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Faculty members select for discipline until sometime after the mid 20th century.

Disciplines become more specialized and fragmented, librarians become the selectors.

Today, selection of library materials requires

a thorough knowledge of the information needs of library users.

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1. Changing needs of users over time.

2. Collection as a reflection of users.

3. User access to the collections.

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Who are the users and how do they use the library collections?

How have user needs change over time?

How can collections reflect users?

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Undergraduate students

Graduate students

Faculty

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Humanities researchers rely on books more than on journal articles for their research needs.

Social sciences use periodicals more than humanities, but also use monographs and rely heavily on bibliographies and footnotes in journals.

Science and Engineering faculties don’t like to use library. the need for current information makes some scientists

and engineers receptive to electronic  databases.

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Users’ requests for library materials and services have increased due to large quantity of databases. Users demand has intensified competition for budgetary resources among collections.

“The parameters of user needs are infinitely more complex now-to buy or not to buy, to buy in paper or electronic, to locate onsite or offsite.” (Stoller, 6)

The value of “collections” is now balanced by the value of “services”. (Bailey, 2)

People value what they are able to get as much as what the library has.

High value placed on access->desire for self-sufficiency.

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To better meet the needs of students, to better reflect changing global and local populations, and to ensure a more welcome learning institution, libraries should recognize the different behaviors, attitudes, and needs of their user populations by reflecting them in its resources.

~Schomberg and Grace, 126

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Minnesota State University Memorial Library collection expansion of Somalian resources.

Information Commons Indiana University Bloomington

http://ic.indiana.edu/index.html Champlain College (Burlington, Vermont)http://cosmos.champlain.edu/library/pages/about_library/about_the_mic.html

Redesign of ScienceDirect database.

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Evaluation of library resources at the Minnesota State University Memorial Library compared percentages of cultural materials listed in the catalog with percentages of students from those cultures. Results-Library offers very few materials covering non-

European cultures, and even fewer materials in languages other than English.

Focusing on Somalia would make an useful reflection of the needs of Minnesota residents.

.18% of Minnesotans from Somalia .008% currently in the collection on Somalia

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Helps design, select, and organize resources and space for the most effective patron centered public services.

Collections now an integral part of patron services->Can the users find and easily access information

Helps understand who our learners and researches are, and what their learning styles and habits are.

importance of rethinking services on the changing needs of the users.

Aspect of need important for collections. Place of need-service at home, on campus? Level of need-undergrad, grad? format of need-book, ebook, journal

New Initiatives for “collections”. Open Access-important for all users

Example-Digital Research Library

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Research for redesign conducted in anticipation of the release of new, user-driven features. Redesign based on extensive user feedback and

testing. New features to ScienceDirect include Easier

Navigation, QuickLinks, Personalization, Recent Actions, and Attractability resulting in Approachability.

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1. Atkins, Stephen E. and Patricia F. Stenstrom. “Collection Development in transition.” In People Come First: User-Centered Academic Library Service, edited by Dale S. Montanelli and Patricia F. Stenstrom, 145-165. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 1999.

2. ARL. “Task Force on New Ways of Measuring Collections, 2005.”

3. Bailey, D. Russell. “Information Commons Services for Learners and Researchers: Evolution in Patrons Needs, Digital Resources and Scholarly Publishing, 2006.” http://www.inforum.cz/pdf/2005/Bailey Russell.pdf

4. The Reeves Agency. “ScienceDirect redesign: The User Experience.” Science Direct (June 2006): 3-14.

5. Schomberg, Jessica and Michelle Grace. “Expanding a Collection to Reflect Diverse User Populations.” Collection Building 24, no. 4 (2005): 124-126.

6. Stoller, Michael. “Building Library Collections: It’s Still about the User.” Collection Building 24, no. 1 (2005): 4-8.

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