Search results

This paper aims to analyze and understand the changes in the academic library collection landscape since the Janus Conference in 2005.

This paper is reflective, reviewing the outcomes of the Janus Conference and providing a careful analysis of the library collection landscape that has evolved since.

Dramatic changes in both library funding and the organization of the scholarly environment have required significant changes to the way one thinks of the library collections and their relation with one another.

This paper provides a new perspective on the nature of the research librarian and his/her relationship to the building of library collections and the provision of access to them.

In recent years there has been increased recognition of the need for both descriptive and analytical data about library collections. Coordinated efforts like the RLG Conspectus and ARL's National Collection Inventory Project are attempts to identify collecting strengths among the nation's research libraries. In many cases, however, participation in these programs has raised the consciousness of collection officers to the realization that they know less than they would care to admit about the holdings of their own libraries. What institutions report are often little more than a series of educated guesses which has led to the need for verification studies as a check on the validity of the data being gathered. In other areas, too, the need for more and better data has become apparent as managers within and outside the library are less willing to accept intuitive and impressionistic responses to their questions about acquisition budgets and priorities for preservation, storage, or retrospective conversion. Thus, there is increasing discussion in the literature of the need for, and approaches to, collection assessment and analysis.

To report on the 25th Anniversary Charleston Conference held in November 2005.

Reviews the main points from the conference.

Finds that the conference contains much practical advice from publishers and suppliers. Topics covered included Google and copyright, ProQuest and web searching, and journal impact factors. The subject of shared collections was a common theme.

A report of value to information management professionals.