Resources for college libraries what do the numbers mean

Resources for College Libraries : What do the Numbers Mean?

Sue BeidlerLycoming College

Charleston Conference November 4, 2010

Agenda� Overview of Lycoming’s Environment

� Overview of Resources for College Libraries

� What is BBAS (/Bowker’s Book Analysis System)?

� How We Use RCLWeb

� How We Use BBAS

� Discussion


Overview of Lycoming’s Environment� Lycoming College: private, 4-year, approx.1400

FTE

� Traditional Liberal Arts

� 5 Librarians, 6 support staff

� An active collaborative instruction program that teaches the responsible use of research sources, building the skills to find, evaluate, and integrate information is a key aspect of our mission.


Overview of Lycoming’s Environment� Local ILS: TLC’s Library•Solution 4.2

� Collection of approx. 155,000 cataloged volumes

� Annual monograph/standing order budget of approximately $120K

� 2,300 new cataloged volumes added annually


Overview of Resources for College Libraries

� Successor to Books for College Libraries (BCL3)

� Collaborative project between ACRL, CHOICE, and R.R. Bowker

� Available in print and as an online tool (RCLWeb)

� First released in 2006

� Online version is updated quarterly


Overview of BBAS (Bowker’s Book Analysis System)

� Electronically compares local collection to the RCL database

� Provides array of reports that can be customized� Duplicate titles

� Invalid ISBNs


Overview of BBAS (Bowker’s Book Analysis System)

� Electronically compares local collection to the RCL database

� Provides array of reports that can be customized� Duplicate titles

� Invalid ISBNs

� Statistical reports by RCL Subjects, LC Classification or

� Core titles in library

� Core titles NOT in library

� Total # of core titles

� % of core titles held


Lycoming’s Uses for RCLWeb� Evaluating gift books for inclusion in our

collection � Generally do a quick title search in RCLWeb for

possible keepers

� Are likely to keep the book if any edition is in RCL

� Sometimes will also search by author – if there are a number of titles by the author we may keep if the title is curriculum related


Lycoming’s Current Uses for RCL Book Analysis results

� Retrospective Collection Development –Photography Project� Overview of Project

� Used “Don’t have” list to work from with faculty

� Improved from 27.74% coverage in 2007 to 51.82% coverage in 2008 as a result of this project



� Weeding/De-selection decisions� Faculty from specific disciplines selected each year

� They’re set loose in the stacks with very general guidelines

� Any items they think should be withdrawn are put on a book truck

� I pull up the list of RCL titles we have in that call number range – anything on the RCL list goes back to the shelves immediately, but is marked that it is in RCL



� Assessment� Meetings with academic departments regarding the

collection � Sometimes used in preparation for the meeting – a gauge of

strength or weakness

� Sometimes used as follow-up – Mathematical Sciences –even though there was no response from the faculty

� Track changes in our holdings from year to year, by discipline



� Challenges� Analysis is always done against the current RCL

database

� Must save analyses at the time you run them

� Exported statistics cannot be manipulated


What do the numbers mean?


What can the analysis tell us?

� RCLWeb � Book Analysis System


How would/could we go about developing comparisons with similar size/type libraries?


How might we determine comparison libraries?


Contact Information

Sue BeidlerSnowden LibraryLycoming College700 College Place

Williamsport, PA 17701570-321-4084

[email protected]


Resources for college libraries what do the numbers mean

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