Dear all,
I'm hoping to propose a program on collection development and management
under conditions of uncertainty and risk - there's a certain sense of
taking a gamble that resources will be available in the future somewhere in some
repository so it's okay not to own print and to toss out the print and to
rely on electronic access or access by some other institution somewhere.
Is there a formula for making collection development decisions when you
cannot predict the future? Are there approaches, strategies, basic
assumptions one can make about future user, publisher, and institutional
behaviors? How do you decide when to ditch the print in favor of
electronic? Go for access over ownership? Any magic formulas? Any
decision-making aids, theories? Does the economic theory of risk help at
all (choice under risk, uncertainty, incomplete information)?
The following article comes close to what I'm thinking of, but I'd like to
propose a program focusing on law library settings. I'm in need of a
speaker or two. Any one with suggestions for a great speaker on this
issue (or if you want to volunteer yourself), please contact me directly
at llou@midway.uchicago.edu. Thanks! Lyo.
Mary F. Casserly, "Collection Management As Risk Management," 28 Library
Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services 79-92 (2004).
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6VSH-4BDJTS1-8-1&_cdi=6263&_orig=browse&_coverDate=06%2F30%2F2004&_sk=999719998&view=c&wchp=dGLbVzz-zSkWz&_acct=C000001358&_version=1&_userid=5745&md5=a0c98340c265fe40fff460a0f162b20b&ie=f.pdf
Abstract
Risk and technological changes are inexorably linked, and librarians, as
experts, must communicate these risks to lay persons and develop
appropriate risk management strategies. This paper identifies some of the
risks to library primacy, library and professional values, collection
integrity, and scholarly communication and the information marketplace
that those involved in collection development and acquisition of library
materials may encounter. The sources of these risks are briefly described,
and the author suggests some risk management strategies
Lyonette Louis-Jacques
Foreign and International Law Librarian and Lecturer in Law
D'Angelo Law Library
University of Chicago Law School
1121 East 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637 U.S.A.
E-mail: llou@midway.uchicago.edu
Phone: 1-773-702-9612
Fax: 1-773-702-2889
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/
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