Newsletter of the Section on Acquisition and Collection Development

Number 16
Winter 1997/98

Minutes of the Standing Committee Meeting held at the 1997 IFLA Conference

Attendance

Apologies: D. Champlon (France), M. Chauveinc (France), R. Griebel (Germany), J. McDermott (USA), M. Nasu (Japan).

Observers: C. Arnaud (France), S. Nakano (Japan), A. Oganessov (France), D. Panzera (USA), I. Stirling (USA).

General information

General Introductions

The Chair, Marjorie Bloss (USA), welcomed members and guests, especially those attending the Committee for the first time. Committee members and guests then introduced themselves. New members were asked to be sure to communicate their full details (name, institution, address, telephone, fax and e-mail) to the Chair to ensure efficiency of communication.

Adoption of the Agenda

The agenda was reviewed. The Chair suggested two amendments - firstly, to add to item 4 reports on the other activities the Section was involved in at Copenhagen: the Open Programme, the Workshop and the Divisional meeting; and, secondly, to delete item 11 (Evaluations) as these were now submitted separately by individual delegates and not compositely from the Section. Discussion on the process could be taken under item 6. These changes were agreed and the amended agenda was adopted.

Adoption of the Minutes from the 1996 Standing Committee Meeting at Beijing

The Committee expressed its thanks to Judy McDermott (USA) for providing such clear minutes. The minutes were approved as written.

Reports

4.1 Report of the Financial Officer

Marjorie Bloss, as Section Financial Officer, provided the following report, correct to the end of July 1997 (figures in US dollars, unless otherwise stated):

Balance:    31 December 1996
        Administrative funds                        382.41
        Project funds                               360.00

Revenues:  1997 transfers from IFLA HQ
       Administrative funds                         340.30 (=NLG668)
       Project funds                                  0.00

TOTALS:     (Balance + Revenues)
       Administrative funds                        722.71
       Project funds                               360.00

Expenses:  1 January-28 July 1997
       Administrative funds                          0.00
       Project funds                                 0.00

CURRENT BALANCE: (Revenues less Expenses)
           Administrative funds                     722.71
           Project funds                            360.00

Marjorie Bloss clarified the accounts by defining the two types of funds that they contained - Administrative money which was for the day-to-day expenses of the Section (postage, printing of the Newsletter and other leaflets, and so on) and Project money which was for any Projects undertaken by the Section, usually related to the Section's special interests. Administrative money was allocated to Sections according to the number of members they had. Since the British Library had absorbed the costs of producing and distributing the Section Newsletter, there had been no expenditure under the Administrative Funds budget line. The Section had been allocated project funds previously to begin work on the Collection Development Project which, to date, had not been spent. This was reflected in the financial report. The financial report was accepted as submitted.

4.2 Report on the Section Open Programme

4.2.1 Jim Vickery (United Kingdom) previewed the Section's Open Programme at Copenhagen. This would take place on Wednesday 3 September at 09.00 and was entitled Working together to build library collections: the economic framework. There would be three papers, from Liz Chapman of the University of Oxford on Buying shares in libraries: the economics of co-operative collection development, from Donald B. Simpson of the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago on Economics of co-operative collection development and management - the United States' experience with rarely-held research materials, and from Margaret A. Bywater of the Asia Foundation, Phnom Penh on Libraries in Cambodia: rebuilding a past and a future. The session would be moderated by Jim Vickery.

4.2.2 At the second meeting of the Committee Jim Vickery reported that there had been good attendance at the Open Programme - between 60 and 70 people. The papers had been suitably varied in content and scope. Following on from a point made in the paper on Cambodia, it was suggested that a future Open Programme of the SC should look at Book Aid programmes to the third world and issues of their suitability.

4.3 Report on the Section Workshop

4.3.1. Marjorie Bloss reported that this had been organised by Ann Okerson and would take place, along with all the other Workshops on Thursday 4 September, in the afternoon. It had been jointly organised with the Management and Marketing Section and the Publishers Liaison Committee and was entitled Licensing electronic content for libraries: the new regime. There would be four speakers - Ann Okerson, Leslie Ellen Harris, Vincent Cassidy and Martha Whitaker covering respectively the positions of the librarians, the lawyers, the publishers and the vendors. Marjorie Bloss reminded Committee members that attendance at Workshops was limited and had to be reserved in advance, earlier rather than later if places were to be assured.

4.3.2 At the second meeting of the Committee Ann Okerson reported on the Workshop. She felt that it had improved as the afternoon progressed, although there were problems with the microphones and the audience had real difficulty in hearing the speakers. There were 70 attendees, the maximum allowed, plus some unregistered extras. The topic clearly had had relevance for the audience, and there was a need to take forward the issues raised. She wondered whether abstracts of papers could be provided in future. It was noted that the Workshop had reflected the view of the commercial world rather than that of librarians.

4.4 Report on the Divisional Open Forum

Marjorie Bloss told the Committee that the structure of IFLA permitted each division, if it wished, to hold an Open Forum that dealt either with divisional accomplishments or a special topic that was of interest to the entire division. In Copenhagen two divisions were getting together. On Tuesday 2 September at 12.30 the latter concept was being expanded with an Open Forum sponsored by two divisions. The Division of General Research Libraries and the Division of Collections and Services would present an Open Forum on the theme Issues on ownership and availability of electronic information. There would be several short presentations followed by a general debate.

Elections

The Chair noted that this was an election year for IFLA officials and that she had circulated requests for nominations to the Committee members well in advance of this meeting to allow time for consideration of any proposals. There had however been no response, possibly through bashfulness on the part of Committee members. There being no other nominations, Marjorie Bloss was proposed, seconded and elected unopposed for a second term as Chair of the Committee. It was noted that the current Secretary of the Committee was not available to stand for a further term as he had completed his eight years service on the Standing Committee. It was considered that his replacement should preferably be someone with more than two years to run, so that there could be continuity of officials when the Chair came to the end of her term of office. Jim Vickery was then proposed, seconded and elected unopposed. It was pointed out that rumours of Jim's leaving the Committee this year had been much exaggerated, and that he had in fact been confirmed for a further four year term.

Reports on the First Meetings of the Professional and Co-ordinating Boards

6.1. Professional Board

Marjorie Bloss reported on this meeting.

6.1.1. Evaluation of the Conference
Previously the evaluation forms for the IFLA Conferences had been handled by the Chairs and Secretaries of the Standing Committees and other groups, who filled them out after discussion with members. From now on each delegate would receive a separate form to fill out either before leaving the Conference, or after returning home. In order to encourage delegates to complete the forms, all returned forms would be entered into a prize draw, the prize being the registration fee for the Amsterdam Conference in 1998.

6.1.2. Future Conferences
It was reported that, for the Amsterdam Conference in 1998, the exhibition would be open only from Sunday until Wednesday, because of the high cost of the exhibition hall. The Professional Board was trying to persuade the Organising Committee to extend this. It was noted that the Conference Centre was near the hotels being used for delegates and that there would be no need for shuttle buses. For the 1999 Bangkok Conference the registration fee had been set a high level ($450-500 dollars). This was being queried by the Professional Board.

6.1.3.
The Professional Board had considered proposals to establish a third type of group within the IFLA structure - the Discussion Group. This idea had first arisen in 1992 as a way of getting groups started within a short time frame: it was a useful way of dealing with topics that needed urgent, time-dependent discussion. A Discussion Group could be formed if 10 members of IFLA supported it with subsequent approval of the Professional Board: it would then exist for two to four years, at which time, if the need for it continued, it could be reconstituted as a Standing Committee. This gave rise to the questions whether IFLA really needed three types of working group (Standing Committees, Round Tables and Discussion Groups), and whether one, possibly Round Tables, could be eliminated. The Professional Board had discussed this, but would need to modify the "IFLA Statutes and Rules of Procedure" appropriately. The Professional Board would continue to discuss the relationship of these three groups at its December meeting.

The Committee then discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the structures of the three existing groups and supported in concept the Professional Board's desire to create groups quickly to deal with important topics of the day. The Standing Committee felt that there was a good case to be made for setting up a Discussion Group on Reference Materials: this was a topic which was not covered elsewhere in the IFLA hierarchy.

6.2. Co-ordinating Board

Marjorie Bloss reported that the Co-ordinating Board had also considered the problems arising from the proposal to introduce Discussion Groups. The Board had also considered holding an Open Forum at the Bangkok Conference The topic under consideration was Preservation of material in South East Asia and it might be held in conjunction with IFLA Regional Activities and the Core Programme on ALP. There should be a speaker from the Section on Acquisition and Collection Development. The final decision would be taken next year. There would be no Open Forum of the Division in Amsterdam.

Activities of the Standing Committee

7.1. Medium Term Programme

The Section Committee discussed its Medium Term Programme Scope and Goals for 1998-2001, and its two-year Action Plan for 1998-1999. The Scope and Goals were accepted by the Standing Committee as submitted, although it was necessary to modify the Action Plan to reflect programming and workshop decisions made at this conference. Marjorie Bloss will make these changes and will submit the final document to IFLA Headquarters at the end of September. [The Section's Medium Term Programme can be found in full further on in this Newsletter.]

7.2. Publications

7.2.1.
The Newsletter had been published twice during the year under the editorship of the Secretary. There was now a need to ensure that information about the Section's activities appeared also on IFLANet. It was agreed that it was part of the role of the Secretary to do this. Unfortunately it had not been possible to achieve this before now, but it was hoped that the incoming Secretary could undertake it. A new edition of the Section Brochure was under way. It had been delayed in order to include the Medium Term Programme, but should be available by the time of the Amsterdam Conference.

7.2.2. Exchange Bibliography
Tatiana Afanasieva (Russia) reported that the compilation of the next issue of the Exchange Bibliography by staff of the Foreign Acquisitions Department of the Russian State Library had been completed and that it was in draft form. The subject matter had been expanded to include all acquisitions, not just exchanges, as well as collection development. Both monographs and individual articles were included, transliterated where necessary using ISO. Previous issues of the bibliography had been published either as separate pamphlets, or as part of the Section Newsletter. Unfortunately because of underfunding the compilers could not now complete their work and bring the issue to a publishable form. It would need about 2000 guilders to finish the work and the Section was being asked to help.

It was felt by the Committee that the publication of the Exchange Bibliography fitted well into the scope of a project, for which separate funding might be available. Theoretically 600 guilders were available to Standing Committees for their projects each year, but as not all project monies were spent each year there might be more available. A full project plan would be needed in order to bid for the full 2000 guilders and this would have to be approved by the Co-ordinating Board. Tatiana Ershova (Russia) agreed to provide the documentation for Marjorie Bloss to take to the CB. [This was done by the time of the Committee's second meeting.]

The Committee also considered the possibility that the Exchange Bibliography could become a regular ongoing publication, in which case IFLA Headquarters could be asked to take it on as part of its continuing publications role. In that case the project money could be used as an interim measure to fund the completion of the current issue only before handing the responsibility over to IFLA HQ. Marjorie Bloss agreed to take the matter up with IFLA HQ.

In view of the changing scope of the bibliography, the Committee thought it appropriate to change its title. It was agreed that in future it should be known as the Acquisition and Collection Development Bibliography. The Committee also wondered whether there was scope to amalgamate it with the National Acquisitions Group acquisitions bibliography, compiled by Jim Vickery, which covered English language items only. It was agreed to investigate this possibility for later editions, but it was felt that there was enough material for the current edition to go ahead as it stood.

7.3. Collection Development Project

The Committee had a further lengthy discussion about the proposed Project on how to write collection development policies. Following Judy McDermott's analysis at the Beijing Conference, it had been decided not to proceed with the idea of a comprehensive "how to do it" document, but rather to proceed with a bibliography and analysis of existing policies, which might lead to a sample document draft for further consideration by the Committee.

The Committee felt that first there was a requirement to establish the need for such a document, especially since the US publisher, Oryx Press, had produced in 1995 a volume of published collection development statements, with little editorial comment. The publisher had agreed to publish an updated edition, but a new compiler would have to be found following the death of the previous one. The Committee felt that National Libraries should be asked whether they needed sample CD policies, or whether they already had adequate ones of their own. After the need was established, then libraries could be asked to provide sample of their CD policies. The Committee also felt that there was a danger of the project being swamped with masses of documentation: limiting it to IFLA libraries might help control it. It was agreed that there was a need to profile the project money carefully and to save money by carrying out the survey using the Web. Then two people could manage the project, one for the survey and one for the analysis, using project money for postage. Committee members could be involved in helping to translate documents.

Committee members agreed that the measure of the success of the project would be the publication and distribution of a set of profiled CD policies that could be copied by libraries inexperienced in drawing up such documents. Marjorie Bloss agreed to submit a small needs assessment questionnaire over IFLANet. She would seek a response within a modest time frame (2-3 months), then consider how the project might be defined on the basis of the responses received.

Amsterdam Conference 1998

8.1. Workshop
During the last IFLA Conference members of the Committee had tentatively selected the topic Changing organisational structures in acquisitions departments for a Workshop. Subsequently, Marjorie Bloss reported that she had had an offer from Dominic Farace, Director of TransAtlantic/GreyNet, who organises bi-annual conferences on Grey Literature, to mount a Workshop at Amsterdam on behalf of the Acquisition and Collection Development Section. The Workshop would be entitled Infrastructures in support of the collection, storage and dissemination of electronic grey literature and would last half a day. The aim of the Workshop would be to learn, through the use of case-studies, how government document repositories deal with their electronic grey literature compared with a national library or clearing house, etc. Marjorie Bloss felt that this was a good proposal to support since considerable groundwork had already been laid by GreyNet. The Committee also felt that it was a good offer and a well-developed option. After discussion whether it would be possible to include both topics by holding two Workshops in Amsterdam, it was agreed to accept Mr. Farace's offer to sponsor the Workshop on Grey Literature. Committee members were asked to suggest some case studies for the Workshop (ideas to Marjorie Bloss who will liaise with Dominic Farace).

8.2. Open Programme
The Committee agreed that it was also necessary to change the Open programme at Amsterdam since the Collection Development project was unlikely to be sufficiently advanced by then. One suggestion was to make the original Amsterdam Workshop into the Open Programme while retaining a Workshop-type structure. Meanwhile Tatiana Ershova suggested an Open Programme on Building the digital library, with papers on, for example, Selection in different formats, the Problems of licensing electronic formats, and so on. The Programme should take a broad overview to begin with. After discussion, it was agreed to proceed with an Open Programme entitled Collection development issues in building the digital library. The Programme would be co-ordinated by Sara Yontan Musnik (France), Joe Hewitt (USA) and Christina Fristrom (Sweden).

Bangkok Conference

Dora Biblarz (USA) suggested an Open Programme on the theme of Book Aid Programmes as being suitable for Bangkok: a good title might be Assuring the quality of exchange programmes, taking in the views of both the donating and recipient libraries, how to produce a positive programme and the role of ISO9000. Alternatively, the Project on Collection Development Policies might be ready to feed into an Open Programme by then. For the Workshop it was suggested that something in the conservation area would be useful, possibly in conjunction with the Preservation and Conservation Section as co-sponsor.

Publishers Liaison Committee

Ann Okerson reported that the discussion at the Publishers Liaison Committee meeting had centred mostly on copyright and intellectual property issues. The PLC also considered the proposed establishment of an IFLA Standing Committee on legal matters, including copyright, and what its relationship with that group would be. The Committee felt that the PLC was moving away from purely copyright issues to consider broader matters which brought it within the scope of the SC on Acquisitions and Collection Development. This raised the possibility of co-sponsorship of programmes. [A fuller account of the PLC appears later in this issue of the Newsletter]

Medium Term Programme 1998-2001

Scope

Goals

1. Monitor the impact of the electronic environment on acquisitions functions (such as the ordering and paying of materials electronically, the creation and maintenance of machine-readable acquisition files), collection evaluation and assessment, and exchange.

2. Provide information on collection development activities, such as the formulation of policies, deacquisitions and weeding of collections, and co-operative acquisitions programmes.

3. Assume a partnership role in promoting libraries' perspectives in the publisher and vendor communities in the areas of copyright, licensing, and the pricing of materials, with an emphasis on electronic documents.

4. Monitor and provide information on the changing organisational structures in acquisitions and collection development departments, especially in the light of the changing electronic environment.

5. Provide information about the work of the section and standing committee in a variety of mediums (printed Newsletters, brochures, publication of papers given during IFLA conferences, and in electronic formats such as IFLANet) to those interested in acquisitions and collection development work.

6. Provide information on the processes and procedures governing legal deposits.

7. Promote the section in order to increase membership.

ACTION PLAN 1998-1999

Goal 1: Monitor the impact of the electronic environment on acquisitions functions (such as the ordering and paying of materials electronically, the creation and maintenance of machine-readable acquisition files), collection evaluation and assessment, and exchange.

1. Conduct a program during the 1998 IFLA conference on the impact of building digital libraries on collection development activities.

2. In cooperation with GreyNet TransAtlantic, present a half-day workshop on Grey Literature during the 1998 IFLA Conference in Amsterdam that will focus on the availability and accessibility of this information particularly in an electronic environment. (IFLA 1998 Conference)

3. Evaluate the possibility of conducting a survey on the impact of the electronic environment on acquisitions functions of libraries in developing countries. (Initial discussion at the 1997 IFLA conference with follow-up afterwards. If the decision is to proceed, coordinate activities with ALP.)

4. Update the Acquisition and Collection Development Bibliography (previously titled the Exchange Bibliography) and issue it either in the Section's Newsletter or as a separate publication. At the same time, explore with the Professional Board and IFLA HQ the possibility of issuing this publication on an ongoing basis outside of the standing committee. (1998)

Goal 2: Provide information on collection development activities, such as the formulation of policies, deacquisitions and weeding of collections, and co-operative acquisitions programmes.

1. Request written collection development policies from libraries to form the basis for a new document that could be used for libraries wishing to create collection development policies. (Early 1998, for publication in time for the summer 1999 IFLA Conference.)

2. Provide bibliographic information on the activities listed above through the Acquisition and Collection Development Bibliography (see Goal 1 number 3 above).

3. Develop a conference programme on collection development policies for the 1999 IFLA Conference in Bangkok, based on Goal 1 number 1 and Goal 2 number 1.

4. Explore the possibility of conducting a workshop in Bangkok on profiles for sending gift materials to libraries in developing countries and their criteria for accepting such materials. (1998 IFLA Conference, coordinated with ALP)

Goal 3: Assume a partnership role in promoting libraries' perspectives in the publisher and vendor communities in the areas of copyright, licensing, and the pricing of materials, with an emphasis on electronic documents.

1. Conduct a survey on the costs of licensing agreements versus traditional subscription costs, analyze and distribute the results. (Late 1999, early 2000. Coordinate with the Standing Committee on Serial Publications and the Publishers Liaison Committee.)

2. Actively participate in meetings of the Publishers Liaison Committee during IFLA Conferences. Provide summaries of the meetings in the Section's Newsletter. (Ongoing)

Goal 4: Monitor and provide information on the changing organisational structures in acquisitions and collection development departments, especially in the light of the changing electronic environment.

1. Explore holding a workshop during the 1998 conference in Amsterdam on the changing organizational structures in acquisitions and collection development departments in light of the changing electronic environment. (If the Standing Committee is permitted only one half day conference, then the first choice will be that on Grey Literature. See Goal 1 number 2)

2. If the above workshop does take place, explore the possibility of having the papers from the above workshop issued as a monograph. (1998)

Goal 5: Provide information about the work of the section and standing committee in a variety of mediums (printed Newsletters, brochures, publication of papers given during IFLA conferences, and in electronic formats such as IFLANet) to those interested in acquisitions and collection development work.

1. Publish two issues of the Section's Newsletter each year. Forward machine-readable versions to IFLANet for
2. inclusion. (Ongoing)

3. Translate copies of the Section's brochure into at least four of the official IFLA languages. (1998)

4. Provide translations of conference papers in more of the five official IFLA languages. (Ongoing)

Goal 6:Provide information on the processes and procedures governing legal deposits.

1. No activity in this two-year period.

Goal 7: Promote the section in order to increase membership.

1. Using the IFLA Directory, identify and target libraries that might have special interest in acquisition and collection development. Mail them a letter of introduction about the Section and a copy of the Section's brochure. (Fall 1998.)

These developments should be coordinated with A&CD, particularly in view of the anomalous position of the PLC within the IFLA structure and the difficulties in communication that ensue. It has been agreed that PLC and A&CD should work more closely together, and this should ensure that IFLA’s dialogue with publishers becomes a key aspect of its future activities.

Standing Committee

Ms Marjorie E. Bloss

Secretary:

Jim Vickery

Members:

Ms Tatiana Afanasieva

Ms Dora Biblarz

Anatolyi Brovkin

Daniel Champlon

Ms Madel Crasta

Merril Distad

Ms Christine Friström

Rolf Griebel

Joe A Hewitt

Masaki Nasu

Ms Ann Okerson

Ms Veronica Pangratiu

Alexei P Romanov

Ms Liv Rustviken

Ms Marie-Joëlle Tarin

Ms Anneli Virtanen

Ms Sara Yontan Musnik

Corresponding members

S B Bandara

Ms Bel Hadj Yahia

J R Njuguna

Ms Zhong-shu Zhai

Observer

G Lazzari