Library Science Collection Development 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does 'demand-driven acquisition' (DDA) or 'patron-driven acquisition' (PDA) mean?
- The library orders only what patrons explicitly request through ILL
- A model where ebooks are purchased only when a patron actually accesses them beyond a set threshold (Correct answer)
- A system for tracking demand for reserve items
- Acquisition driven by publisher demand forecasting
Correct answer: A model where ebooks are purchased only when a patron actually accesses them beyond a set threshold
In demand-driven acquisition (DDA), ebook records are loaded into the catalog and a purchase is triggered automatically only when a patron actually uses the item beyond a defined threshold.
Question 2: What is a 'blanket order' in library acquisitions?
- An order for all books published by a specific press in a subject area (Correct answer)
- An emergency purchase order for urgent items
- A bulk order for multiple copies of one title
- A standing order for government documents
Correct answer: An order for all books published by a specific press in a subject area
A blanket order is an agreement with a vendor or publisher to automatically send all new publications in a defined subject area or from a specific publisher for the library to review and select.
Question 3: What does 'approval plan' mean in academic library collection development?
- A plan approved by the library board for annual spending
- A vendor program that sends books matching a library's profile automatically for review or purchase (Correct answer)
- A program for faculty to approve new acquisitions
- A plan for approving digital subscriptions
Correct answer: A vendor program that sends books matching a library's profile automatically for review or purchase
An approval plan is an agreement with a vendor (like YBP/Gobi) to automatically send or notify about books that match the library's collection profile, reducing manual selection work.
Question 4: Which tool do academic librarians commonly use to assess collection depth against peer institutions?
- OCLC WorldShare
- Conspectus (Correct answer)
- ILLiad
- EZproxy
Correct answer: Conspectus
The Conspectus is a collection analysis tool that uses a standardized scale to describe collection depth by subject, allowing comparisons across libraries.
Question 5: What is 'license negotiation' relevant to in library collection development?
- Negotiating prices for print monographs
- Establishing terms of use for electronic resources and databases (Correct answer)
- Licensing software for the ILS
- Negotiating with donors for gift collections
Correct answer: Establishing terms of use for electronic resources and databases
License negotiation for electronic resources defines how the library and its users may access and use a database or ebook package, including user authentication, ILL rights, and perpetual access.
Question 6: Which statistic measures cost-effectiveness of a periodical subscription relative to use?
- Return on investment
- Cost per use (Correct answer)
- Price-to-earnings ratio
- Impact factor
Correct answer: Cost per use
Cost per use divides the total subscription cost by the number of times the resource was accessed, helping librarians evaluate whether a subscription is economically justified.
Library Science Collection Development 2
What does 'demand-driven acquisition' (DDA) or 'patron-driven acquisition' (PDA) mean?