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Purpose – Chinese gazetteers are one of the most important primary sources for the study of history of Chinese economy, politics, culture, military, and science and technology. Since the very beginning, the Yale East Asia Library has been keen on collecting Chinese gazetteers. However, unlike its peer research libraries in the USA, the Yale East Asia Library had never compiled a catalog or written an article about its gazetteer collection. The purpose of this paper is to systematically review, for the first time, original editions of Chinese gazetteers held in the Yale East Asia Library to reveal the holdings and research value. Design/methodology/approach – The author conducted a survey of original editions of Chinese gazetteers in the Yale East Asia Library by searching the Yale online library catalog and comparing with existing catalogs of Chinese local gazetteers compiled by other research libraries in the USA. The paper focuses on the edition, coverage, rarity and variety of Yale's holdings. Findings – According to the author's findings and preliminary research, Yale holds approximately 337 original Chinese gazetteers. The majority of them is rarely found in other North American research libraries and thus has high research value. They cover almost all provinces and municipalities in China and have a great variety of types. Research limitations/implications – Although the author tried to use various search strategies to look up in the Yale online library catalog to ensure high retrieval, the results here may not be accurate. Also it is likely that a number of Chinese gazetteers are not recorded in the Yale online library catalog because of backlogs. A physical survey of Chinese gazetteer holdings at Yale and more research need to be done in the future. Originality/value – This paper is the first of its kind to provide a systematic review of original editions of Chinese gazetteers held in the Yale East Asia Library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic business partnerships inform business faculty-librarian (BFL) collaboration. This paper seeks to address how the motivations for business partnerships and faculty-librarian collaborations are similar. A conceptual model suggests that the depth of the BFL relationship significantly enhances electronic collection development outcomes. Literature concerning strategic business alliances, faculty-librarian collaborations, and collection development was examined to determine whether principles that ate applied to strategic business alliances can also be applied to BFL collaborations. A case-in-point is included for illustration. Specific principles of strategic business partnerships can be applied to BFL collaborations aimed at improving electronic collection development. In addition, driving forces such as assessment, communication, and technology influence the nature of alliances across the business and academic arenas. The findings are significant because they demonstrate how BFL collaborations can be made more effective through the application of business principles. BFL collaborations can positively influence electronic collection development in a variety of ways. The paper offers a new and unique conceptual model that improves understanding of the nature and depth of BFL collaborations in the context of electronic collection development. This paper will be of interest to business faculty in particular and faculty in general, and librarians working in diverse library settings, especially librarians aligned with management and business departments. Librarians in management positions will likely find this information useful as a means to increase faculty-librarian collaboration across all disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how a new academic library works. Design/methodology/approach – The author used statistical data and anecdotal evidence. Findings – The findings were that digital library materials have dramatically changed how libraries operate. Originality/value – The library featured in this story is the University of Calgary’s main library which is called the Taylor Family Digital Library, which is meant to be a library with digital technology as its main focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to discusses the importance of Native American literature in library collections. Design/methodology/approach - This paper is based on research of recent articles. Findings - The paper identifies many good titles on Native Americans that deserve to be in libraries so that the history and culture of Native Americans will be available to all users. Practical implications - Libraries should identify good quality books on Native Americans and by Native Americans to add to their collections. Many are now available so that it is not difficult to find appropriate ones that reflect contemporary views of Native Americans. Originality/value - This paper pulls together a good deal of recent information on books by and about Native Americans as well as pointing to some excellent collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a case study about how academic librarians can contribute to the interdisciplinary research endeavors of professors and students, especially doctoral candidates, through an intellectualized approach to collection development. Design/methodology/approach – In the wake of protest movements such as the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, colleges and universities have begun to develop courses about these events, and it is anticipated that there will be much research conducted about their respective histories. Academic librarians can participate in those research efforts by developing interdisciplinary collections about protest movements and by referring researchers to those collections. Findings – Through a case-study approach, this paper provides a narrative bibliography about Southern Agrarianism that can help professors and students interested in the Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street movements to see their research endeavors from a new interdisciplinary perspective. Originality/value – The value of this paper lies in presenting a concrete example of the way in which academic librarians can become active research partners through the work of building collections and recommending sources in areas that professors and students may not have previously considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to summarize the importance of rare materials for academic libraries, including developments since the arrival of the internet and the effects of declining library budgets. Design/methodology/approach - The authors reviewed the literature on the subject coupled with their experiences with collection development. Findings - Collecting rare materials remains important for scholarly research, though harder to justify during a period of budget stringency. Academic libraries should discover creative ways to discover and add rare materials to their collections. Rare materials require special expertise in their acquisition, processing, storage, and use. Digitization is making rare materials more accessible but cannot substitute for the use of the originals in all cases. Practical implications - The authors provide a summary of recent thought on the status of rare materials in academic libraries - for libraries that include such collections or for those interested in increasing their holdings of rare materials. Originality/value - The paper provides a summary of recent trends in collecting rare materials in academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the methods of diversity-related collection assessment useful for large academic libraries. Design/methodology/approach - Several examples of diversity-related collection assessment (circulation and use statistics, WorldCat Collection Analysis, comparison to standard bibliographies, focus groups, patron interviews and surveys, stewardship letters, and a diversity collection development statement) are explored. Findings - Libraries wishing to assess a collection for diversity should have a clear definition of diversity in place before assessment. Many collection assessment methods useful for determining the diversity of a collection are not applicable for large libraries. Additional tools may need to be developed to facilitate this type of assessment in the future, especially at large libraries. Originality/value - The paper encourages librarians at larger academic libraries to rethink how the collections are assessed for diversity needs, and illustrates methods useful in performing this assessment in larger institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to look at the nature of funding for collection development activities at Chancellor College Library, University of Malawi, and see how that impacts on the collection development activities of the institution. Design/methodology/approach - A case study methodological approach was used, coupled with a review of the literature, annual financial reports and acquisition statistics. Findings - The results of the study show that funding for collection development activities at Chancellor College Library was inadequate and that inadequacy of funding had seriously affected the library's collection development activities. Due to the prevailing conditions, the library had been forced to rely on donations and exchanges as the principal means of growing its collection. Practical implications - The study recommends some practical interventions, which, if implemented, could ease the financial difficulties Chancellor College Library faces. The interventions include lobbying for an increase in the materials budget, drawing up proposals for possible funding by both local and international organizations, and the introduction of a library fee to be paid by students. Originality/value - Research undertakings in the field of collection development in Malawian academic libraries are limited, causing a dearth of literature on the topic. This study is therefore significant in that it will help in some way in filling some of the knowledge gaps that exist in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand how electronic grey literature is being incorporated into Women's Studies collections at academic libraries. Design/methodology/approach - The electronic grey literature holdings of four American academic libraries at universities with graduate Women's Studies programs were collected and analyzed. This included: databases; digital special collections; web sites; and online course guides that the library had created for Women's Studies courses. Findings - Women's Studies International and GeriderWatch were the two most popular databases, being available at three of the four libraries studied. The most popular web sites were University of Wisconsin - Women's Studies Librarian (www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/WomensStudies/) and WSSLinks: Women and Gender Studies web sites (http://libr.org/wss/wsslinks/index.html). Recommended web sites were overwhelmingly multidisciplinary in nature and covered a variety of topics related to Women's Studies such as business, art, health, music, and philosophy. The digital collections with women's grey literature all dealt with historical topics and were either about a specific group of people or a specific person or place that had a tie to the university where it was housed. Originality/value - Grey literature is becoming an increasing popular topic in collection development and document preservation. However, there is little research on grey literature created by women. Specific databases and web sites that were found in the collections studied are mentioned so that other libraries may use the information to enhance their own collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper seeks to describe the Canadian Library Association's 2007 pre-conference, Collections 2007: Reinvigorating Collection Development and Management. Design/methodology/approach This paper summarizes the various papers, describing actual collections practices in a variety of library and information center settings that made up the CLA Collections pre-conference. Findings - The paper finds that collections development activities in academic, public and special libraries are characterized by a diversity of approaches and methods. Originality/value - This paper provides a brief summary of some of the practical approaches to collections building in a variety of library and information center settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate if collection developers in American academic libraries have added predominantly "yellowface" movies to their collections, or have actively sought out movies created and acted by Asian and Asian Americans, to balance out their libraries' collections. Design/methodology/approach – In total, ten acknowledged "yellowface" movies and ten critically acclaimed Asian and Asian American movies were chosen. The collections of 157 academic libraries throughout the entire USA were then surveyed, including geographical areas that have had very few Asians or Asian Americans in their populations throughout their histories. Findings – The results show that neither "yellowface" movies nor Asian and Asian American movies are overtly dominant in the collections of American academic librarians, and one can conclude that the collection developers actively sought to find a balance between movies in both categories, no matter the geographical locations of their libraries. Social implications – No matter how unsavory is our racist past, representations of past bigotry and discrimination should be available for scholars of history, cultural studies, and sociology. However, interpretations of Asians defined with this jaundiced eye must be balanced with movies of Asians and Asian Americans defining themselves. Originality/value – The area of Asian and Asian American movies is rather small and arcane, yet the results of this survey show that there are no academic areas too small or narrow that do not demand the attention of a knowledgeable collection developer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to document and compare the extent of book collections on the topic of the Taliban in selected academic libraries in New York and New Jersey, the New York Public Library and the military academy at West Point. Design/methodology/approach – Books on the Taliban were chosen as an index of the Afghanistan war since the Taliban are its major defining element. WorldCat was searched (www.worldcat.org) using the following criteria: "kw: taliban" > "English" > "Non-Fiction" > "Non-Juvenile". In total 1,668 titles were found. Duplicates were eliminated, as were theses, government publications, ephemera and other items. Closely related titles were amalgamated. Only works that had "Taliban" in the title or subtitle were chosen from the cumulative groups above, resulting in a total of 83 titles. Findings – Only two libraries crossed 50 percent of the "core" collection of 83 titles. A total of 27 percent of the 83 titles (n=22) were not held by any library, and only seven books were in all libraries. New York Public Library topped the modest rankings and scored above the academic libraries and West Point. West Point ranked last by a big margin (29 points). New York Public Library scored better than all the academic libraries with 49 percent of the 83 titles, followed closely by Columbia University with 46 percent. There was an eight-point drop to 38 percent for New York University, which modestly outpointed the 35 percent for Princeton. Research limitations/implications – A possible research limitation is that the degree of library holdings may not reflect the low level of engagement by the public, academia and military in the ongoing wars. Social implications – The research may indicate a low priority by collection development librarians in public libraries and in the libraries of academic and military colleges to develop a comprehensive collection of material on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The paper argues that more extensive collections should be built despite the media and the general population's antipathy to the war. A comprehensive collection for students, scholars, the public and the next generation of officers about a contemporary war which has profound financial, political and military sequelae should be a priority for collection-building librarians. Originality/value – The low holdings of books on the Taliban, and hence the war in Afghanistan, in public and academic libraries and the library of West Point may reflect the low level of interest of the US population in the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq (and Libya). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to provide an alternative method of building quality collections for Jewish Studies collection development professionals in small and medium-sized academic libraries with highly restricted budgets. Design/methodology/approach - Sources of Jewish Studies literary awards were identified and a detailed analysis of awarded books' subjects and the publishing sources was conducted. Findings - The results show that awarded books cover a vast variety of subjects of interest to Jewish Studies collections. Since many of them are also published by academic presses, the use of identified Jewish Studies book award sources should be considered by bibliographers responsible for building Jewish Studies collections in non-sectarian college libraries with very limited budgetary resources. Practical implications - The "one stop" access to all award sources and awarded books provides an easy access to otherwise dispersed information. Originality/value - The comprehensive list of awards, nominated and winning titles, as well as the subject analysis presented herein, is the first of its kind. This can be used by Jewish Studies bibliographers to build and improve their collections and can also serve as a model for building other interdisciplinary subject collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The intent of this article is to show the direct outcomes of an inventory project, which served as the catalyst for collection development improvements. Design/methodology/approach - An inventory project was undertaken with a major emphasis on the outcomes derived from the inventory. Findings - Several types of problems were discovered, such as missing items, incorrect information (call numbers, collection codes, item types, etc…), damaged materials, and weaknesses in the collection, which resulted in major improvements and changes in the development of the collection. Originality/value - The results of the inventory project improved the accessibility of the collection to patrons by correcting many inconsistencies involving the shelving of materials, online records, call numbers, collection codes, item types, and bar codes. The location of missing items as well as identified areas of strengths and weaknesses assisted with collection development activities, The results of the project also provided an opportunity to hire a consulting firm to further assess the collection, which led to additional funds for supporting the collection. The single major benefit of the inventory process was that it provided the catalyst for instigating major changes in the curriculum collection development of the Teaching Resources Center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]