Collections Assessment: Developing Sustainable Programs and Projects.

Making collections decisions within the constraints of shrinking budgets and an ever-expanding universe of materials has today’s academic libraries searching for strategic ways to manage resources. In this environment it is vital that libraries clearly communicate to a wide range of stakeholders, including parent institutions and funding bodies, the distinct value of collections. Ensuring that data-informed analysis directly links collections decisions to the priorities of the institution and its users is crucial to these efforts. During this session, participants were given a broad overview of the current collections assessment landscape; hands-on exercises for mapping assessment goals to available data sources and tools; an overview of project management approaches; and specific strategies for clearly communicating results of collections analysis to different stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]