Developing a Weighted Collection Development Allocation Formula
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The document outlines a workshop discussing allocation methods for library resources at Arkansas State University, highlighting the importance of brainstorming and collaboration. It details the factors considered for collection development expenditures and the formula used to make allocations, including data evaluation and weight assignment. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for modifications of the formula over time to fit the library's evolving needs.
Developing a Weighted Collection Development Allocation Formula
- 2. • Questions are welcome at any time, but we do reserve the option of deferring a question until later in the workshop • Interactive discussions are welcome • We will do some brainstorming later • There are no bad ideas or wrong answers • No critiquing of ideas or suggestions while brainstorming • Ideas and suggestions will be grouped and sorted after brainstorming • There will be a break about halfway through
- 3. • In 1997 the Arkansas State University library had no equitable means of making allocations • One department accounted for nearly 20% of all collection development expenditures • Funds had not been reallocated/redistributed in many years • There was no funding to support new programs
- 4. •We searched literature to discover methods of making allocations, including the use of a formula (this was before much of this type of information was available online) •We chose to use a formula based on one used by Colorado State University and described in SPEC Kit #36.
- 5. Do these steps before selecting formula factors
- 6. •Doing this is much like a brainstorming session • Cost of materials • Degrees awarded per department or program • Faculty per department or program • Number of course sections offered • Number of courses in catalog • Number of degree programs • Number of majors in each program • Semester credit hour production (actual enrollment) • Use of materials
- 7. •Evaluate and refine the list • Eliminate duplicates and non-viable suggestions • Identify the factors that are most relevant to your campus
- 8. •What we used • Cost of materials (from the Library and Book Trade Almanac) • Degrees awarded per department or program • Faculty per department or program (FTE faculty) • Number of course sections offered • Number of courses in catalog • Number of degree programs • Number of majors in each program • Semester credit hour production (actual enrollment) • Use of materials
- 9. •Determine what data is available or could be gathered • Both internal (within your library and within the field) and external (campus, community, company, etc.) • Eliminate possible factors for which data cannot be obtained •Gather samples of available data
- 10. These will not be easy decisions!
- 11. •The original factors we used • Semester credit hour production (actual enrollment) • Number of classes offered • Degrees awarded • Faculty per department • Cost of materials from Library and Book Trade Almanac •Other factors that could have been used • Number of degree programs • Departmental external funding and/or research productivity • Use of materials • Number of courses in catalog
- 12. •Weights • The assigned weight values are inserted into the Excel spreadsheet and are used in formula calculations • Weighting is the assigning of values to indicate the importance or impact of each factor in the formula relative to the other formula factors
- 13. •Assigning weights to each factor • These should be determined based upon each institution’s priorities and culture • Library Committee • Faculty Senate • Institutional Administration • Someone or something else? • We subdivided some factors before assigning weights • We chose not to vary weights within a factor, but it can be done • Do test runs and adjust weights if needed
- 14. (by non-mathematicians) HOW THE FORMULA WORKS
- 16. •You can do separate formula runs for… • Books • Journals • Print • Online resources (databases/ejournals/eBooks) • Any other budgets your library may have • Or any combination of these •We chose to run a single formula for all allocations
- 17. •Before running the formula, determine how much of your budget to allocate and how much to keep back for library use (if any) •You may choose to make adjustments to individual allocations after running the formula • Do no harm • Nonparticipation • Special entities or campus initiatives
- 18. •Your formula will probably need to be modified at some point in the future •We have changed our formula • Weights were adjusted • Added departmental external funding as a factor in 2012 • Removed this factor in 2015
- 19. •Document, document, document! •Make the decisions and modify the formula to fit your library’s needs •Feel free to contact either of us with any questions you may think of later
- 20. To download an interactive copy of the demo spreadsheet http://www.astate.edu/a/library/charleston
- 21. Linda Creibaum Acquisitions Librarian Dean B. Ellis Library Arkansas State University Jonesboro P.O. Box 2040 State University, AR 72467 870-972-3354 lcreibaum@astate.edu Jeff Bailey Library Director Dean B. Ellis Library Arkansas State University Jonesboro P.O. Box 2040 State University, AR 72467 870-972-2724 jbailey@astate.edu
- 22. Thank you!!!