Next-Level Collection Analysis: Innovative Tools and Methods for Libraries

This title will be available Winter 2026. You may place an order and the item will be shipped when it becomes available.

ALA Member
$53.99
Price
$59.99
Item Number
979-8-89255-257-8
Published
2026
Publisher
ALA Editions
Core
Pages
260
Width
6"
Height
9"
Format
Softcover

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  • Description
  • Table of Contents
  • About the authors

Learn from the work being done in a variety of settings, from academic and public libraries to school libraries, archives, and special collections, to inform your own next-level collection analysis.

What are we getting? Why are we getting it? What do our users need? Deep collections analysis starts with asking the right questions. It also requires adaptability, which is why it can be so enlightening to hear from practitioners outside your usual sphere: their insights can help you become more well-rounded by revealing unexpected approaches and methods. Think of this book as an opportunity to grab a coffee with twenty groups of colleagues, all of whom share the practical steps they’re taking to review various types of collections. Regardless of your library’s type, size, or location you’ll gain valuable wisdom to apply in your own context, through chapters that explore topics like

  • a historical overview of collection development, discussing its origins, key milestones, and the emerging trends that continue to shape how libraries build and manage their collections to serve diverse communities;
  • allocation formulas, including relative use (RU), and other data-informed techniques for making collection development decisions;
  • cleaning up data to improve discovery and circulation;
  • systematic weeding, diversity auditing, and other de-selection topics;
  • an evaluation of emerging technologies in general collection assessment, open access support, and bibliometrics;
  • practical strategies for working smarter, not harder, when analyzing school library collections;
  • leveraging a variety of data points—such as shelf allocation, materials’ physical size, circulation, percentage of items out, collection efficiency—for collection analysis and maintenance;
  • how a college library's collection review project resulted in a more focused, usable, and useful collection for students, faculty, staff, and community members;
  • proactive methods for forecasting collection needs by utilizing third-party university labor market information, institutional program completion data, and OCLC’s Choreo Insights;
  • data visualization as a tool for evaluating archival collection scopes; and
  • using the KNIME Analytics Platform, a free and open-source environment, for overlap analysis in shared and collaborative collections.

Introduction, by Sara Duff

Chapter 1: The History of Collection Development
Mary Gilbertson

Chapter 2: Investing in Your Collection
Lynn E. Gates

Chapter 3: Clean Data for Clear Results
Lisa Solko

Chapter 4: Using Relative Use
Lisa Solko

Chapter 5: Data-Informed Decisions: Improving School Library Collections
Mona Kerby

Chapter 6: It’s Not Glass, You Won’t Break It; or, Better Living in Library Life: Weeding and Wrestling the DDC into the Twenty-First Century
Eric Meisberger

Chapter 7: Systematic Weeding of a Subject at the Regional Level
Melanie C. Duncan

Chapter 8: What’s in Your Collections Assessment Toolbox? Resources and Strategies for Analysis at the McMaster University Libraries
Casey Hoeve, Janice Adlington, Andrea McLellan, Wei Zhang, Cameron Wheaton, and Paige Roman

Chapter 9: Collection Analysis for the Dynamic School Library: Big Picture Principles and Practical Strategies from the Field
Sheena Kelly

Chapter 10: Leveraging Your Data for Collection Analysis and Maintenance
Jessica Gagnon, Shawn Grant, and Elizabeth López

Chapter 11: Collections with Purpose: Integrating Academic Value into Resource Evaluation
Ashley Cole, Laura Edwards, Jens Arneson, Erica Barnett, and Ali Norvell

Chapter 12: Layering Library Collections Data to Assist with De-Selection Decisions: A Case Study
Mary C. Rudman

Chapter 13: Forecasting Collection Development Using Program and Labor Market Data
Mary C. Aagard, Heather Grevatt, and Marlena Hooyboer

Chapter 14: The Value of Transformative Agreements: Understanding the Nuances of Open-Access Publishing Reports
Katherine Brooks, Federica Alesiani, Jessica Edwards, and Esther Jackson

Chapter 15: Exploring Archival Collection Scopes with Data Visualization
Anne Bahde

Chapter 16: The Evolution of Collection Development at the Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi Library
Mohammad Alhamad and Lisa Louis

Chapter 17: Diversity Auditing of Picture Book Collections
Cherie Yanek

Chapter 18: Developing an Extensible Collection Development Strategy from Music Collection Analysis
Albert Salatka, Jr. and Michael Standard

Chapter 19: Leveraging the Collection Analysis Tool (CAT) for Inclusive Children’s and Young Adult Collection Development
Rachael Elrod, Brittany Kester, and Krista Aronson

Chapter 20: Utilizing the KNIME Analytics Platform for Effective Overlap Analysis in Shared Print and Collaborative Collections
Marlene van Ballegooie

Glossary
Bibliography
About the Authors

Lauren E. DeVoe

Lauren E. DeVoe (she/her) is the director of collections and metadata Strategies for the City University of New York libraries. Lauren has spent the last eighteen years focusing on acquisitions and collections work in libraries. She is one of the instructors for the Fundamentals of Acquisitions course presented by the ALA. She is also the coeditor of the book Zines in Libraries: Selecting, Purchasing, and Processing (2022). Her areas of interest include acquisitions in academic libraries, zines, and Jacobean witchcraft in literature.

Sara Duff

Sara Duff is the director of collections strategy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the coauthor of the book Guidance for Librarians Transitioning to a New Environment (2020) and the coeditor of the book Zines in Libraries: Selecting, Purchasing, and Processing (2022). Her areas of focus are collection analysis, communicating collection value, and investigating open access initiatives.

Core

The former Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), the Library Information Technology Association (LITA), and the Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) are now Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures, a new division of ALA. Its mission is to cultivate and amplify the collective expertise of library workers in core functions through community building, advocacy, and learning.