Working collaboratively with other libraries to manage shared collections can potentially enable libraries to make more economical collection development decisions, while simultaneously offering their users access to a greater number of resources. In this collection edited by Dawn Hale, Head of Technical Services at the Sheridan Libraries, John Hopkins University, the chapter authors of Shared Collections: Collaborative Stewardship explore the implementation of these programmes within research libraries.
The book begins by sketching out an introduction to the current state of collaborative activities across monograph and serial, retrospective and prospective collections. Issues around the governance of shared collection programmes are also discussed, along with a possible model for making systematic preservation decisions using the holdings data of shared collections. The main part of the book however is made up of case studies, which look at how various networks of libraries from across the United States have utilised a collaborative approach to manage different parts of their collections including retrospective print serials, government publications, print monograph legacy materials, shared ebook and demand-driven acquisitions programmes, as well as digitised special collections.
The programmes described in these case studies seemingly share little in common, having each developed organically from a unique set of local circumstances. As a result, they may be difficult to reproduce in other library networks. However, it is not the purpose of this book to provide a definitive best practice guide to implementing shared collection programmes. Recognising that the way libraries work together will continue to evolve, Hale’s book is instead concerned with some of the broader considerations for libraries interested in pursuing this option. Furthermore, it is not just the practicalities of implementation that this book considers: in surveying these pockets of collaborative activity, the book also provides the reader with a sense of the direction in which these programmes may be heading. In the concluding chapter, authors McDonald and Kieft broach the subject of collaborative activities potentially taking place on a national or global scale, and offer suggestions for how the development of print, digital and hybrid collections could be orientated towards these possibilities.
Limited materials budgets, finite shelf space and keeping pace with changes in the way information is published and accessed are common themes amongst libraries everywhere, and shared collection programmes are increasingly becoming recognised as a viable response. Therefore, despite the fact that these case studies only discuss programmes implemented in the United States by mainly research libraries, they should still pique the interest of librarians from outside North America and those who work in public or academic libraries. Overall, Shared Collections is an insightful and useful book that, for as long as it retains its currency, deserves to be on the reading list of those who are currently involved in, or who are about to embark on, a shared collection programme.
Torrens University
© 2016 John Timoney
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2016.1250612