Collection management in the electronic environment

S.P. Singh

Introduction
Change is the law of nature and, as is very apparent in the present library culture, libraries are not exempted from change. This paper is an account of rapid technological developments which are affecting almost every activity in the library. A few decades back, when Lancaster talked about the paperless society, the very idea sounded whimsical. However, we took a step toward a paperless society when most of the larger libraries, particularly special libraries, began allocating separate funds for developing electronic collections. Gone is the era in which housing a large collection that spanned linear miles was a matter of great pride for a library. At that time, such libraries were able to meet most of their users requirements with the resources they owned. But today, in an electronic environment, physical location of information is becoming less important as long as the information is accessible. The very concept of ownership has been left behind, as the emphasis is shifting from building strong local collections for long-term use to accessing for current use electronic materials made available by providers anywhere in the world. Currently, Economic forces and technological advances have combined together to create a new environment, where access to collective scholarly resources that no library could ever afford, supersedes the historic quest for the great comprehensive collection (Harloe and Budd, 1994).

The author
S.P. Singh is a Reader in the Department of Library and Information Science, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.

Keywords
Collections management, Libraries, Digital libraries, Information services

Abstract
Describes briey the impact of Information Technology on collection management in libraries and also on the librarians role. Discusses the factors affecting collection management in libraries and emphasizes the need for change in collection management policy. Provides information about the availability of various electronic formats such as online sources, CD-ROMs, Internet sources and Web sites along with criteria to evaluate them. Discusses the usefulness of subject gateways and compares pricing structures of different e-sources.

Electronic access
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0888-045X.htm

Development vs management
Collection development and collection management are terms that have been used almost synonymously, although they differ. Collection development is the selection and acquisition of library materials, considering users current needs and future requirements. But collection management is much more than collection building alone. It involves managing the use of the collection, its storage, its organization and making it accessible to users. The paradigm of librarianship is clearly changing and the librarians role is diversifying. Librarians at present are more concerned with collection management than collection development. They are acting increasingly as interpreters of information, rather than as selectors. They are required to become knowledge managers rather than collection managers in order to manage the intersection of the print and the electronic information systems by applying the skills of collection planning, selection, analysis and cooperation (Branin, 1994). Though

The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances Volume 17 Number 2 2004 pp. 5560 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited ISSN 0888-045X DOI 10.1108/08880450410536071

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substituting knowledge for collections has moved the focus away from the development of local print collections, the librarian is still responsible for surveying the entire universe of information resources (now both in print and e-form) and then selecting, organizing and preserving the resources constituting the record of knowledge (Branin, 1994).

Factors affecting collection management

Currently, the process of collection management has become very challenging and complex. Factors like inter- and intra-disciplinary research, diversied and changing needs of users, multiplicity of document formats due to technological developments and budgetary constraints have made the task difcult. Basic collection management activities include analysis of user need; inter- and intra-library communication; policy development; budgeting and allocation of resources; contract negotiations; macro-evaluation of collections; micro-evaluation for selection, relegation, preservation or withdrawal of stock; and system evaluation (Friend, 2000). This set of activities will continue to evolve as new information and communication products and services increase the range of possibilities for communicating information. Glenda A. Thornton, Director of the Cleveland State University Library, has written about the impact of electronic resources on collection development, subject selectors and consortia. She foresees increased collection of electronic resources and predicts that consortia will become even more important because electronic resources, unlike traditional ones, can easily be shared (Nisonger, 2000). She adds that the role of selectors will change drastically due to reduced local funds under their control and to the fact that electronic resources selection tends to be a group activity rather than an individual activity. Branin (1998) notes that the primary challenges of the last 10 years have been a weak library economy, a new digital information system and pervasive change. He states that during this period economic downsizing and the revolution in digital information technology have changed libraries such that we have two information systems to manage one is print and the other electronic.

Policy is formulated with an organizations mission statement and strategic plan in mind. Collection management policy should be linked very closely to the general and specic programs of the organization and should be informed by the information needs of the user population. Good policy can ensure consistency of approach among staff and serve as a planning tool for managers. It should establish priorities for both policy makers and policy executors. Libraries have entered the electronic era and need to devise a global access policy for information. However, an electronic access policy must have a corollary archiving policy to assure the preservation of information and permanent access to future information seekers.

Electronic formats and their evaluation

There has been great diversication in the range of electronic formats available due to the emergence of new technologies. CD-ROMs, e-journals, e-books and the World Wide Web are relatively the recent developments. Practically speaking, budget cuts and rising costs of materials have made electronic resources and networking appealing to librarians and they have begun relying more on online systems, electronic databases and commercial vendors. Electronic advancements are happening so quickly that determining which format to buy, which tool is the most cost-effective to use, and which format will be the most cost-effective in the future can be a daunting task. Decisions depend upon each formats features and merits. The following are brief descriptions of these electronic services/sources and criteria for their evaluation.

Online search services

The rst form of electronic information tool was the online search service provided by vendors such as Dialog, SDC, and BRS which came to market in the 1960s. Under this facility, databases are mounted on a vendors computer system and searching is offered to individual users or libraries for a fee. Users search the remotely located host computer system through interactive communication using computers and communication channels. Online searching was initially very expensive, but is has evolved to become cost-effective and user-friendly. As a result, end-users are able to search online databases with very little help. Because of the exhaustiveness of the information

Collection management policy and the need for change

The word policy means a set of guidelines designed and developed for a specic purpose.

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available through them, online search services have become very popular. Some well-known services are DialogWeb, OCLC FirstSearch, STN Easy, Ovid online and LexisNexis. Criteria for selection According to Forrester and Rowlands (1998) and Rowley (1998), the following important issues should be considered when selecting an online search service: . number of databases offered, . search and retrieval facilities, . search interfaces (simple and advanced user interface), . database structure and record formats, . cost, . time required to develop searching facility, . cross database searching facility, . communication facility, . support services, and . additional facilities such as current awareness services. When accessing these services, a user needs to be familiar with the search interfaces and various search options. They should be skilled in creating search strategies and be able to rene a search strategy while they are online. Efciency is important because if the longer one is connected for longer time to the online service, the higher would be the service cost. However, the price of online searching is dropping, with some of the databases originally offered for a fee are now offered at no cost.

licensing restrictions. Chowdhury (1999), Mambretti (1998) and Rowley and Slack (1997) suggest evaluations based on: . reputation of publisher, . database content and coverage, . amount and currency of databases and frequency of updates, . technical quality, including the manual and user support, . type and appropriateness of data, . richness and/or specialty of contents, . degree of interactivity, . convenience and speed of access to the data, . useful life of the product, . user interface, . standardization, . cost, and . system requirements.

Internet resources
The Internet has been dened as a network of networks. It opened up new vistas for information seekers during the1990s. The Internet has become a wide spread, popular and commercial means of communication, accessible to millions of people and organizations. At present, a vast amount of information is made available by individuals and organizations through the Internets key information server tool, the World Wide Web. Scores of reference sources are available for no cost on the Web. Criteria for selection Davis (1997) notes that criteria for selecting Internet-based tools have evolved from those established for print sources. However, electronic resources require a more extensive set of criteria to cover the changing array of products and access methods. Pratt et al. (1996) have suggested that Internet resources should be evaluated according to: . the quality and credibility of their content, . importance of the sources covered, . comprehensiveness and completeness, . relevancy of information, . ease of use, . reliability and stability, . cost and copyright, and . hardware and software requirements.

CD-ROMs
CD-ROM technology was introduced in mid-1980s and became increasingly popular in the 1990s. This format is very useful for frequently used reference material such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories and the like. Although, the initial investment is high, CD-ROMs are costeffective since they offer unlimited access to any number of users. CD-ROMs can be used on an individual computer with a CD-ROM drive or they can be mounted on a local network to be searched by a large number of users. The demand for CD-ROM technology continues to increase, and most libraries offer information tools on CD-ROM. Criteria for selection LaGuardia and Huber (1992) suggest that librarians look for CD-ROM products that offer easy installation, reasonable pricing, good technical support and reasonable

Problems with using Internet information

Though the Internet is regarded as a boon by researchers, it is not without its problems. The Internet contains a great quantity of information that has not been veried or edited.

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Moreover, the number of Web sites is so large that no one has a complete list of Web site addresses to access them directly. As a result, one often has to use a search engine to search for relevant information, and may retrieve a large number of sites that must be sifted for useful information. Some of the commercial sites contain dangerously misleading information. In addition, because the Internet is a dynamic resource, many sites disappear without any notice or warning. Slow or delayed access is also a problem when a large number of simultaneous users are connected to the Internet.

Criteria for the selection of Web sites Chapman (2001), Singh (2003), Spiller (2000) and Sweetland (2000), offer criteria for evaluating Web sites. Their criteria have been integrated and are listed below. When evaluating Web sites, users must examine each sites: . Authority. The sponsor of the site is the main guarantee of accuracy and authoritativeness. It may be a government body, learned society or an organization in a particular subject area that is responsible for placing the information on the Web. It can be a known author whose reputation can be checked by examining their other works on the Web or by checking their credentials in biographical reverence works. E-mail addresses and phone numbers of authors/publishers can help in authenticating information and sources. . Purpose, coverage/scope. Web sites can be misleading in their stated purpose. Therefore, the purpose of a site should be carefully evaluated. Coverage/scope should be checked in terms of selection of the variety and quality of sources covered. . Accuracy. Though accuracy is not simple to determine, spot checking the accuracy of a piece of information that appears on the Web site can give an indication of the sites accuracy. It is a positive sign if the Web site lists sources for the information it offers, and an invitation for users to suggest corrections may also be a sign that the site strives for accuracy. . Accessibility. The accessibility of a Web site is a major consideration. A site may be software sensitive or browser sensitive. The number of images on a site affects the speed with which it can be accessed. Some sites require users to be registered (sometimes for a fee) so that they can access the site by entering a password. . Convenience. Convenience refers to the ease of using the site and gaining access to the relevant information. Some of the capabilities

offered by an ideal Web-based database include full record as well as proximity searching; word adjacency limits; the ability to turn on/off pluralization; an online thesaurus and in-depth subject indexing. Arrangement. The arrangement or design of the site and the ease with which users can navigate is of secondary importance to Web site content. However, poor presentation of content can be a denite handicap for a sites acceptance and use. Consistency. Each page of the Web site should follow the same rule and patterns, though this rule is quite often violated by Web page designers. Timeliness/currency. Timeliness/currency is concerned with how quickly time sensitive material is updated on the site. Currency of information is very important for subjects such as science and technology. Electronic sources are normally more up-to-date than their print counterparts, but still may not be current. The date the Web page was last updated should always be indicated. Archiving. Print materials can be preserved for a very long time, but with electronic media, a point worth consideration is whether or not information in this format can be archived. Licensing. One should know any licensing requirements and liabilities. Cost. Many sites sponsored by commercial entities are accessible by subscription or through some form of payment. Some of these Web sites offer information that is also available on CD-ROM or through online sources. Each format should be examined to determine the most cost-effective source for the information.

Subject searching on the Internet

Currently, so much literature is available on the Internet that a searcher is often required to spend time sifting retrieval for relevant information. To solve this problem, information professionals and subject experts have created subject gateways that include high quality resources on subjects. Examples of such gateways include BUBL Link (www.bubl.ac.uk/link/) which covers all academic subjects, biz/ed (www.bized.ac.uk/) having a business focus and SOSIG (www.sosig.ac.uk/) covering the social sciences. Important characteristics of subject gateways According to Bradley (1999) and Spiller (2000), subject gateways:

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.

are compiled by information professionals and subject experts who collect and organize Web information resources; include relatively small and selective quantities of high quality resources; aim at specic audience groups and use explicit evaluation criteria for selection of resources; put more emphasis on the content of an information source than its location; and include current and sometimes value-added information, but are updated much less frequently than Web search engines.

Criteria for selection between e-formats The selection process is growing more complex as materials are being produced in a variety of electronic formats. Librarians need a policy for selecting these new and dynamic information media. Spiller (2000) emphasizes some important points to evaluate when selecting among these formats. . Frequency of use. This means the frequency with which a particular database or information tool is likely to be used. The sources in less demand can be accessed either through online hosts (if available in electronic format) or through inter-library loan (if available in print format). The sources in greater demand should be purchased in CD-ROM format whenever possible as this format is more cost-effective. . Number of users. The CD-ROM format is the best option if a resource is in frequent demand by a large number of users. An additional advantage of a CD-ROM is that it may be used both as a stand alone resource, providing access to a little or moderately used database, or it may be part of a series of networked datasets accessed through a networked system. The latter is far more expensive to maintain and also needs technical support as well as periodic funding for regular system upgrades. . Searching facilities. Electronic versions that allow automated searching of a resource are likely to be preferred to print versions. This applies very clearly to bibliographical and nancial information. However, some of the high-volume CD-ROM databases, such as MEDLINE, are so large that they require an ever-increasing amount of time to search. . Tied/untied availability. Some print publications are available only to customers who purchase electronic versions of a publication. The customer must buy the electronic version to receive the print version at a small additional charge. This is true with many e-journals. This situation may change,

but until it does, librarians should think twice about paying extra for two versions of the same product (unless both are really useful), particularly when library budgets are shrinking. Archiving. The durability of e-resources and whether they can be archived for long-term use are important issues to consider. A librarian must also consider what will happen when hardware and software used to access older materials becomes obsolete. Nature of the subject area. If a library has a very narrow focus, and use is concentrated on a very small amount of literature, acquisition of materials in print or CD-ROM format may be preferred since the currency of the information is not very important. But if the librarys focus is diverse and multidisciplinary in nature, access to information via online vendors may prove to be more cost-effective.

Pricing structure of different formats

According to Bertha (1998), there are two important factors in the pricing structure of e-sources. One is access vs ownership and another is xed vs variable fee. Direct comparison of the media given in Table I is only partially valid as they vary in characteristics.

Conclusion
In todays electronic environment, collection development is becoming collection management, which is much wider in scope. The librarian must act as a knowledge manager, applying the skills of collection planning, selection, analysis and cooperation in order to manage the intersection of print and e-resources. They need to think about the availability and accessibility of multiple electronic formats in order to deliver the best information to all users in the least possible time. The Web has introduced new resources to collection managers throughout the world. Print media has its own problems, such as gaining access to gray literature which is quite difcult as it is largely unidentied, unnoticed or out-of-print quickly. Similarly, e-publications inherently have problems, the most important of which is copyright violation. However, compared to paper, e-publications are much easier to identify, order, receive and access. Moreover, with the shift in emphasis from ownership to access, most libraries are changing the way they are managing their collections and providing information services. Technological developments

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Table I Comparison of pricing structures of information on various electronic media Online (intermediary) CD-ROM Single station Low Fixed (medium) Very low Medium Limited Medium to bad Medium Free Medium to high Low to medium CD-ROM in a local network High Medium (net software) Fixed (high) High Medium Unlimited Medium to bad Medium Free High Low to medium Locally mounted database High High Fixed (very high) High Low to medium Unlimited Good Good Free High Low to medium Internet Free or variable Very low Low to medium Unlimited Variable Variable Free High Medium

System requirements Hardware Software Database fees Staff requirements System maintenance Training endusers System quality Access Currency of database Time coverage of database System use User acceptance Quality of search results
Source: Bertha (1998)

Variable Low Medium to high Limited Very good Very good Mostly charged Medium High

have made it possible to produce e-publications that can better satisfy the multidimensional information needs of users than the print sources of the past.

References
Bertha, E. (1998), Comparison of pricing structures of information on various electronic media, Aslib Proceedings, Vol. 50 No. 2, pp. 32-6. Bradley, P. (1999), The Advanced Internet Searchers Handbook, Library Association Publishing, London. Branin, J.J. (1994), Fighting back once again: from collection management to knowledge management, in Johnson, P. and MacEwan, B. (Eds), Collection Management and Development: Issues in an Electronic Era, American Library Association, Chicago, IL, pp. xi-xvii. Branin, J.J. (1998), Shifting boundaries: managing research library collections at the beginning of the twenty-rst century, Collection Management, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 1-17. Chapman, L. (2001), Managing Acquisitions in Library and Information Services, 2nd ed., Library Association Publishing, London. Chowdhury, G.G. (1999), Introduction to Modern Information Retrieval, Library Association Publishing, London. Davis, T.L. (1997), The evolution of selection activities for electronic resources, Library Trends, Vol. 45 No. 3, pp. 391-403. Forrester, W.H. and Rowlands, J.L. (1998), The Online Searchers Workbook, Library Association Publishing, London.

Friend, F.J. (2000), Policy: politics, power and people, in Gorman, G.E. (Ed.), International Yearbook of Library and Information Management 2000/2001, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, pp. 45-58. Harloe, B. and Budd, J.M. (1994), Collection development and scholarly communication in the era of electronic access, Journal of Academic Librarianship, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 83-7. LaGuardia, C.M. and Huber, C. (1992), Digital dreams: a CD-ROM users wish list, Library Journal, Vol. 117 No. 2, pp. 40-3. Mambretti, C. (1998), CD-ROM Technology: A Manual for Librarians and Educators, McFarland, NC. Nisonger, T.E. (2000), Introduction, Library Trends, Vol. 48 No. 4, pp. 639-44. Pratt, G.F., Flannery, P. and Perkins, C.L.D. (1996), Guidelines for Internet resource selection, College & Research Libraries News, Vol. 57 No. 3, pp. 134-46. Rowley, J. and Slack, F. (1997), The evaluation of interface design on CDROMs, Online & CDROM Review, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 3-13. Rowley, J.E. (1998), The Electronic Library, 4th ed., Library Association Publishing, London. Singh, S.P. (2003), Evaluation of electronic reference sources, DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Technology, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 43-7. Spiller, D. (2000), Providing Materials for Library Users, 6th ed., Library Association Publishing, London. Sweetland, J.H. (2000), Reviewing the World Wide Web theory versus reality, Library Trends, Vol. 48 No. 4, pp. 748-68.

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