Course number 21:240; 2 semester hours; 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., each Monday and Tuesday; first class Tuesday, June 5; final class Tuesday, July 24; Room 3083 LIB

Course text:

Evans, G. Edward and Zarnosky, Margaret R. Developing library and information center collections. 4th ed., Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000.  595 p.  Paperback.   Approx. $49.50. Note: use 4th edition, 2000 only; 3rd. edition, 1995 is not acceptable.

SCHEDULE

GENERAL READINGS

Tues., June 5: Introduction.  Class notes.

Mon., June 11:  Read Evans ch. 1: Information age, information society.   Class notes.   Additional readings.  Read Evans ch. 2: Information needs assessment. Class notes.   Additional readings.

Tues., June 12: Read Evans ch. 3 Collection development policies.   Class notes.     Additional readings.

Mon., June 18: Read Evans ch. 4: Selection process in practice.    Class notes.        Additional readings.

Tues., June 19: Read Evans ch. 5: Producers of information materials.    Class notes.      Additional readings.

Mon., June 25: Read Evans ch. 6: Print-based serials.  Guest speaker: Prof. Carl Orgren.    Additional readings.

Tues., June 26: Read Evans ch. 9: Government information.  Guest speaker: Prof. Carl Orgren.   Additional readings.   Hand in: Collection Development Policy exercise.

Mon., July 2: Read Evans ch. 7: Electronic serials.   Class notes.  Additional readings.    Read Evans ch. 8: Other electronic materials.   Class notes.    Additional readings.

Tues., July 3: 11:00 - 11:45:  Visit to Government Publications.  11:45 - 12:30: Read Evans ch. 11: Acquisitions. Class Notes.  Additional readings.

Mon., July 9: 11:00 - 11:45: Visit to Acquisitions.  11:45 - 12:30:  Read Evans ch. 10: Audiovisual materials.   Class notes.    Additional readings.

Tues., July 10: Read Evans ch. 12: Distributors and vendors.    Class notes.     Additional readings.  Read Evans ch. 13: Fiscal management.   Class notes.    Additional readings.
Hand in: Collection Development Portfolio, Monographs.

Mon., July 16: Read Evans ch. 14: Deselection.  Class notes.  Additional readings.  Read Evans ch. 15: Evaluation.    Class notes.    Additional readings.  Read Evans ch. 17: Protecting the collection.   Class notes. Additional readings.

Tues., July 17: 11:00 - 11:45: Visit to Preservation Dept.  11:45 - 12:30:  Read Evans ch. 16: Cooperative collection development.   Class notes.    Additional readings.
Hand in: Collection Development Portfolio, Serials.

Mon., July 23: Read Evans ch. 18: Legal issues.    Class notes.    Additional readings.  Read Evans ch. 19: Censorship, intellectual freedom and collection development.    Class notes.     Additional readings.

Tues., July 24: (Final class): Collection development in specific types of library.     Class notes.     Additional readings.  Read Evans Epilogue: The future of collection development.   Class notes.   Additional readings. Hand in: Collection Development Portfolio, Other materials.    Important: hand in promptly; late submissions will be penalized.

FURTHER READING

PRODUCTS EXPECTED FROM STUDENTS

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY EXERCISE:

Either: Identify, compare and evaluate two collection development policies, adopted by similar libraries. The policies can be identified in printed or Internet sources or obtained directly from relevant libraries; comparisons can be made between policies obtained from different sources. Hand with printouts or xeroxes of the policies compared.

Or: Define a collection development policy for a specific type of library. Cite the sources used; hand in xerox copies of sources which may be difficult to access. Be careful to rewrite and revise any outside text incorporated into your policy and add your personal contributions; this is especially important if you base your work on text downloaded from Internet.

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO

First define a basic theme for your portfolio.
This will normally involve selecting a specific type of library,
and a theme within that library;
e.g. academic libraries - Russian studies;
public libraries - provision for Hispanic communities;
historical libraries - medieval studies.

For libraries serving very specific populations,
such as children's or art libraries,
the library type and the theme may be very similar.

The student is at liberty to select the topic and type of library;
topics should be neither so narrow as to make selection impossible,
nor so wide as to overburden the student with a large amount of information.

Students are expected to demonstrate familiarity with standard sources cited in class
(LJ, SLJ, Choice, Ulrichs etc.). Use a balance of print and electronic resources.

Note that students are not required to actually select materials,
but only to demonstrate critical awareness of relevant selection tools.

Prepare a three part portfolio:

Monographs

Serials (print and electronic)

Other materials: Government publications, Reports, Gray literature, Maps, CD-ROMs, Audiovisual materials, e-books etc.

Note that a topic which is appropriate for monographs may require a wider approach for serials and other materials; e.g. it could be appropriate to focus Civil War History for the monographic section of the portfolio, then broaden the topic to American History when discussing serials and audiovisual materials.

In each part of the portfolio identify, discuss and evaluate:

Information sources for the area / topic;
Specific problems of collection development for the area / topic.

GRADING SCHEME

30% for the Collection Development Policy
20% for each of the three parts of the Collection Development Portfolio
10% for participation