Checking the United Nations: A Checklist Evaluation of United Nations Specialized Agencies Serial Publications

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The published version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01462671003599773During the spring and summer of 2008 the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries conducted a collection evaluation study on the serial sales publications issued by United Nations (UN) specialized agencies. After a checklist was compiled, KU holdings were compared to the list to develop a record of UN specialized agency serial publication holdings at KU. The goal was to identify both electronic and print holdings within this specific collection. The project also sought publications that were freely available electronically for the purpose of expanding the KU international government information collection while neither increasing the serials budget nor the physical size of the collection

Understanding Methodological and Disciplinary Differences in the Data Practices of Academic Researchers

This article is copyrighted by Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - See more at: http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/authors/writing/author_rights.htm#sthash.A75S798F.dpufPurpose– The purpose of this paper is to better understand the data practices, influences and needs of researchers at a major public research institution. Design/methodology/approach– This paper is based on the results of a pre-tested, web-based survey of University of Kansas faculty, staff, researchers and graduate students. Findings– Influences on data practices and data needs vary with the research methodology and academic discipline of the researcher. Practical implications– Academic libraries may need to adjust the services they offer to meet the varying needs of researchers in differing disciplines using differing methodologies. Originality/value– This study adds to the developing literature describing research data management. Keywords Research, Academic libraries, University libraries, Assessment, Data management Paper type-Research pape

What do Our Faculty Use? An Interdisciplinary Citation Analysis Study

During the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013, two librarians from the University of Kansas Libraries conducted a citation analysis of faculty publications in three broad disciplinary areas: humanities, social sciences, and science. The main purpose of research was to find out if the library provides adequate support to faculty researchers. The authors confirmed that KU Libraries provide access to the majority of items used by campus researchers. In addition, the findings will be used in collection management decisions, such as demand driven acquisition. Finally, the authors analyzed additional citation analysis studies in order to establish external benchmarks for their results

Using the WorldCat Collection Analysis Tool: Experiences From the University of Kansas Libraries

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The published version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2011.604907.In March of 2009, the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries began a year-long subscription to OCLC’s WorldCat Collection Analysis (WCA) tool, which was recommend by the Associate Dean of Technical Services and the Assistant Dean of Collections and Scholar Services. KU Libraries bases much of its collections decisions on data collected, including usage statistics, overlap analysis, and interlibrary loan statistics. The WCA was perceived as another method of collecting data to make collection development decisions. An implementation committee was appointed by the deans and led by the authors, the Head of Collection Development and a Social Sciences Librarian who had experience with the WCA at another institution. The implementation committee set institutional goals and priorities for the project, as well as prepared informational documents, and conducted training sessions for subject librarians. Librarians submitted reports for each of their collections. Although the project coordinators dealt with the many frustrations experienced by the subject librarians because of the flaws associated tool and would change the process for future WCA projects, overall, KU librarians were pleased to discover that the quality of the collections at KU is very high

Proving the Value of Library Collections

Proving the value of library collections has always been a concern of collection development librarians. Librarians have devised creative methods of gathering evidence to demonstrate to university administrations the essential role that libraries play in research productivity. In an attempt to demonstrate the value of library collections, the authors from the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries conducted a citation analysis study utilizing KU science faculty publications. Using a random sampling of faculty from the departments of Physics, Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, and Geology, the authors developed lists of the citations in these faculty publications and checked to determine if KU Libraries provides access to these cited materials. In addition, a random sampling of the citations from the faculty publications was also examined to determine if the citations could be accessed through aggregator full-text databases, electronic journal packages, or print journals and monographs. The authors also compared journal and monograph use and utilized the data collected as a method of justifying budget allocation practices. Finally, the monograph citations were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the approval plan profile by identifying the ratio of books that were purchased on the approval plan compared to books that were selected by subject librarians. The authors will share their findings and discuss how they used the citation analysis to demonstrate the value of the library collections and inform collection development decisions

Incoming Graduate Students in the Social Sciences: How much do they really know about Library Research?

This is the authors' accepted manuscript. The published version is available from the publisher at http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/pla.2012.0032.Academic librarians provide information literacy instruction and research services to graduate student. To develop evidence-based library instruction and research services for incoming graduate students, the authors interviewed 15 incoming graduate students in the social sciences and analyzed the interviews using the Association of College & Research Libraries Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (ACRL Standards). This article discusses the findings, including the authors’ assumptions of student information illiteracy, trends noted during the interview analysis, and implications for delivering information literacy training to graduate students in a group discussion modality

Assessment of KU Libraries’ Slavic & Eurasian Collection: Purpose, Process, and Potential

This paper discusses collection-related assessment projects that were conducted in 2013-2014 by the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries’ International Collections librarians in cooperation with librarians for assessment and resource sharing. While these assessment projects were undertaken in an effort to strengthen the library reports for KU’s Title VI National Resource Center (NRC) grant applications, which were submitted by KU’s area studies centers, the results also have implications for collection development work. The article begins with background about the NRC grants and explains why and how these assessment projects developed. Highlights of results from each assessment project are presented in the following order: (1) assessment of the research needs of area studies faculty and graduate students at KU; (2) citation patterns (2005-2013) of area studies, and more specifically, Slavic and Eurasian studies faculty at KU; (3) resource sharing data for the Slavic and Eurasian collection 2011-2013. The article concludes with a discussion about how the assessment data inform collection development practices and decisions

Diversity in Monographs: Selectors, Acquisitions, Publishers, and Vendors

In 2020 the University of Kansas Libraries began a year-long diversity audit of the circulating monograph collection. The study, which utilized the checklist method evaluated the Libraries’ holdings based on a curated list of award winning and nominated titles. In addition to determining if specific titles were part of the collection, the study also sought to learn how these books were acquired. The study found that the library owned 60% of the 6,671 titles checked and of those with a known acquisitions method, 59% came via an approval plan. Titles and publishers not profiled by GOBI were significantly less likely to be in the collection as they were not included in the approval plan or highlighted by a slip notification. The Libraries’ reliance on GOBI and efficient and streamlined selection and acquisition processes has resulted in a less diverse collection

Proving the Value of Library Collections Part II: An Interdisciplinary Study Using Citation Analysis

At the 2012 Charleston Conference, University of Kansas (KU) librarians presented the results of a citation analysis project conducted using faculty publications in the sciences. Library administrators were excited by the findings reported from this analysis and compelled the librarians to proceed with more citation analysis research by supporting them with student assistants who helped gather the initial data that were used in the study. During the subsequent year, KU librarians took the collection assessment project two steps further by gathering citation data from faculty publications in the humanities and social sciences to conduct an extensive citation analysis. Using a random sampling of faculty publications from three departments in the humanities: philosophy, art history, and English—and three departments in the social sciences—psychology, political science, and economics—the presenters conducted a citation analysis of the resources cited in faculty journal publications. The librarians used this new data to compare the two broad disciplinary areas with the sciences, but even more importantly, they collected data that would influence collection development decisions in the individual subject areas. The authors tested their assumptions, expecting to find that science faculty use more journals than books and humanities faculty use more books than journals, but in some cases, the results were unexpected

“You Need to Have a Street Beat”: A Qualitative Study of Faculty Research Needs and Challenges

In the spring of 2015, 14 faculty members in social science or in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) spoke with a working group from the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries regarding their research needs and challenges. Their responses highlighted a dynamic research environment in which individual researchers desire to connect with other experts, yet often remain isolated within their departments. Common challenges included dealing with data storage, management, and preservation, as well as understanding publication impact and dissemination methods. Respondents looked to KU Libraries as a neutral entity that could connect them to experts, materials, and practices that would enhance their research