ASERL Documents Disposition Database And Gap Analysis Tool

Judith C. Russell

Print Archiving Network (PAN) MeetingSeattle, January 25, 2013

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BackgroundThe Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) has a major initiative to improve the management of Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) collections in the Southeast (http://tinyurl.com/aala4lv)

The initiative began with and IMLS grant to establish a model Collaborative Federal Depository Program

• http://tinyurl.com/aw5lpjr

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Background, continued

Initial focus on improved management of print collections to improve public access and develop at least two distributed comprehensive print collections in the regionSupport for and participation in initiatives to create a comprehensive digital collection in the public domain included

• “…the best means of providing broad public access to these collections is through online access to digital and digitized copies”

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Background, continued

The Implementation Plan covers 12 States and 3 Territories: Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

• 13 of the 47 Regional Depository Libraries (27.7 7%) • 304 of the 1,201 Selective Depository Libraries (26.3%)

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Objectives“Improved management of the tangible collections [through] consensus on policies and best practices for disposition of federal documents that will simplify and streamline the process and address collection management throughout the Southeast Region, whileremaining in compliance with 44 U.S.C. Chapter 19, the statute governing the FDLP.”

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Centers of ExcellencePrimary methodology for managing print collections is through Centers of Excellence (CoE)

• Commit to permanent retention of documents from specific agencies or on specific topics

• Commit to active retrospective collecting, cataloging and service

• Digitization optional but encouraged• List of CoE: http://tinyurl.com/bbwry9g• Best Practices LibGuide: http://tinyurl.com/bkalte2

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Essential ToolsOnce common disposition rules were accepted, UF offered to develop two tools to facilitate implementation

• The ASERL Documents Disposition Database • The ASERL Center of Excellence (COE) Database [Gap

Analysis Tool]

Both are open source software, available for modification and use by others

• GPO is evaluating the Disposition Database for national use

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Disposition DatabaseLaunched in December 2010 to support “Offers” (titles for discard):

• 253,735 offers with 16,581 currently active• 8,695 individual documents and 915 documents from

multi-item sets claimed• 7,811 offers canceled (withdrawn)• 220,651 offers expired (after 45 days) allowing discard

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CoE DatabaseBegan with simple tool developed by ASERL under the IMLS grantUF tool launched in June 2012 to support comparison of print holdings and identify gapsEnhanced in January 2013 to support comparison of print holdings with available digital copiesDetailed LibGuide available at:

• http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/ASERL-COEDB

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CoE Database, continued

Initial Purpose to compare print holdings at two more libraries to help Centers of Excellence (CoE) identify items held (cataloged) by other libraries that are NOT included in their own cataloged holdings

• Generate lists of missing items for import into the Needs List in the ASERL Documents Disposition Database

• Facilitate inventory of local holdings and use of existing cataloging records (copy cataloging)

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CoE Database, continued

New Purpose: Use print holdings at multiple libraries to determine (to the extent possible) what constitutes a “comprehensive” collection of documents

• Compares cataloging records, so uncataloged documents will not be identified

Then, compare print holdings with trusted digital public domain copies to identify documents that need to be digitized

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CoE Database, continued

Coming soon, if the test using records for State Department documents is successful, a modification to the ASERL Documents Disposition Database to match Offers (discards) after the 45 day review period with Needs for print copies to be digitized• Discarded documents that have not yet been

digitized can be collected and queued for digitization

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CoE Database, continued

Participation in the State Department project is not limited to libraries in the Southeast• All interested libraries will be invited to submit cataloging data

from their FDLP collections  • ASERL and HathiTrust are drafting specifications for the data

loading for release in February• PAN members will be notified when the specifications are

completed

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Additional Information:– Judy Russell, University of Florida

jcrussell@ufl.edu; 352-273-2505 – John Burger, ASERL Executive Director

jburger@ASERL.org; (919) 681-2531 –Website: http://aserl.org/

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