| Rupp-Serrano, 'Departmental Libraries: Boon or Bane?', LIBRES v4n02-3 URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/libres/libres-v4n02-3-rupp-serrano-departmental LIBRES: Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal ISSN 1058-6768 August 28, 1994 Volume 4 Issue 2/3 Quarterly LIBRE4N2 RUPPSERR Departmental Libraries: Boon or Bane? by Karen Rupp-Serrano, University of Oklahoma Libraries INTRODUCTION In 1991, the Reference and Interlibrary Loan departments of the University of Oklahoma Libraries embarked on a project to determine the extent of "departmental" library collections on the University of Oklahoma's Norman campus. "Departmental" libraries are defined in this article as collections of materials such as books, serials or videos not supported by library funds. Rather, they are collections supported by various funding sources, including departmental funds or personal donations, and are maintained in a department. Often they are created to fill a need not met by the campus library, or to provide greater convenience and access to the faculty and students of the department. We knew from working with a variety of library patrons that a number of departmental library collections existed on campus, and that some were quite substantial. Since they are not supported by library funds, information about them is limited. We felt that gaining more knowledge of these collections would help us to better serve our patrons by offering them access to convenient campus resources which might not be provided through the Libraries' collections. GAINING AND PROVIDING ACCESS In the spring of 1991, a departmental library survey was sent to 96 academic and non-academic departments affiliated with the University of Oklahoma's Norman campus. This survey was designed to gather information on the following: 1. Does the department have a library? 2. What is the size of the library's collection, and what formats are represented? 3. Is the collection available for use, and by whom? 4. How is the collection managed and supported? 5. May the University Libraries refer patrons to the collection? Six weeks after the initial survey was mailed, a second copy was sent out to those departments which had not responded. A final telephone follow-up, conducted three weeks after the second survey, was made to those who still had not responded. Of the 83 departments responding to the survey, 36 indicated that they had a collection or library; of those, 20 indicated that they would welcome referrals from the University Libraries. In the summer and fall of 1991, those collections welcoming referrals were visited by the project's principal investigators. The visits proved interesting, as great variety was found in the size and quality of the collections. Some were quite extensive and well-maintained, while others obviously suffered from more than a little benign neglect. Based on information gathered in these visits to departmental collections, the University Libraries developed a database providing access to the holdings of collections welcoming referrals. The database is currently available in print format in the Interlibrary Loan and Reference departments of the main library, as well as in each branch library. The database is alphabetically arranged, and divided by type of material: journals, videos, and books. Information about each collection, including circulation policies,operating hours,availability of copiers and microform readers, and the like, is also included in the database. FORMAL COOPERATION: THE NEXT STEP In the spring of 1993, we were excited to learn through a subscription to LIBREF-L that we were not the only library interested in departmental libraries. Suzanne Bell, Computer Science Librarian at the Rochester Institute of Technology y, sent out an inquiry asking people for their experiences with departmental collections. She received 22 responses, and she summarized them, as well as discussion of the same issue from COLLDEV-L, on LIBREF-L on May 9, 1993. The summary told us that other libraries were attempting to do some of the same things we were doing, for many of the same reasons: increasing resources available to patrons; eliminating duplicate purchases; increasing convenience of some resources. Her summary also provided advice on the issue, Hearing about these experiences gave us the impetus we needed to take the next logical step in our project: the formalization of agreements between the University Libraries and some of the University of Oklahoma's departmental collections. We began this effort by first attempting to determine what, if any, savings could be realized by utilizing departmental collections. To do this, we analyzed Interlibrary Loan requests for the month of March 1993 to determine how many requests could have been filled through on-campus referrals to departmental collections. While realizing that this was just a portion of the picture, we knew that it could provide us with some figures to present to our supervisors. Extrapolating from Interlibrary Loan data, we projected that 3% of annual journal requests could be filled through on-campus referrals. While this does not seem like a very large number, Interlibrary Loan figures for our institution indicated that these referrals could result in a monetary savings of $3000 per year. Armed with figures, we proposed to our Head of Technical Services and Collection Development that the Libraries pursue formal agreements with the half dozen or so collections which could most often fulfill patron needs as identified through Interlibrary Loan requests. While no formal agreements have yet been made, we are happy to report that we have experienced a number of successes as a result of this project, and that we have a couple of collections interested in making their collections more accessible through the University Libraries. OU's Instructional Services Center has entered into discussions with the University Libraries via their sponsoring department, the College of Education, to make their holdings more accessible to the University community. Also, the Women's Studies department, which has a rather large book collection, is interested in placing records of their holdings into OU's OPAC. We are also happy to report that we have been able to make patron referrals to departmental collections and even to fill ILL lending requests with the cooperation of departmental collections. DEPARTMENTAL LIBRARIES: ISSUES AND RAMIFICATIONS While providing access to departmental library holdings may offer promise to the academic library community, it does not come without its problems, as well. The first problem is how to learn about such collections. Any attempt to do so, must be done carefully and in a non-threatening manner. For example, we found success by simply explaining that we were trying to learn more about such collections in an effort to provide patrons with access to materials we might not own, but which might be available to them. Another organization might have to rely on word-of-mouth to learn of departmental collections. Whatever information-gathering strategy is decided upon, however, it should be handled diplomatically as possible and it should have the support and knowledge of the library administration and library colleagues. That way, when the College of Engineering asks the Engineering Librarian about a "departmental library survey" they received in the mail, the librarian knows of the project and its goals and can explain the project and try to enlist their support. Once departmental libraries have been identified, the next problem is what to do about them. One could try to get departmental library resources and support transferred to the university library, but that is a path virtually guaranteed to make enemies of departments, rather than allies. So the "what to do" question will most likely revolve around ways to cooperate with departmental libraries to provide collection access. A couple of access options appear quite likely: creating a separate catalog or maintaining a database on the university's computing network; or putting brief records into the library's catalog. Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages. A separate database or catalog allows for customization and, if maintained by the department, eliminates the need to allocate library staff to the project; but it also means teaching patrons about yet another source to check when trying to determine whether the item they need is on campus, and it requires training of departmental staff. Brief records in the library catalog provide the ease of "one stop shopping" for patrons and ease of update for staff, especially if the library catalog is electronic; but there is a distinct lack of control in this approach, as the library will be dependent on the department for information regarding items which are lost or withdrawn, plus the library will have to allocate staff resources to the project. CONCLUSION Is the pursuit of access to departmental libraries worth it? A good question, one that we at the University of Oklahoma Libraries are still trying to answer. For academic libraries, we believe the answer is a qualified yes. Providing access to materials not owned by the university or college library is one more service to offer patrons at a time when there never seems to be enough of anything staff, materials, time to go around. But there is no denying that pursuing access to every collection on campus is not always in a library's best interests. For example, strong political winds often swirl around departmental libraries. These libraries may exist to fulfill needs not met by the campus library' they may exist as a convenience to the department; or they may exist as a symbol of the department's power. Pursuing such collections may, politically, be too risky for the library to consider. Also, some collections may not be worth pursuing because of their composition. Based on this project, we think that an academic library would not want to pursue access to a departmental library unless it was of reasonable size, held materials which would be of use to patrons (even if the holdings are primarily second copies of materials the library already owns), was well-organized, and had the staff needed to keep track of materials and to work in a liaison capacity with the academic library. The benefits to the departmental libraries appear to be relatively small. If they choose to allow access, they will see greater use and a higher risk of loss or mutilation. Higher traffic and tracking current materials means the staff will have less time to track new materials for the collection. Apart from the satisfaction of contributing to the academic community, there is not much in it for them. But while it is uncertain as to whether departmental libraries will be worthy of pursuit, one thing is certain: the creative pursuit of increased access, including efforts like this one, is likely to engage libraries for some time to come. To contact the authors/investigators: Karen Rupp-Serrano Social Sciences Librarian QB0305@UOKMVSA Carolyn Mahin Head, Access Services University of Oklahoma Libraries Norman, Oklahoma | |
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