What is a "collections evaluation"?
In order to keep collections useful and relevant for students and faculty, libraries periodically examine materials to determine if there are books we no longer need and if there are areas where we have gaps. This is part of a continual process to maintain the health of our collections.
How will I be notified about the title lists I can review?
Your subject liaison librarian will be in contact with you. The title lists will be available on Google Drive to those logged in with their westga.edu email address.
My work is interdisciplinary. Will I be able to review titles that are outside what is traditionally considered my "discipline"?
Yes. All title lists throughout the project will be available on Google Drive. You are welcome to look at all call number ranges and make suggestions in those documents.
If this is continual, why am I just hearing about it now?
Ingram Library faculty and staff have been working on evaluating sections of the collection for years now, but may just now be getting to a section relevant to your field.
How is the evaluation being conducted?
We are conducting the evaluation in phases. Phase One is to look at items in our collection that have not been checked out in at least 15 years. Next, subject librarians will determine more detailed criteria as appropriate for that discipline. This should establish a baseline, so that we can then implement a smaller scale evaluation as a regular part of the subject librarian workflow.
Can you tell me more about Phase One?
Subject liaison librarians are getting reports of all items in a call number range that have not been checked out in at least 15 years. Some of these titles have dangerously outdated information. Some of these titles were purchased to support academic programs that no longer exist. For whatever reason, these titles are not supporting the needs of our current students, and are crowding out our ability to provide a more relevant selection of resources. After reviewing the list, subject librarians will communicate with faculty in relevant subject areas with a timeline for submitting feedback. After the review period, we will remove titles that no longer serve our user community.
What happens if in the future someone wants a book that the library removed from its collection?
When we decide to remove an item that is the last copy held in the University System of Georgia, we offer to give that item to one of the flagship university libraries, such as University of Georgia. As with other items that we do not own, you will be able to use GIL-Express and Interlibrary loan. For more information, please see our guide to Borrowing Materials from Other Libraries
Can Ingram Library digitize the books that are withdrawn?
The short answer is no. The longer answer is more complex. Materials that are candidates for removal are not unique to UWG; odds are good that some other large (Google or other) book digitization project already has the content somewhere on a server. We also simply do not have the resources (equipment or money) to undergo a massive digitization project. If you are curious about how much a digitization project costs, you can see this library digitization cost calculator.
Whom can I contact for more information?
For specifics about how the evaluation is being done for your discipline, you can contact your subject liaison librarian.