Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
11-2024
Keywords
Weeding, humanities, STEM, print books, decision support tools
Abstract
Weeding an academic library is a complex and labor-intensive process and poses challenges for designing a uniform approach that accommodates subject-specific review criteria and workflows. In 2022, subject librarians and Collection Services personnel at Western Washington University developed an ambitious and cyclical plan for reviewing the general collection of roughly 500,000 items every four years, something that had not systematically been done for decades. The Collection Management and Assessment (CMA) department was tasked with designing and facilitating the data-informed collection evaluation process. This poster explores how the CMA department collaborated with subject librarians and other Collections personnel to identify relevant data points to inform withdrawal decisions, methods for collecting and compiling data from multiple sources, and the evolution of decision support tools to respond to disciplinary needs and librarian preferences. Discussions about the relevance of different data points across disciplines and strategies for collection review between subject librarians and Collections personnel also led to increased understanding and alignment of Collection Services and subject librarian goals and priorities for the project.
Location
Library Assessment Conference 2024
Recommended Citation
Devarenne, Sidonie and Wegmann, Mary, "Designing subject-responsive decision support tools for print collection review" (2024). Western Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications. 79.
https://cedar.wwu.edu/library_facpubs/79
Type
Text
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
