase may be a reasonable substitute for interlibrary loan.” (Holley, 2005)

Transforming Approach: Distance Education/Remote User Library Service: Purchase on DemandWhat is acceptable library service to remote users need when borrowing a book, then re-sending it to remote users?

In a sample of 36 PSU ILL Loan requests from D.E. students, we found the following:

22% (8/36) were less than $10 to purchase from a book seller and could be sent directly to the user’s home in 4-5 days.

5% (2/36) cost between $11 – 20.

25% were out of stock.

48% cost more than $20.

ARL figure for lending is $9.28 and borrowing is $17.50, and the cost of an ILL D.E. request might be estimated as the sum of both activities = $9.28 + $17.50 = $26.78

Should we purchase books for remote users and make it due at the end of the semester? (Little staff time processing requests and handling book)

Apply a note in the purchase order for return mailing address.

What do we do with the book when the student returns it? (not a strange question)

Why not buy the book?

ILL Requests & Book Market: when should an ILL by a request to purchase?

Next Steps:Add book market data

•Availability•Cost

Answer: Buy, but collect?

1. Book purchased on Demand2. Returned by user

3. ILL sends book to appropriate selector

4. Selectordecides to catalog or

not to catalog

5b. If not collected,Book Sale?

5a. Cataloging & Preparations

Transformed Approaches: Digital Library Acquisition…Collection Development & Resource Sharing

Collaborative Service Convergence with Digital Library selection & digitizing.

Why not…

•Cooperatively digitize with a shared book scanner

•ILL digitizing of public domain works – what to do?•Since about 2000… PRE-1923 requests at UVA…

2,982 copies we borrowed

16,950 lending items, 11,210 were articles we copied/scanned

635 LEO articles we copied/scanned

•Other ideas?

Cost Benefit Analysis Strategy 2Explore and take advantage of new possibilities for collaborative strategies

Collection Development & Resource Sharing

Getting to Strategic Collaboration Opportunities

Creating an active discussion

•Introduce discussion and framework of questions for planning.

•Relationship building, create venues and questions for collaborative discussions

Acquisitions – interoperable complimentary processingCollection Development – establishing collection building targetsDigital Library – interoperable complimentary processingReference – grey literature and problematic requestsILL Request System Vendors – interoperable and automated searches

Creating an action plan

•Map options as strategic opportunities & threats?

•How do we handle challenges? (D.E. library service, grey literature, etc.) For instance, if we talk about videos, do we ask why not rent blockbusters?

•What are the alternatives doing; Google Print – buy one click away; Amazon electronic short stories for $1.49, etc.

•Establish parameters, but keeping what’s possible open to service vision.

Strategic Collaboration & Service Convergence

Transforming our role and services is a discussion…

•Would collaborative strategies and service convergence really help?

•What partnerships make sense?

•What strategies make sense?

•Who is establishing the learning environment?

•Comments & suggestions…

Thank you

Cyril Oberlander, Director of Interlibrary Services,

Alderman Library, University of Virginia

cwo4n@virginia.edu

Collection Development & Resource Sharing Bibliography

ALA, Patron-Focused Services: Models of Collaborative Interlibrary Loan, Collection Development & Acquisitions: Presentations by: Suzanne Ward, Tanner

Wray, Karl E. Debus-Lopez, Megan Allen. http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaourassoc/rusasections/stars/starssections/committeesa/illcom/ILLProgram2002.ppt

Bishoff, Liz & Nancy Allen, Business Planning for Cultural Heritage Institutions, CLIR, Jan. 2004 http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub124abst.html

Great to examine planning process, models for organizational planning and characteristics of partnerships.

Evans, Philip, Bob Wolf, “Collaboration Rules,” Harvard Business Review, July-Aug. 2005, vol. 83 (7) p. 96-104. Holley, Robert, Kalyani Ankem, “The effect of the Internet on the out-of-print book market: Implications for libraries,” Library Collections, Acquisitions & Technical Services, 2005, vol. 29, p. 118-139.

Levine-Clark, Michael, “An Analysis of used-book availability on the Internet,” Library Collections, Acquisitions & Technical Services, 2004, vol. 28, p. 283-297.

Great examination of discount and availability of titles over time.

Pew Internet & American Life: http://www.pewinternet.org/

OCLC 2003 Environmental Scan: http://www.oclc.org/membership/escan/default.htm