Collection Assessment Projects
In 1997, the Thompson Library undertook a major project analyzing its collection. Librarians, library staff, and
departmental faculty systematically examined the library's holdings using the WLN Conspectus method. A report was
issued early in 1999, detailing the collections strengths, weaknesses, trends, and future prospects. Several years later,
the Thompson Library issued a smaller report, following up on developments since the 1997-99 conspectus.
In the belief that the findings contained in these reports were of interest to the campus, to the community at large, and to
libraries around the country and abroad, we published the documents on our website. Any future conspectus projects at
the Thompson Library will be publicized at this website.
Overview of the conspectus process
The object of the assessment was to determine the collection's strengths and weaknesses, which will enable the library and teaching faculty to plan its growth in a
more informed way. The project involved most of the librarians, in many cases acting in consultation with the departments for which they serve as liaisons.
For the assessment, the Thompson Library used the
"conspectus" approach of WLN(formerly the Western Library
Network, recently merged with OCLC), published in the WLN
Collection Assessment Manual, 4th ed. (1992). (A fifth
edition, Using the Conspectus Method: A Collection
Assessment Handbook, came out in late 1997, in the middle of
the conspectus project. Unless otherwise noted, standards and
citations are taken from the 1992 edition, hereinafter referred to
as CAM). The conspectus assigns each item in the Library's
collection to one of twenty-four subject-based divisions, which
are, in turn, divided into categories and, optionally, categories
into subjects. Each division is assigned three ratings: one for
the current level of strength, one for the current acquisitions
commitment, and one for the goal level. The ratings cover the
breadth, depth, currency, and accessibility of the collection, and
are measured by a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods.
Their definitions are summarized at right:
0
Out of scope
1
Minimal level
1a
Minimal level, uneven coverage
1b
Minimal level, even coverage
2
Basic information level
2a
Basic information level, Introductory
2b
Basic information level, Advanced (Appropriate for community
college students)
3
Study or instructional support level
3a
Basic study or instructional support level (Adequate to support lower
division undergraduate courses)
3b
Intermediate study or instructional support level (Adequate to support
upper division undergraduate courses; not adequate for master's
degree programs)
3c
Advanced study or instructional support level (Adequate to support
master's degree programs)
4
Research level (Adequate to support doctoral research)
5
Comprehensive level
Most of the divisions were assigned a goal level rating of 3b, because they support undergraduate majors. The divisions that support master's programs received
the rating of 3c; divisions that do not directly or indirectly support academic programs received ratings between 0 and 3a.
The following criteria were used in assigning ratings for the current collection strength:

The number of titles in a division. This is based upon a formula that takes into account the annual domestic publishing output for each division.







The percentage of books in standard bibliographies.
The percentage of subscriptions to periodicals indexed in standard sources.
Special formats, media, and collections available at the Library.
The language of the materials.
The average age of the titles in the division.
The acquisition rate.
The readership level of books and periodicals in the division.
In addition to using these criteria, some of the librarians consulted instructors for their opinions regarding the strength of the division in question.
The conspectus method was selected for several reasons:

It gives the Thompson Library's administrators and librarians reliable information for assessing strengths and weaknesses in the collection. This in turn allows
for more systematic and informed development of the collection over the next several years.
 It provides information to respond intelligently and effectively to shifting budget priorities.
 Finally, it allows for objective comparison with the collections of other libraries that have used the WLN conspectus.
One potential objection to the conspectus approach is that it does not take into account the allocation formula used in devising the library budgets for the academic
departments. This is actually an advantage; it provides a fresh vantage point for assessing how well the collection is meeting a widespread standard, and how well
the allocation formula is enhancing collection development. It may point to a need to review the allocation formula.
Non-WLN divisions
The WLN divisions are arranged around the Library of Congress call number system (LCCN). Some academic subjects supported by the Thompson Library's
collection, e.g. public administration and women's & gender studies, could not be studied adequately within the framework of the WLN conspectus, because they
are interdisciplinary in nature. The LCCN does not lend itself to cross-disciplinary subjects, for such fields tend to be scattered across the call numbers.
A separate but related problem was that the divisions are broken into categories that do not always accurately reflect the ways in which academicians subdivide
their fields. For example, within the Political Science Division, there are no separate categories for political theory or comparative government, even though these
are central subjects within the discipline. Arguably, these topics are implicit in the WLN categories, but they are too important and intellectually distinct to be
subsumed under a more general category. To lump them under a broader category would make the results significantly harder for people, especially outsiders, to
interpret or draw meaningful conclusions.
To resolve these problems, several non-WLN categories were devised within existing divisions to better reflect the nature of those disciplines. There were also two
separate non-WLN divisions: Public Administration and Women & Gender Studies. Future analysis of the collection will probably necessitate creating non-WLN
divisions for African-American Studies, American Culture, and Communication.
Government documents
The government documents collection was not studied as part of the conspectus. Although it is an important source of information in the Library, it was not
included in the study for two major reasons.
1. It is not arranged in a manner parallel to the rest of the collection. Materials are grouped according to the government office that produced them rather than by
subject. This makes it hard to correlate holdings in government documents to the arrangement of the conspectus.
2. Government documents are less accessible in practice than the rest of the Library's holdings, primarily because they are catalogued separately.
Internet resources
The World Wide Web is an increasingly important source for information, and the Thompson Library provides access to it and has organized access to some of its
resources through its homepage. In assessing the collection, it was decided, with some reservations, to leave Internet resources out of the equation, for the
following reasons:
1. Printed materials still enjoy primacy in academia. Because of its novelty, the Web has not gained the acceptance among students or faculty that has long been
enjoyed by printed materials. Some instructors discourage or even forbid their students from using Internet bibliographic sources. Until Web resources gain a
level of acceptance close to that of printed materials, it seems unwise to consider them using the same sets of standards for a traditional collection.
2. There are many ambiguities and uncertainties in measuring a Web-based collection. Because it is still so novel, formal and informal standards for measuring
the viability of a Web collection are still underdeveloped.
o There are numerous and widely agreed-upon rules of thumb for determining the quality of a new monograph. Although some rules of thumb exist for
assessing quality in a website, these rules are themselves new and relatively untested.
o Standard bibliographies, which are a major tool for rating the collection, either do not exist for the Web, or are so quickly outdated that they are reliable for
only a very short time.
o The universe of materials available on the Web is extremely difficult to quantify. A "metasite" may provide links to 100 other sites, which in turn link to still
more sites. There is no good answer to the question of whether this metasite should be counted as one resource, as 101, or as 1,001. Additionally, the
number of websites is growing at a phenomenal rate, with many if not most sites receiving little or no public notice. There is therefore no real benchmark for
determining what constitutes an adequate-sized collection.
3. The reliability of materials available on the Web is extremely uneven.
Although it might be objected that with the advent of the Web, countless materials are now available to library users, this argument is essentially hollow. By such
logic, the Library's collection has always been superlative, because students always had the option of going to other libraries or ordering materials from
bookstores. The fallacy of this statement is fairly obvious. The conspectus is measuring what is available here, not what is hypothetically available elsewhere.
Other libraries
It might be objected that as part of the University of Michigan, the Thompson Library benefits from the holdings of the Ann Arbor campus. This is true but irrelevant.
The conspectus is a measure of the collection available locally. For many if not most students, it is inconvenient at best to make a trip to Ann Arbor for books
needed for research. Interlibrary loan is available, but it is not any easier or quicker to retrieve a book from the Ann Arbor campus than elsewhere.
The Thompson Library does indeed have reciprocal borrowing arrangements with the libraries of Mott Community College, Baker College of Flint, and Kettering
University. However, the number of books that can be borrowed is limited, and the Thompson Library does not share an online catalog with these institutions.
Furthermore, there are no agreements for cooperative collection development.
Finally, it is very arguably unethical to rely on the holdings of other institutions to serve the needs of UM-Flint students, faculty, and staff. Students might
legitimately wonder what their tuition money pays for if they routinely must go to another library to conduct ordinary research for their classes.
1990 accreditation report
In its report, the accreditation team in 1990 listed among its concerns:
The library facilities are a major area of concern. This concern encompasses the collection (breadth and depth), space, and accessibility. The growth in graduate
programs requires more and better access to relevant periodicals and references. As new programs have been added, the library holdings have not kept pace. ...
("Report of a Visit to University of Michigan-Flint," pp. 27-28).
UM-Flint is going to be evaluated for accreditation from the North Central Association again in 1999. While progress has been made in many areas, (e.g. moving to
a facility of adequate size, automating circulation and adding MIRLYN), the Library's slow and inadequate collection growth could be a liability.
Overview of results
The Thompson Library appears to have, on the whole, a solid, albeit slender, core collection of books, and a relatively impoverished periodicals collection. The
book collection is aging and badly in need of both pruning and new growth in order to build on the core already in place. More collection development tools (such
as bibliographies) are needed to help the librarians and UM-Flint teaching faculty add to the collection in a more systematic manner. Moreover, the lack of a viable
collection development policy has probably hampered rational collection growth.
Periodicals
WLN publishes the following standard for periodicals collections:
1b
Some general periodicals + Reader's Guide and/or other major general indexes
2a
Some general periodicals + Reader's Guide and/or other major general indexes
2b
2a + wider selection of general periodicals + 30% or more of titles indexed in the
appropriate Wilson subject index + access to that index
3a
50% or more of titles indexed in the appropriate Wilson subject index + access to
that index
3b
75% or more of titles indexed in the appropriate Wilson subject index + access to
that index + wide range of basic serials + access to non-bibliographic databases
3c
3b + 90% of titles indexed in the appropriate Wilson subject index + access to the
major indexing & abstracting services in the field
CAM, p. 69
To check these, a list of Wilson-indexed periodicals was compiled, and the periodicals were assigned call numbers (based on UM-Ann Arbor's or Michigan State
University's call numbers) and broken down by WLN division. Next, two percentages were calculated: the percentage currently subscribed to by the Thompson
Library and the percentage of the periodicals the Library does not subscribe to but which are available full-text to patrons through FirstSearch, Lexis-Nexis,
ProQuest Direct, and SearchBank.
The periodicals collection is inadequate. For the collection as a whole, the Library should attain a collecting level of at least 3b. Of course, individual divisions might
call for a higher or lower periodicals rating. Still, once the variations are balanced out, an overall periodicals rating of 3b seems appropriate.
Of the 2,222 Wilson-indexed periodicals surveyed, the Library has ongoing print and/or microfilm subscriptions to 673 (30%). This, in itself, amounts to a
conspectus rating of 2b for the collection as a whole. This does not include full-text access through the Web databases. Once full-text access through the Web is
included, the number of subscriptions to Wilson-indexed periodicals rises to 1184, bringing the percentage up to 53%.
Although nominally this is within the 3a range, WLN does not regard electronic subscriptions as adequate substitutes for print resources unless, inter alia, they
contain "graphics, charts, and other features" (Using the Conspectus Method, p.73). With the partial exception of ProQuest Direct, the full-text Web access that the
Thompson Library holds is text-only. For many periodicals, this does not matter, but for some, e.g. arts periodicals, text-only access is no substitute for access in
print. Moreover, quality control in the databases is uneven, and students appear, on the whole, less familiar and sometimes less comfortable using electronic fulltext.
There are other problems with the Library's periodicals collection:

There are not enough periodical subscriptions for an academic library. As of early 1998, the Thompson Library subscribed to 1,185 journals. A comparison with
the libraries of peer institutions shows that this is greatly below the average of 2,254 journal subscriptions per library. (See Appendix A).




There is inadequate coordination of points of access. This is mainly due to the novelty of electronic access, but it still needs to be addressed.
A central journals list is needed. Patrons often have to check two or more lists to determine if a periodical is available at the Library.
There are no MIRLYN records for electronic-access journals. Although creating them would require a substantial amount of effort both initially and over time, it
is crucial to provide patrons with the information they need to most effectively use the library resources that they are paying for with their tuition.
The Library has no control over the journals available through FirstSearch, SearchBank, ProQuest Direct, and Lexis-Nexis. Access to these periodicals can be
cancelled by their owners or by the vendors. Numerous full-text periodicals have in fact been cancelled and new ones added. This creates an element of
instability to the Library's access to electronic journals.
Funding
According to WLN standards, for a rating of 3b, which is adequate to support an undergraduate collection, a library should collect 15-20% of the total number of
academic books published each year. Of course, materials for some divisions should be collected at a higher or lower level, depending on what sort of academic
programs they support. Nevertheless, a 3b rating seems like an appropriate goal for the collection as a whole. By this standard, the Library's budget has not grown
sufficiently in many years.
According to the Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade Almanac, from 1991 to 1995 there were 307,431 academic books published or otherwise made available
in North America. To attain a 3b acquisitions rate, the Library should have added between 46,115 and 61,486 titles to its collection between 1991 and 1995. During
this period, however, the Library ordered 33,267 titles (11% of the total) and catalogued 31,315 (10%).
The trend seems to be worsening. In 1996, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 74,262 academic books were published or made available in
North America. That year, the Library ordered 4361 monograph titles and catalogued 4636. These amount to, respectively, 5.9% and 6.2% of the total for the year.
In 1997, the Library ordered 4,275 titles and catalogued 3,412. These amount to 5.8% or 4.6%, respectively, of the total for 1996. In 1998, the Library ordered
3857 titles (5.2%) and catalogued 4629 (6.2%). The actual percentage of titles acquired in these years is probably even lower, because the publishing output has
risen every year since 1991.
The chart below shows the serious falling-off of the already inadequate growth rate (as noted above in the 1990 accreditation report).
The Library's 1997-1998 budget had $117,944 in its free balance (i.e. the amount
allocated to academic departments for books, and not carried over from the previous
year), plus $25,000 allocated (and not carried over) in funds for reference and individual
librarians, for a total of $142,944 for monograph acquisitions. For each division, both the
actual free balance and a "weighted total" were factored in. The weighted total
represents the free balance plus a proportional share of money from the budgets for
reference and the librarians. See the table below for a more detailed summary of these
data.
The figure for the 1998-99 budget is $107,758 in the free balance, plus
$35,608 for librarians and reference, for a total of $143,366. This is an
increase of a mere $422. Money carried over from previous budgets
was not included, because presumably some money from the current
budget will be carried over to the next year. Thus, the carry-over
amounts balance each other out.
Based on the 1996 publishing figure, the Library should add between 11,139 and 14,852 titles each year to collect at the 3b level. At an average cost of $49.86 per
title, this would cost between $555,391 and $740,520 for book acquisitions alone. (This does not include periodicals, electronic databases or other products, or
processing costs). The current budget falls far short of being able to attain this goal.
Because this figure is so much higher than the free balance, a 10% acquisition rate might be a more attainable immediate goal for the collection as a whole. Some
divisions would, of course, require a higher percentage (for graduate programs), or a lower percentage (for disciplines not taught at UM-Flint). Any departments
that already exceed 10% should at least maintain their existing level of funding, inasmuch as no department (except Education) currently meets WLN standards for
acquisitions.
As noted above, a grand total of 74,262 titles were published or made available in 1996. An acquisitions rate of 10% would entail having added about 7426 titles at
a total cost of $370,260 for monographs alone (i.e. $227,316, or 159%, more than the actual monographs allocation).
At a 10% acquisitions rate of new materials, there is no danger of running out of space. The Thompson Library building has enough shelf space to hold 350,000
volumes, and there are currently only about 225,000 bound volumes (including periodicals). The extra space, combined with a program of regular and prudent
withdrawals of outdated materials (standard practice in most academic libraries), should allow for ample growth of the collection well into the 2020s.
Monograph Acquisitions: Actual & Recommended, 1997-98
Division
Book
allocation
Weighted
allocation
Est. 1997
price per vol.
Est. no.
vols.
buyable
Avg.
annual
publishing
output
Est. % of
output
acquired
AC
Min.
allocation to
buy 10% of
publishing
output
Agriculture
-
-
$59.13
-
910
-
2a
$1774*
Anthropology
$920**
$1115
$31.15
36
486
7%
2b
$1526
Art & Architecture
$3577
$4335
$47.90
91
2162
4%
2a
$10,346
Biological Sciences
$4107
$4978
$70.25
71
2081
3%
2a
$14,612
Business & Economics
School of Management
Economics
$5297
$3876
$6420
$4698
$39.00
$43.94
165
107
3305
2704
5%
4%
2b
2a
$12,909
$11,683
Chemistry
$797
$966
$134.32
7
530
1%
2a
$7119
Computer Science
$4039
$4895
$44.78
109
1436
8%
2b
$6448
Education
$11,946
$14,478
$30.79
470
1924
24%
3b
$14,478*
Engineering & Technology
$2910
$3527
$65.63
54
5580
1%
2a
$36,521
Geography & Earth Science
$3261
$3952
$53.67
74
733
10%
2b/3a
$3952
History & Auxiliary Sciences
$7970
$9659
$29.19
331
5773
6%
2b
$16,843
Language, Linguistics, & Literature
Foreign Languages
English
$4557
$10,150
$5523
$12,301
$28.33
$25.95
195
474
4305
6888
5%
7%
2b
2b
$12,182
$17,880
Law
-
-
$52.18
-
1465
-
-
$7670
Library Science
-
-
$42.92
-
936
-
-
$4034
Mathematics
$2644
$3204
$42.58
75
1555
5%
2b
$6642
$14,314
$17,348
$58.02
299
5260
6%
2b
$30,519
Music
$4466
$5413
$36.42
149
1065
14%
3a
$5413*
Performing Arts
$2289
$2774
$35.45
78
665
12%
3a
$2774
Philosophy & Religion
$6643
$8051
$31.70
254
3892
7%
2b
$12,331
Physical Education & Recreation
-
-
$27.81
-
146
-
3a
$779
Physical Sciences
$1384
$1677
$80.47
21
1583
1%
2a
$12,714
Political Science
$4964
$6016
$41.96
143
1965
7%
2b
$8266
Psychology
$1322
$1602
$33.96
47
931
5%
2b
$3158
$12,072**
$14,631
$32.77
446
3216
14%
3a
$14,631
Medicine
includes Health Care, Medical
Technology, Nursing, & Physical
Therapy
Sociology
includes Sociology, Criminal
Justice, & Social Work
* To preserve current level of acquisitions
** The Departments of Sociology and Anthropology share a budget; the book allocation is divided based on enrollment. See the reports
for Sociology and Anthropology for details.
Summary of ratings
Below is a summary of the conspectus ratings. It shows figures only at the division level; figures for the individual categories are contained in the division reports
on the Library's homepage. (See above for an explanation of the ratings).
Ratings
Division
Current Level
Acquisitions
Commitment
Goal Level
Agriculture
2a
2a*
2a
Anthropology
3a
2b**
3b
Art & Architecture
2b
2b
3b
Biological Sciences
2b
2a
3b
Business & Economics
3a
2a
3b/3c
Chemistry
2b
2a
3b
Computer Science
2a/2b
2b
3b
Education
3a/3b
3b
3b/3c
Engineering & Technology
2a
2a
2b/3b
Geography & Earth Science
2a
2b/3a
3b
History & Auxiliary Sciences
3a
2b
3b/3c
Language, Linguistics, & Literature
3a
2b
3b/3c
Law
3a
2b*
3b
Library Science
3a
3a*
3b
Mathematics
3a/3b
2b
3b
Medicine
2a
2a
3b/3c
Music
3a
3a
3b
Performing Arts
3a
3a
3b
Philosophy & Religion
3a
2b
3b
Physical Education & Recreation
2b
3a*
2b
Physical Sciences
2b
2a
3b
Political Science
3a
2b
3b/3c
Psychology
3a
2b
3b
Sociology
3a
3a**
3b/3c
Public Administration
3a
3a*
3c
Women's & Gender Studies
3b
-
3b
* Has no departmental allocation; based on acquisitions rate
** Based on shared budget
Select Data Comparison with Peer Institutions
Institution
Enrollment*
Volumes in
library
Volumes per
student
Periodicals
Drake University (Des Moines, IA)
3876
475,912
122.78
2955
La Sierra University (Riverside, CA)
1195
225,311
188.55
1422
Middle Tennessee State U.
12,091
604,017
49.96
3507
Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA)
5890
339,460
57.63
3186
University of San Francisco
6808
603,341
88.62
2381
University of Texas-Dallas
3312
554,547
167.44
3811
Northern Michigan University
7179
511,404
71.24
1932
Indiana University-Northwest
4046
206,600
51.06
1860
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
10,382
400,000
38.53
1790
UM-Dearborn
8185
284,494
34.76
1209
University of Southern Indiana
6280
196,419
31.28
1577
Moorhead State University
5610
367,334
65.48
1601
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
9719
352,500
36.30
2036
University of Minnesota-Duluth
7497
457,000
60.96
2676
SUNY at New Paltz
6958
470,000
67.55
NA
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
8659
356,277
41.15
1866
UM-Flint
4278
180,507
42.19
1185
AVERAGE
6586
387,363
58.81
2187
* Estimated; part-time students counted as 0.5 FTE.
Sources: Internal UM-Flint data, College Blue Book, 1997, and American Library Directory, 1997-98.
Division reports:









Agriculture
Anthropology
Art & Architecture
Biological Sciences
Business & Economics
Chemistry
Computer Science
Education
Engineering &
Technology









Geography & Earth Sciences
History & Auxiliary Sciences
Language, Linguistics, & Literature
Law
Library Science, Generalities, &
Reference
Mathematics
Medicine
Music
Performing Arts








Philosophy & Religion
Physical Education & Recreation
Physical Sciences
Political Science
Psychology
Public Administration (non-WLN division)
Sociology
Women's & Gender Studies (non-WLN
division)
Quantitative WLN Criteria for Determining CL (Current Collection Level) Ratings
CL
Rating
Monographic
coverage in a
division (will vary
according to
publishing
output)
1b (or
less)
Fewer than
2500 titles
5% or below
Some general
periodicals + Reader's
Guide to Per. Lit. and/or
other major general
indexes
Collections
almost
exclusively
in English
Less than 5% U.S.
hardback publishing
output + 10-20% "Best
Reference Books"
published each year as
identified in standard
reviewing sources such
as Library
Journal, Choice,
or Bowker Annual
-
2a
2500- 5000
titles
Less than 10%
Some general
periodicals + Reader's
Guide to Per. Lit. and/or
other major general
indexes
Collections
almost
exclusively
in English
Less than 5% U.S.
hardback publishing
output + 10-20% "Best
Reference Books"
published each year as
identified in standard
reviewing sources such
as Library
Journal, Choice,
or Bowker Annual
-
2b
5000-8000 titles
Less than 15%
2a + wider selection of
general periodicals +
30% or more of titles
indexed in the
appropriate Wilson
subject index + access
to the index
Collections
almost
exclusively
in English
5-10% of U.S. hardback
publishing output as
identified inBowker
Annual + 20-30% "Best
Reference Books"
Selection
appropriate for the
general reader &
general reference
questions
Percentage of
holdings in
major, standard
subject
bibliographies
Periodical & periodical
index coverage
Language
Acquisition rate*
Readership level
3a
8000-12,000
titles
15-20%
50% of titles indexed in
the appropriate Wilson
subject index + access
to the index(es)
Collections
almost
exclusively
in English
10-15% of U.S. hardback
publishing output + 4060% of the "Best"
2b + lower division
undergraduate study
level materials +
major subject
specific reference &
bibliographic
sources
3b
More than
12,000 titles
representing a
wider range
than 3a
30-40%
75% of titles indexed in
the appropriate Wilson
subject index and/or
other appropriate major
subject indexes +
access to the indexes +
a wide range of basic
serials + access to nonbibliographic databases
Selected
foreign
language
materials are
included
20% of U.S. hardback
publishing output + 4060% of the "Best"
3a + upper division
undergraduate study
level materials +
wider selection of
subject specific
reference &
bibliographic
sources
3c
More than
12,000 titles
representing a
wider range
than 3b
50-70%
3b + 90% of titles
indexed in the
appropriate Wilson
subject indexes +
access to the major
indexing & abstracting
services in the field
Selected
foreign
language
materials are
included
25% of U.S. hardback
publishing output +
selected foreign
publishing + 60-80% of the
"Best"
3b + materials to
support master's
level and/or
independent
research
4
More than
12,000 titles
representing a
wider range
than 3c
75-80%
-
Wide
selection of
foreign
language
materials
30% U.S. hardback
publishing output + 95%
of "Best" + wide selection
of appropriate foreign
publishing output
-
* For the Thompson Library conspectus project, the standard used is the number of North American academic book titles rather than
the number of hardback book titles; the former is a considerably higher number than the latter; it is also far more relevant to the needs
of an academic library.
Modification of WLN standards
The WLN conspectus model set the following standard for the number of monographs in a division:
Monographic Coverage in a Division
1b or less
Fewer than 2,500
2a
2,500 - 5,000
2b
5,000 - 8,000
3a
8,000 - 12,000, representing a range of monographs
3b or more
More than 12,000, representing a wider range than 3a
These numbers "will vary according to publishing output" (CAM, p.69). However, there are no guidelines in the manual to indicate how they should vary. I therefore
developed a formula for determining the variation for each division: (24times Number of monographs published in division 1991-95) divided by (Total publishing
output 1991-95) = P. The P for each division is then multiplied by the parameters above.
Explanation: There are 24 divisions in the conspectus, so each division should be expected to make up 1/24 of total publishing output. If a division actually had
1/24 of the publishing output for the years 1991 to 1995, multiplying it by 24 would mean P=1. If a division has a higher or lower proportion than 1/24, then P will be
greater or lesser.
According to the Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade Almanac, 307,431 academic books were published or otherwise made available in the United States from
1991 to 1995 (the most recent years for which statistics were available). This statistic is based on data supplied by several major book vendors. During that time
period, there were 16,082 monographs published in sociology. Plugging these variables into the formula, we have the following equation: P =
(24 times 16,082) divided by 307,431 = 1.255. P is multiplied by the WLN parameters, which gives us the following modified results:
Monographic Coverage in a Division
1b or less
Fewer than 3,138
2a
3,138-6,275
2b
6,276-10,040
3a
10,040-15,060
3b or more
More than 15,060
ACRL Standards
The American Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has implemented standards for its member libraries, of which the Thompson Library is one.
Formula A: Collections
Basic collection
85,000
Allowance per FTE faculty member
100
Allowance per FTE student
15
Allowance per undergraduate major or minor field
350
Allowance per master's field, when no higher degree is offered in the field
6,000
Allowance per master's field, when a higher degree is offered in the field
3,000
Allowance per 6th year specialist degree field
6,000
Allowance per doctoral field
25,000
These figures are to be calculated cumulatively. ... Microform holdings should be
converted to volume-equivalents, whether by actual count or by an averaging
formula which considers each reel of microfilm, or ten pieces of any other
microform, as one volume-equivalent. Audiovisual materials include
videocassettes, films, and videodisks (1 item = 1 VUE, volume unit equivalent),
sound recordings, filmstrips, loops, slide-tape sets, graphic materials including
maps, and computer software packages (1 item = 1 VUE), and slides (50 slides =
1 VUE). This approach may be adapted to other nonprint formats. ... Libraries
that can provide 90 to 100% of as many volumes as are called for in Formula A
shall be graded A in terms of library resources; from 75 to 89% shall be graded
B; 60 to 74% shall be graded C; and 50 to 59% shall be graded D.
These standards are designed to rate the collection as a whole. However, the principle can arguably also be applied at the conspectus division level. For the
conspectus, that is what has been done.
The number of books required per division is as follows: The "basic collection" is equally divided among the 24 divisions (3452 titles apiece). This number is added
to the appropriate numbers for each major or minor, full-time equivalent (FTE) student, FTE faculty member, and graduate program. The sum is then multiplied
by P.
For instance, if a division supports an undergraduate major program, a master's program, 200 FTE students and 10 FTE faculty members, the equation would be
as follows:
(3542 + (1 times 350) + (1 times 6,000) + (200 times 15) + (10 times 100)) times P
Acquisitions Commitment
The acquisitions commitment rating for each division is based on the amount of money that the Thompson Library has dedicated to purchasing monographs in that
division. It is determined by adding: 1) The free balance for monographs in the annual budgets of departments whose disciplines fall within that particular division;
and 2) A share of the total librarians' and reference budgets proportional to those departments' share of the overall book budget. The sum is a "weighted total"
budget, which is then divided by the average price of books in the relevant disciplines, as reported in The Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade
Almanac (adjusted for inflation and minus the standard 14% markdown from the book vendor Baker & Taylor). This tells how many monographs can be purchased
with the budget. The number of books purchasable is divided into the total annual publishing output for the relevant disciplines, which yields an AC rating.
Example: The History Department's 1997/98 book allocation (free balance) is $7970, which is 6.76% of the total free balance for all departments ($117,944). The
total budget (free balance) for all librarians and the reference department is $25,000. Adding 6.76% of $25,000 to the History Department's budget gives a
weighted total $9660. Academic history books cost an average of $29.19 apiece (factoring in the vendor discount). At this price, the History Department and
librarians can order 331 history titles, which is 6% of the total publishing output of 5773. A 6% acquisitions rate merits an AC rating of 2b.
This approach can be verified empirically. Academic books cost an average of $48.11 each. The total weighted monographs budget for 1997/98 is $142,944,
which will purchase 2971 monographs. In fact, the library catalogued 3,412 books in 1997, of which 334 were donations. In other words, the method predicts the
purchase of 2971 books, and 3078 were actually purchased, and error of only 3.6%.
There are other elements to the total library budget. Periodicals funding was not included in the AC rating, nor was money that was carried over from previous
budgets. In the latter case, this was because presumably some money from the current budget will be carried over to the next year. Thus, the carry-over amounts
balance each other out.
Preservation Commitment
The preservation commitment rating is based on "the extent of a library's commitment to preserving the intellectual content of the material and to the conservation
of the physical materials in a particular subject area" (Using the Conspectus Method, p.187). This rating was not used in the conspectus project, primarily because
the Thompson Library is not a research institution. It does not have a policy commitment to the preservation of materials, except for state and local materials of
archival value.
0 -- Out of scope
1 -- Minimal level
1a ---- Minimal level, uneven coverage
1b ---- Minimal level, even coverage
2 -- Basic information level
2a ---- Basic information level, Introductory
2b ---- Basic information level, Advanced (Appropriate for community college students)
3 -- Study or instructional support level
3a ---- Basic study or instructional support level (Adequate to support lower division undergraduate courses)
3b ---- Intermediate study or instructional support level (Adequate to support upper division undergraduate courses; not adequate for
master's degree programs)
3c ---- Advanced study or instructional support level (Adequate to support master's degree programs)
4 -- Research level (Adequate to support doctoral research)
5 -- Comprehensive level
List of Resources Used (with Abbreviations)





































AAAB Bernard Karpel & Ruth W. Spiegel, eds. Arts in America: A Bibliography (Smithsonian: 1979).
AHAG Mary Beth Norton & Pamela Gerardi, eds. The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature, 3rd ed. 2 vols. (Oxford: 1995).
AMGU Michael Erlewine & Scott Bultman, eds. All-Music Guide: The Best CDs, Albums, and Tapes (Miller Freeman: 1992).
APAB Gerald E. Caiden et al. American Public Administration: A Bibliographical Guide to the Literature (Garland: 1983).
ARBA American Reference Books Annual (Libraries Unlimited: 1972 -).
ATDR Irene Shaland. American Theater and Drama Research: An Annotated Guide to Information Sources, 1945-1990 (McFarland: 1991).
BCL3 Books for College Libraries, 3rd ed. (American Library Association: 1988).
BML2 Robert Michael Fling, ed. A Basic Music Library: Essential Scores and Books, 2nd ed. (American Library Association: 1983).
BOWK The Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade Almanac (R.R. Bowker: 1992 -).
BTCS Howard D. White. Brief Tests of Collection Strength: A Methodology for All Types of Libraries (Greenwood: 1995).
CLBJ Nancy Patricia O'Brien & Emily Fabiano. Core List of Books and Journals in Education (Oryx: 1991).
CLST Russell H. Powell & James R. Powell, Jr. Core List of Books and Journals in Science and Technology (Oryx: 1987).
CRWS Helen MacLam, ed. Choice Reviews in Women's Studies, 1990-1996 (American Library Association: 1997).
CUGB Bernard D. Reams and Stuart D.Yoak The Constitution of the United States: A Guide and Bibliography (Oceana: 1987).
DILB Dictionary of Literary Biography (Gale: 1983 -).
EB15 The New Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed., 34 vols. (Encyclopedia Britannica: 1993).
ELIS Brian L. Baker & Patrick J. Petit. Encyclopedia of Legal Information Sources, 2nd ed. (Gale: 1993).
EPSP The Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Supplement (Macmillan: 1967, 1996).
GTRB Robert Balay & Vee Friesner Carrington, eds. Guide to Reference Books, 11th ed. (American Library Association: 1996).
HBCC Mary Chatfield. Harvard Business School Core Collection: An Author, Title, and Subject Guide, 1993 (Harvard Business School, Baker Library: 1993).
ISST C.D. Hurt. Information Sources in Science and Technology (Libraries Unlimited: 1988).
LELI Nancy L. Herron, ed. The Leisure Literature: A Guide to Sources in Leisure Studies, Fitness, Sports, and Travel (Libraries Unlimited: 1992).
LINE Kirsten Malmkkjír. The Linguistics Encyclopedia (Routledge: 1991).
LFTW Patricia Shehan Campbell. Lessons from the World: A Cross-Cultural Guide to Music Teaching and Learning (Schirmer Books: 1991).
LNPS The Foundation Center. The Literature of the Nonprofit Sector: A Bibliography with Abstracts (Foundation Center: 1989 -).
MAAG Harold J. Diamond. Music Analyses: An Annotated Guide to the Literature (Schirmer: 1991).
MOLL Frank N. Magill, ed. Masterpieces of Latino Literature (HarperCollins: 1994).
NPDE John Eatwell, Murray Milgate, & Peter Newman, eds. The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics (Stockton: 1987).
OSFT Kim N. Fisher. On the Screen: A Film, Television, and Video Research Guide (Libraries Unlimited: 1986).
PABG Howard E. McCurdy. Public Administration: A Bibliographic Guide to the Literature (Marcel Dekker: 1986).
PGRL Hans E. Bynagle. Philosophy: A Guide to the Reference Literature, 2nd ed. (Libraries Unlimited: 1997).
RA13 The Reader's Adviser: A Layman's Guide to the Literature, 13th ed. (Bowker: 1988).
RA14 The Reader' Adviser: A Layman's Guide to the Literature, 14th ed. (Bowker: 1994).
RAEI Norman F. Clarke. The Recreation and Entertainment Industries: An Information Sourcebook (McFarland: 1990).
RARG Thomas Allen Greenfield. Radio: A Reference Guide (Greenwood: 1989).
RDGR Mary S. Bopp. Research in Dance: A Guide to Resources (G.K. Hall: 1994).
RGTP Terrence N. Tice. Research Guide to Philosophy (American Library Association: 1983).










RSSW James H. Conrad. Reference Sources in Social Work: An Annotated Bibliography (Scarecrow: 1982).
SISS William H. Webb et al. Sources of Information in the Social Sciences: A Guide to the Literature, 3rd ed. (American Library Association: 1986).
STIS Ching-Chih Chen. Scientific and Technical Information Sources, 2nd ed. (MIT: 1987).
TDOA Jane Turner, ed. The Dictionary of Art, 34 vols. (Grove: 1996).
TEOR Mircea Eliade. The Encyclopedia of Religion (Macmillan: 1986).
TGTL Mary B. Cassata & Thomas Skill. Television: A Guide to the Literature (Oryx: 1985).
TJB8 Roland L. & Isabel Wolsely. The Journalist's Bookshelf: An Annotated and Selected Bibliography of United States Print Journalism, 8th ed. (Berg: 1986).
UMPO Hal G. Rainey. Understanding and Managing Public Organizations, 2nd ed. (Jossey-Bass: 1997).
UTBL Elisabeth B. Davis & Diane Schmidt. Using the Biological Literature: A Practical Guide, 2nd ed., (Marcel Dekker, 1995).
WSRC Catherine R. Loeb, Susan E. Searing, & Esther F. Stineman. Women's Studies: A Recommended Core Bibliography, 1980-1985 (Libraries Unlimited:
1987).
Acknowledgments
The following people provided their invaluable assistance in all aspects of the conspectus project. I sincerely thank them for all their hard work.
Paul Streby February 18, 1999
Lois Alexander
Anita Barry
Grant Burns
Mary Cox
Dorothy Davis
Chuck Dunlop
Jennifer Dunseath
Harry Edwards
Quentin Galerneau
Cathy Gardner
Paul Gifford
Sally Harris
Dave Hart
Linda Hicks
Bob Houbeck
Kui-Bin Im
Peggy Kahn
Jamile Lawand
Neil Leighton
Sally Loken
Beth Lyst
Janine Mandeville
Lewis Miller
Rafael Mojica
Jim Norcross
Ellis Perlman
Nancy Powell
Al Price
Randy Repic
Kenneth Schilling
Robert Stach
Terry Swier
Reinhard Thum
Chris Waters
Linda Welsh
Howard White
Sue Woestehoff