School of Library and Information Science

Spring 2007

LSC 608 Collection Development

Instructor: Professor Rae Ellen Best
rbest@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-8101

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Principles & practices in selecting, evaluating, and managing collections in all types
of libraries and information formats. Survey of factors affecting collection building: institutional goals, user
characteristics and needs, the publishing industry, special characteristics of materials in particular subject fields,
formats, and genres. Consideration of such topics as collection development policies, resource sharing, and
digital collections. (3 credits; no prerequisites)

OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:
1. Discuss how production, marketing, and distribution practices affect availability and costs;
2. Describe means used to acquire materials, or otherwise make them available to their users.
3. Analyze user needs and develop collection policies responsive to them;
4. Discuss legal and ethical issues involved in the production, distribution, and use of materials,
including responding appropriately to attempts to restrict collection content or use.

TEXT: NONE - though readings are required for most classes.

READINGS: See the course schedule below for required readings.
The course schedule also includes many "recommendations for those interested in reading further".
These are intended for students who really want to pursue the subject further. They are not required, and
students interested in reading those not readily available on the web should look for copies in local libraries.
Students who need help with library jargon used in class and readings may find it helpful to consult Joan Reitz's
ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library & Information Science.

Students with strong interest in collection development should be familiar with AcqWeb and with such journals as
Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services, Publisher's Weekly, and Against the Grain. Other
journals of interest include The Acquisitions Librarian , Ariadne , D-Lib Magazine , First Monday,
Independent Publisher , Information Research, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication,
Journal of Electronic Publishing, Scholarly Publishing, Library Resources & Technical Services, Publishing
Research Quarterly, The Serials Librarian, and Serials Review. For examples of policies and procedures, see the
ARL SPEC Kits (recent examples of which are summarized on the ARL web site) or the ALA/ACRL CLIP Notes.

ASSIGNMENTS: 2 projects (one on reviewing , 10% of grade; one on collection evaluation, 40% of grade), and
2 essay exams (a midterm and a final, each 25% of grade). Assignment sheets will be distributed (with copies
available on the web) for projects and the library comparison, and questions for the midterm and final will be selected
from questions distributed in advance.

GRADING: A 12-point system will be used to grade exams and projects. Grades will be based on assignments and
exams as submitted or completed. No rewriting, no retaking exams, no "extra credit."Grading criteria will be given
on assignment sheets and on lists of exam questions. Points received for projects and exams will be averaged, and
grades assigned on the following basis: 12 = A, 11 = A-, 10 = B+, 9 = B, 8 = B-, 6 - 7 = C , less than 6 = F.

DUE DATES: Projects (both of them) may be handed in up to the beginning of class one week following the due date
without excuse or penalty. Projects received later than this will be penalized one point for each day of lateness.
Extensions will not be granted after the original due date, so be sure to have at least a draft ready on the due date, in
case disaster strikes later.

CLASS ATTENDANCE: Attendance has no direct effect on course grades, but class content is important. Should
you miss class, for whatever reason, it is your responsibility to get notes from classmates. The instructor is happy to
discuss what was covered, but does not guarantee completeness, nor does she keep class notes suitable for student use.

ADA ACCOMODATION: Students with disabilities requiring accomodation under federal regulations should present
a written accommodation request to the instructor by the second class meeting. It is strongly recommended that the
student contact the Office of Disability Support Services , Suite 207, Pryzbyla Center (202-319-5211;
cua-disabilityservices@cua.edu). This is the University office responsible for disability accommodation and services,
and its staff can answer questions about services and requirements regarding documentation.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Students are responsible for knowing the University's policy on "Academic Dishonesty".
Incidences of academic dishonesty, defined as "failure to observe rules of fairness in taking exams or writing papers,
plagiarism, fabrication, and cheating" will result in a grade of F (0 points) on the project or exam in question, and
will be reported to the Dean for further action (including failure in the course and/or dismissal from the program).
See the Handbook or discuss the problem with your instructor if you have questions about what is involved in such
offenses. Plagiarism, which the University defines to include

"[1] intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise;
[2] failure to attribute any of the following: quotations, paraphrases, or borrowed information from print sources
or websites;
[3] buying completed papers from other to use as one's own work",

will not be tolerated. For more on what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it, please read (carefully)
Margaret Procter's "How Not to Plagiarize".

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES

Wednesday, January 10 Introduction; Marketing Library Materials: Reviews & Reviewing

*** PROJECT I ASSIGNED ***

REQUIRED READINGS:
Choice (2005). Guidelines for Choice Reviewers
Cox, Jim. (2004) "How the Book Review System Works."

Recommendations for those interested in reading further:
Highly recommended: Howard, G. (1997). "Cultural Ecology of Book Reviewing." In Dennis, E. et al. (eds).,

Publishing Books. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books), pp. 75-91.

Highly recommended: Sager, D. et al. (1993). "Reviewing the Reviewers." Public Libraries 32:11-12, 14, 16-17.
Acqweb Directory of Book Reviews on the Web
Beckerman, Gal. "The Education of Stacy Sullivan." Columbia Journalism Review, Sept-Oct 2004.
Edelman, Hendrik & Holley, Robert P. (2002). Marketing to Libraries in the New Millenium. Lanham, MD:
Scarecrow Press.
Eisenberg, Howard. (1987). "So Many Books, So Little Space." Publishers Weekly, April 10, 1987, pp. 25-30.
Krupczak, M. (1999). "Different Books for Different Folks: Where Book Reviews Come From…." Library
Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services 23: 196-198.
Span, Paula. (2001). "Bestseller Dreams." [Plight of the midlist author] The Washington Post [Sunday] Magazine,
4 February 2001, pp. 10-15, 23-29.
Thomson, A. (1991). "How to Review a Book." Canadian Library Journal 48: 416-418.
Wilson, M & Bishop, K. (1999). "Criteria for Reviewing Children's Books." Library Resources & Technical Services
49: 3-13.

Wednesday, January 17 Publishing I: Print/Electronic Books
REQUIRED READINGS:
Bookjob.com. "About Publishing: Types of Publishing" .
Lynch, Clifford. (2001). "The Battle to Define the Future of the Book in the Digital World" First Monday, vol 6, no 6
(June 2001).

Recommendations for those interested in reading further:
Highly recommended: Kirkpatrick, David D. (2000) Report to the Authors Guild Midlist Books Study Committee
[large .pdf file]
BookCloseOuts [online bookstore specializing in remainders]
Dean, Jonathan. (2005) "Books Live Forever in POD [Print On Demand] Future." Bookseller, 6 May 2005,
pp. 22-23.
Dennis, E. et al. (eds). (1997). Publishing Books . New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Bks.
Gall, James E. (2005). "Dispelling Five Myths about E-Books" Information Technology and Libraries 24: 35-41.
Ivins, October. (2005). "The Economics of Scholarly Publishing: Through a Glass Darkly." Serials Librarian 48
(1/2): 103-112.
Loughran, T. (2001). "Book Pricing Update - Trends in Book Prices." Against the Grain, September 2001, p. 74.
Murphy, P. C. (1999). Books are Dead, Long Live Books
The Online Books Page: Book Listings [index to 25,000+ online books you can access for free]
Radway, Janice. (1997). A Feeling for Books: The Book-of-the-Month Club, Literary Taste, and Middle Class
Desire. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Schiffrin, A. (2000). The Business of Books: How International Conglomerates Took Over Publishing and
Changed the Way We Read. New York: Verso.
Sottong, S. (2001). E-Book Technology: Waiting for the 'False Pretender' . Information Technology &
Libraries, 20, June 2001, pp. 72-80.

Wed Jan 24 ********************************No Class- In lieu of class, work on Project I ***************

Wednesday, Feb 7, 2007 Publishing II: Print/Electronic Serials, "Other" Formats

*********PROJECT I DUE************

REQUIRED READINGS:
Guedon, Jean-Claude. (2001). "In Oldenburg's Long Shadow." In: Proceedings of the 138th Annual Meeting,
Association of Research Libraries, Toronto, Ontario, May 23-25, 2001.
Wikipedia. "Peer Review".
Van Orsdel, Lee C. & Born, Kathleen. (2005). "Choosing Sides - Periodical Price Survey, 2005." Library Journal,
15 April 2005.

Recommendations for those interested in reading further:
Particularly highly recommended: Links on serials costs for: Brown , U of Maryland
Particularly highly recommended: Assn of Res.Libs. (2005). Scholarly Communication: Libraries in the Marketplace.
Particularly highly recommended: Daly,C., et al. (1996). Magazine Publishing Industry. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Dennis, Scott L. (1999). "Aggravating or Aggregating? Providing Effective Access to Aggregator Databases: A
Reference / Collection Development Librarian's Perspective." Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 28(4): 15-30.
Developing Nations Initiative (2005). [publishers offering libraries and/or researchers in developing nations free or
inexpensive access to their publications].
Frey, Thomas (2005). The Future of Libraries: Beginning the Great Transformation. Louisville, CO: DaVinci Institute.
Hannad, Stevan. (1998). The Invisible Hand of Peer Review. Nature "Web Matters"
Johns Hopkins University. Scholarly Communications Group. Publishing Models.
Humboldt State Univ Library. Evaluating Web Resources
Jake [index indicating where journals are indexed--including databases]
JAS: Journal Abbreviation Sources [subject area guides to abbreviations used for periodical titles]
Jeon-Slaughter, HaeKyung et al. (2005). "Economics of Scientific and Medical Journals: Where Do Scholars Stand?"
First Monday, volume 10, number 3 (March 2005)
LaFollette, Marcel C. (1992). "Scientific Publishing: Organization and Economics", pp. 68-90 in her: Stealing into
Print. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Luther, Judy. (2001). White Paper on Electronic Journal Usage Statistics . Journal of Electronic Publishing,
6 (3), March 2001.
Stevens-Rayburn, S. & Bouton, E. (1999). If It's Not on the Web, It Doesn't Exist at All
Weller, Ann C. (2001). Editorial Peer Review: Its Strengths and Weaknesses. Medford, NJ: Information Today.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Copyright & Licensing
REQUIRED READINGS:
Brennan, Patricia, et. al. (2002). Licensing Electronic Resources. Washington, DC: Assn of Research Libraries.
Harper, Georgia K. (2001). Copyright Endurance and Change Journal of Electronic Publishing, 7 (1),
August 2001.

For current library-related issues, see: American Library Association. Washington Office. Copyright.
American Library Association. Washington Office. Licensing.

Recommendations for those interested in reading further:
Particularly highly recommended: Cornell University. Copyright Information Center.
Particularly highly recommended: University of Texas. Copyright Crash Course. Licensing Resources.
Particularly highly recommended: Yale University Libraries. LibLicense: Licensing Digital Information
Amer Assn of Law Libs. (2001). AALL Guidelines on the Fair Use of Copyrighted Works by Law Libraries.
Amer Assn of Law Libs, ALA, etc. (1997). Principles for Licensing Electronic Works.
ARL Access & Tech Prog. (2003). Applying Fair Use in the Development of Electronic Reserves Systems .
Bell, S.J. (2001). The New Digital Divide: Dissecting Aggregator Exclusivity Deals . D-Lib Magazine,
July/August 2001.
Biegel, Stuart. (2001). Beyond Our Control?: Confronting the Limits of our Legal System in the Age of
Cyberspace [regulation of the Internet] Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Burningham, Bradd. (2000). "Copyright Permissions: A Pilot Project to Determine Costs, Procedures, and Staffing
Requirements." Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Information Supply 11(2): 95-111.
Coyle, Karen. (2003). The Technology of Rights: Digital Rights Management .
Downes, Daniel M. (2006). "The New Media Economy: Intellectual Property and Cultural Insurrection."
Journal of Electronic Publishing, Winter 2006.
Gasaway, Lolly. (2003). When Works Pass Into the Public Domain [i.e., when copyright on works expires].
Harper, Georgia (2001). Copyright Law in the Electronic Environment.
Lessig, Lawrence. (2001). The Future of Ideas: Fate of the Commons in a Connected World. New York: Random.
Minow, Mary. LibraryLaw.com
National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works.(CONTU). Final Report.
Stallman, Richard. (1997). " The Right to Read " Communications of the ACM 40 (no.2, Feb 1997).
Stanford Univ Libraries. Copyright & Fair Use
Strauch, K. (2000). "Copyright Clearance Center: ATG Interviews…" Against the Grain, June 2000, pp.64, 66.
University of California. Libraries. (2006). Principles for Acquiring and Licensing Information in Digital Form.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007 Distribution & Acquisitions I (Monographs, Approval Plans, Standing Orders)

REQUIRED READINGS:
ALA. ALCTS. Acquisitions Section. Statement on Principles and Standards of Acquisitions Practices
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records. (2003). Acquisitions.
Flood, Susan, Ed. (1998). Evolution and Status of Approval Plans . (SPEC Kit 221). Washington, DC:
Association of Research Libraries.

Recommendations for those interested in reading further:
Particularly highly recommended: University of California, Santa Barbara. University Libraries. Task Force for
Orientation of New Collection Mngrs. (2004). Yankee & Gobi [approval and blanket order plans]: Questions
and Answers.
Association of Research Libraries. (1999) SPEC Kit 241. The Gifts and Exchange Function in ARL Libraries.
Better Business Bureau. Phony Invoice Schemes
Boissonnas, Christian M. (1987). "The Cost Is More Than That Elegant Dinner: Your Ethics Are at Steak." Library
Acquisitions: Practice & Theory 145: 145-152.
Brogan, Martha. (2002) Core Library Materials' Price Indexes and Surveys.
Cornell University Libraries. Technical Services. "Hot New Tool [for selection/acquisitions]?

ITSO CUL

"
Backstory 1 (1), Spring 2004.
Eaglen, A. (2000). Buying Books: A How-to-do-it Manual, 2d ed. New York: Neal-Schuman.
Fischer, Ruth & Lugg, Rick. (2005). The Acquistions Tool Blt - Acquistions' Next Wave. Library Journal
(netConnect), July 15, 2005.
Fowler, D. C. et al. (2003). "Monographs Acquisitions Time and Cost Studies: The Next Generation." Library
Resources & Technical Services 47: 109-124.
Jud, Brian (1997). Information about ISBNs.
Kertesz, Christopher J. (2001). "The Unwanted Gift: When Saying 'No Thanks' Isn't Enough." American Libraries,
March 2001, pp. 34-36.
Lam, Helen. (2004). "Library Acquisitions Management: Methods to Enhance Vendor Assessment and Library
Performance." Library Administration & Management, Summer 2004, pp.146-154.
Lee, L. K. (1998). "Five Levels of Vendor-Assisted Collection Development." Acquisitions Librarian 20: 41-51.
Nagel, Lawrence. (2002). "What Color is Your Hat? Ethics in Library-Vendor Relationships." Against the Grain,
February 2002, pp. 69-71.
Orkiszewski, Paul. (2005) "A Comparative Study of Amazon.com as a Library Book and Media Vendor." Library
Resources & Technical Services 49: 204-209.
Publishers' Page of Shame [reports of new books that fall apart almost immediately upon arrival]
Sennyey, P. (1997). "Assessing Blanket Order Effectiveness: A Neglected Task…." Library Acquisitions: Practice
& Theory 21: 445-54.
Smith, Scott A. (1999). "The Cost of Service: Understanding the Business of Vendors", pp. 59-74 in: K. A. Schmidt
(ed.), Understanding the Business of Library Acquisitions. Chicago: ALA.
University of California - San Diego. TPOT: Technical Processing Online Tools
Univ of Washington Libs. Acquistions [Departmental] Web Sites [many describe services or include request forms]
Wilkinson, Frances C. & Thorson, Connie. (1998). The RFP Process: Effective Management of the Acquisition
of Library Materials. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Worley, G. (2000). "Squeezing the Most Out of the Approval Plan Budget." Against the Grain, June 2000, pp. 16 ffl.

Wednesday February 28 *****************NO CLASS - SPRING BREAK***************************

Wednesday, March 7, 2007 Distribution & Acquisitions II (Serials, Electronic Resources)

*** MIDTERM QUESTIONS DISTRIBUTED IN CLASS ***

REQUIRED READINGS:

Association of Subscription Agents & Intermediaries. (2002). The Work of Subscription Agents
Brown, Ladd & Cox, Molly Brennan. (2001). "Managing Electronic Resources in Technical Services."
Virginia Libraries, Winter 2001.
Grahame, Vicki & McAdam, Tim. (2004). Managing the Licensing of Electronic Products. ARL SPEC Kit 282
[.pdf file]
Montgomery, Carol H. (2000). Measuring the Impact of an Electronic Journal Collection on Library Costs .
D-Lib Magazine, October 2000 (vol. 6 no. 10).

Recommendations for those interested in reading further:
Particularly highly recommended: Maxwell, Kim et al. The Art of Claiming.
ALA/ALCTS. Serials Section. Acquisitions Committee. (1997). Guide to Performance Evaluation of Serials
Vendors. Chicago: ALA.
ALA/ALCTS. Serials Section. Acquisitions Committee. (2005). Serials Acquisitions Glossary
ALA/ALCTS. Serials Section. Worst Serial Title Change of the Year Committee. [Awards]
Anderson, Rick & Zink, S. (2003). "Implementing the Unthinkable: The Demise of the Periodical Check-In...."
Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services 27: 61-71.
Bluh, Pamela. (2001). Managing Electronic Serials. Chicago: ALA.
Connaway, L.S. & Lawrence, S.R. (2003). Comparing...Resource Allocations for the Paper and Digital Library.
D-Lib Magazine, December 2003.
Guenther, Kim. (2000). Making Smart Licensing Decisions. Computers in Libraries, June 2000, pp. 58-60.
Harris, Lesley Ellen. (2002). Licensing Digital Content: A Practical Guide for Librarians. Chicago: ALA.
Jewell, Timothy D. (2001). Selection and Presentation of Commercially Available Electronic Resources.
DLF/CLIR, July 2001.
Jewell, Timothy D., et al. (2004). Electronic Resource Management: Report.... Washington, DC: Digital
Library Federation.
Jones, Ed. (2004). The Exchange of Serials Subscription Information - NISO White Paper
Turner, Rollo. (2001). Criteria for Selecting a Subscription Agent . [Preprint of paper published in Serials
Vol 14 (1), March 2001]

Wednesday, March 14, 2007 *******MIDTERM**********

Wednesday, March 21, 2007 Selecting & Weeding

REQUIRED READINGS:

Keller, Michael, et al. (2003). "What Is a Library Anymore, Anyway?" First Monday, 8 (5), May 2003.
Pierce, Sydney. Some advice on weeding
University of California, Santa Barbara. University Libraries. Task Force for Orientation of New Collection
Managers. (2004). Helpful Hints for Developing Subject Expertise and Learning your Collection.

Recommendations for those interested in reading further:
Particularly highly recommended: Pearl, Nancy & Buthold, Craig. (1992). "Upgrading the 'McLibrary'."
Library Journal, 15 October 1992, pp. 37-39.
Particularly highly recommended: Rawlinson, N. (1990). "Give 'Em What They Want!" Library Journal,
15 June 1990, pp. 77-79.
Arizona Dept. of Libs. Collection Development Policies
Baker, S. L. (2002). The Responsive Public Library Collection: How to Develop and Market a Winning
Collection. 2d ed. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Besser,H. (1998). The Shape of the 21st Century Library [From: M. Wolf (1998), Information Imagineering:
Meeting at the Interface. Chicago: ALA]
Boon, Belinda. (1995). The CREW Method: Expanded Guidelines for Collection Evaluation and Weeding...
Austin, TX: Texas State Library & Archives Commission
Ferguson, A. W. (1994). "Collection Development Politics." In: P. Johnson & B. MacEwan (eds.), Collection
Management and Development: Issues in an Electronic Era (Chicago: ALA), pp. 29-41.
Foster, Janet. (2000). "Collection Development: From Text to Techology." [Electronic aids to collection
development in public libraries] Computers in Libraries, June 2000, pp. 34-39.
Internat'l Coalition of Library Consortia.(1998). Guidelines for...Measures of Usage of Web-Based...Resources
Klopfer, K. (2000). Weed It!
Metz, Paul & Cosgriff, John. (2000). "Building a Comprehensive Serials Decision Database at Virginia Tech."
College & Research Libraries 61: 324-334.
Rutledge, J. & Swindler, L.(1987). "Selection Decision." College & Research Libraries 48:123-131.
Univ of California, Santa Barbara. Univ. Libraries. Task Force for Orientation of New Collection Managers. (2004).
Collection Manager's Manual.
Univ of Maryland Libraries. Guidelines for ... Electronic Resources.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007 Evaluating Collections & Preservation