2014 Charleston Library Conference

The University of Kansas (KU) Libraries’ reorganization, which occurred just over a year ago, began the newly created Content Development Department. Unlike the bibliographer model of the past, the new structure greatly reduced the number of librarians dedicated to the stewardship of the Libraries’ collections. The new department’s stability would be short term. With the impending retirement of three long standing and knowledgeable librarians, who made up half of the new department, a review of the responsibilities of the Content Development Department and identification of the human resources needed to meet the collection demands of a user-centered library became a high priority. In an effort to determine how the Libraries could proceed, an environmental scan of current collection development activities was completed. Through the literature and contacts with academic librarian colleagues, KU librarians identified how collecting practices and formats might develop in the future. Based on evidence gained through a survey of faculty and graduate students at KU, the librarians discovered that there is a strong sentiment, among their constituents, that library resources need to be carefully managed to support the teaching and research needs of the university. By clearly identifying their collection development responsibilities (it’s not just buying books!), KU librarians are successfully transitioning into the new organizational structure with the staffing needed to make knowledgeable collection development decisions. In this session, KU librarians will discuss their efforts and findings to make a case to continue to support deep subject expertise for collection development, particularly in the arts and humanities. In a time of budgetary woes and a shift in priorities in higher education, it has become imperative that academic libraries are prepared to make a strong case to support their collection development activities.