2013 Charleston Conference

Due to the predominance of online resources, reduced or flat budgets, and a greater need to justify services and expenditures to university administration, academic libraries must refocus their collection development efforts. Two librarians from the University of Florida (UF) will facilitate a round table of discussion with librarians, administrators, faculty, publishers and vendors, on this changing landscape and the need for libraries to develop new comprehensive collection policies that are more cost-effective yet continue to support academic instruction and research.

At UF outdated collection policies are being reviewed and overhauled with:
* SMART Collection Policies
(1) Strategic ‘Just in Time’ collection development
(2) Modify traditional selection procedures emphasizing online resources,
(3) Accentuate shared collection projects with library partners,
(4) Revise allocation of materials/resources budget,
(5) Target collection building that supports UF’s strengths

These policies will provide a launching point for discussion with the attendees: (1) ‘Just in Time’ collection development includes patron-driven acquisitions; (2) the preference for online resources is now the standard in most academic libraries; (3) sharing collections and projects with library partners and consortia is a growing trend; (4) the need to revise budgets and allocation methods is challenging and crucial; and (5) many libraries are channeling limited budgets and staff in targeting specific areas for collection building.

Take-aways for attendees will include:
- The incorporation of emerging ‘Just in Time’ principles and plans into the old school ‘Just in Case’ approach of collection development.
- The factors influencing the radical shift in collection development and the ways a library can devise collection policies that are comprehensive and cost-effective.
- Methods to reallocate library budgets to support collection building across a multitude of subject disciplines.
- Collection building strategies that target specific disciplines or collections, including those with indirect staff and operational costs (e.g. gifts).