LTA Collection Management and Acquisitions 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is a 'collection development policy' primarily used for?
- Tracking overdue fines and patron accounts
- Guiding selection and deselection decisions consistently (Correct answer)
- Setting cataloging standards for new acquisitions
- Determining interlibrary loan fees
Correct answer: Guiding selection and deselection decisions consistently
A collection development policy provides written guidelines that ensure consistent, mission-aligned decisions about what materials to add or remove from the collection.
Question 2: Which of the following is an example of a 'blanket order' arrangement?
- Ordering one copy of every title a specific publisher produces (Correct answer)
- Purchasing items only when patrons request them
- Subscribing to a journal package from an aggregator
- Placing rush orders for items on reserve lists
Correct answer: Ordering one copy of every title a specific publisher produces
A blanket order is an agreement to automatically purchase all new publications meeting certain criteria, such as all titles from a given publisher, without individual selection.
Question 3: What does 'encumbrance' mean in library acquisitions accounting?
- An overdue debt owed to a vendor
- Funds committed to a purchase order but not yet paid (Correct answer)
- Money transferred from one budget line to another
- A penalty charge for canceling an order
Correct answer: Funds committed to a purchase order but not yet paid
An encumbrance is a reservation of funds against a budget when an order is placed, before the invoice is paid and funds are actually expended.
Question 4: Which collection assessment method compares a library's holdings against a standard bibliography or list?
- Circulation analysis
- User survey
- List-checking (Correct answer)
- Cost-per-use analysis
Correct answer: List-checking
List-checking involves comparing the library's holdings against a standard, authoritative bibliography to identify gaps and strengths in the collection.
Question 5: A library wants to cancel a journal subscription to save money. Which data is MOST useful for this decision?
- The journal's impact factor
- Usage statistics and cost-per-use data (Correct answer)
- The number of articles published per issue
- The journal's country of origin
Correct answer: Usage statistics and cost-per-use data
Usage statistics and cost-per-use data show how often patrons actually access the journal relative to its cost, making this the most relevant metric for cancellation decisions.
Question 6: What is the purpose of a 'rush order' in library acquisitions?
- To obtain a significant discount on bulk purchases
- To expedite delivery of an item needed urgently (Correct answer)
- To place an order at the end of the fiscal year
- To request an item through interlibrary loan
Correct answer: To expedite delivery of an item needed urgently
A rush order requests expedited processing and delivery from the vendor, typically used when an item is needed quickly for a class, reserve list, or urgent patron need.
Question 7: What does 'MUSTIE' stand for in the context of collection weeding?
- A set of criteria for evaluating physical condition only
- An acronym for reasons to weed: Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, Irrelevant, Elsewhere available (Correct answer)
- A vendor discount program for weeded materials
- A cataloging standard for deaccessioned items
Correct answer: An acronym for reasons to weed: Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, Irrelevant, Elsewhere available
MUSTIE is an acronym used in the CREW weeding method: Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, Irrelevant, and Elsewhere available — each letter is a reason to remove an item.
LTA Collection Management and Acquisitions 3
What is a 'collection development policy' primarily used for?