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Librarians Continuing Project to Right Size Cook’s Print Collection

What is Right Sizing?

Right sizing an academic library collection is a method that involves considering the whole collection by looking at such factors as usage, discipline, consortia holdings, and e-resources availability to determine the optimal size of the physical collection. In the past, libraries collected materials on a “just in case” basis, which resulted in large, crowded print collections overflowing with little-used material. With right sizing, the same care used to add material is applied on an on-going basis to decisions about if and when materials should be removed.

Reason for Deaccessions

“The 80/20 rule”, widely cited in the literature and introduced by Richard Trueswell in 1969, shows that 20% of books account for 80% of use, and studies show that as much as 50% of the books in a library’s collection are never used. Print books now account for less than 2% of Cook Library’s total library expenditures, with the rest of the collection budget going to e-books, databases, and streaming video. As part of the University System of Maryland & Affiliated Institutions (USMAI), students, staff and faculty are not limited to books in Cook Library but may also borrow from the over 4 million print books contained in USMAI institutions. A collection that is right-sized is much more likely to be used than one that is over-crowded with unused, dated, and extraneous material. In addition, by removing unused material, the library will be able to create additional student space that is fully accessible.

Goal for the Project

The goal is not to reduce the collection by a predetermined percentage but rather to identify and remove unused and outdated materials. This will enable us to create additional student space that is fully accessible and to allow users to more easily find materials they need.

Criteria

The library has created a deaccession list for the 5th floor (A – K) containing that contains books purchased more than 7 years ago that haven’t been borrowed or used in the library in over 10 years, including in-house use; and books designated for retention* by another USMAI library. All faculty, student, and alumni publications will be retained.

*After a detailed collection analysis, EAST member libraries have agreed to retain designated print holdings in their respective collections for 15 years and make them available via interlibrary loan. EAST (Eastern Academic Scholars Trust) has 80+ member libraries, including TU & other USMAI libraries.

Process and Timeline

Beginning with the 5th floor, a deaccession list that meets the above criteria will be circulated among subject librarian liaisons. They will review the list and identify any books to keep by February 9, 2024. After this review, all 5th floor books not marked “keep” will be removed from the collection. In many cases, the deaccessioned books can go to Thrift Books, an online used books site. Librarians will review 4th floor books in Phase 2, beginning spring 2024.

More Information

For questions or more information, contact your department’s liaison librarian by the end of February 2024. You can find your liaison librarian on the Subject Librarians page

Categorised in: General

This post was written by Garczynski, Joyce V.