Against the Grain

Volume 23 | Issue 6 Article 46

December 2011 Curating Collective Collections -- Prospectus for a New ATG Column Sam Demas Sam Demas Collaborative Consulting, [email protected]

Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/atg Part of the Library and Information Science Commons

Recommended Citation Demas, Sam (2011) "Curating Collective Collections -- Prospectus for a New ATG Column," Against the Grain: Vol. 23: Iss. 6, Article 46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7771/2380-176X.6066

This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. Curating Collective Collections — Prospectus for a New ATG Column Column Editor: Sam Demas (College Librarian Emeritus, Carleton College & Principal, Sam Demas Collaborative Consulting)

ooperative management and development to ensure that mistakes are not made that we Are these assumptions sound? What are we of collections are an elusive holy grail of will regret tomorrow. Some articles will report not thinking about as move towards irreversible Clibrarianship. Many approaches have and comment on the emerging infrastructure collective action as a long-term strategy for been tried from realizing the promise of collec- — technical and institutional — designed to addressing these challenges? tively offering physical and intellectual access to manage what promises to be an unprecedented a broader scope of resources than is possible indi- level of resource sharing and interdependence. Promises vidually, to cooperating in ensuring the long-term Others will offer advice and perspective on What promises will libraries make to their preservation of the record, and to systematically thoughtfully managing collections locally constituents as they moves to realize cost-sav- helping each other save space and contain costs. within the framework of regional and national ings by sharing their print storage, keeping Today the availability of digital surrogates for an initiatives to curate collective collections. only several copies nationally or regionally and ever-increasing proportion of the materials in our The pieces in this column will be journalistic withdrawing redundant print holdings? Our general collections is re-framing this noble aspira- rather than research-based in approach. In keep- long-term promises to society should include: tion, asking us to consider: can we collectively ing with ATG’s editorial style, the news will be • Long-term preservation of and access to manage our print general collections more cost- fresh and eclectic, and the articles lively and a sufficient number of complete versions effectively as a formal, national shared resource often provocative. While I will write some of of our print and digital cultural heritage than is possible by continuing to manage them the articles myself, many will be co-authored or of books and journals to meet national as individual, isolated collections informally knit written by others. Perhaps you’d like to propose needs for generations to come; together by a loose patchwork of retention and a piece? • There will be tangible benefits for library resource-sharing agreements? This introductory article provides an outline users, including sophisticated discovery Equipped with new technology and nascent of issues in shared print archiving for those new systems offering improved intellectual examples of radical collection cooperation, and to the conversation, and suggests the range of access and delivery options, and that motivated by the most serious economic pres- possible topics for future articles. This is a far address ever-changing expectations sures in generations, libraries appear to be on the broader scope than one small column can pos- for new approaches to pedagogy and cusp of an ambitious move towards cooperative sibly cover, so you, dear reader, are invited to research, such as support for new forms collection management at a national scale. participate in shaping this column today by of serendipitous discovery, for social “Shared print archiving” and “collective suggesting three topics for articles over the learning/networked intelligence, and collections” are the terms currently in use to coming year. Keep this in mind as you peruse print-on-demand. describe the move towards a national network this outline of the many complex and challeng- • A robust, nationally coordinated service of collective print collections. They are used ing facets of re-developing1 our collections as program that provides friction-free, in- interchangeably to denote carefully coordinated collectively curated, shared resources. stantaneous delivery of digital texts and efforts among libraries to reduce the footprints speedy delivery of print originals when of their on-campus general collections by with- Premises needed; drawing redundant print holdings in favor of se- The following underlying assumptions • A sustainable trust network that guaran- cure digital access, within the context of regional provide the seemingly inexorable impetus to tees each participating institution will and national schemes for sharing systematically shared collections, and to more radical col- uphold its commitments to the national archived print copies of these materials. For laboration generally: trust over many generations. background on this movement, check out the No- • U.S. academic libraries hold about 1 Can we to deliver on these promises? Who vember 2010 issue of ATG (v.22#5) for a special billion print volumes and are growing will coordinate and support an ambitious na- feature on shared print archiving edited by Roger at a rate of 25 million print volumes per tional cooperative program, and how? How Schonfeld with six very useful articles, including year; can we guarantee enduring discovery of and profiles of some promising early initiatives, e.g., • budgetary constraints are forcing librar- access to sufficient print copies once we have WEST, UK Research Reserve, Association of ies to reduce their staff and physical discarded the redundant holdings? Southeastern Research Libraries. footprints, branch libraries are closing, The aims of this new bi-monthly column and there is pressure to convert high Programs and Partnerships — Curating Collective Collections — are to value central campus collection storage Operationalizing the conceptual shift from keep librarians current with issues and develop- space to user services space; curating local collections to conducting collec- ments in shared print archiving, and to broaden • most academic libraries, including the tion management as a system-level collabora- the conversation about how we can collectively 80+ high-density storage facilities, are tive effort will require a range of local, regional, and thoughtfully re-select (and de-select) and already at or are quickly approaching and national programs. These must be carefully care for our massive print general collections storage capacity; knit into a coherent whole. The initial building for which digital surrogates exist. Articles will blocks of a nationally coordinated program are focus on emergent efforts to ensure preservation • increasing reluctance to build more under development today in programs that will of and access to a sufficient number of print space for books; be profiled, and articles will track developments copies regionally and nationally of materials • about 6% of print holdings account for such as: 80% of print circulation2; withdrawn locally, i.e., curating collective col- • Evolving archiving models, such as: • digital surrogates are available for a lections. Yes, the word curating is overused o Optimizing and managing existing significant and growing portion (e.g., today, but for reasons I’ll outline in a future high density storage facilities to serve median duplication rate between Ha- piece, it fits the bill. as nodes in a national collection; Each article will present both news and thiTrust corpus and ARL libraries is at 3 o Establishing new centralized facili- commentary on the growing movement to 45% ) of the contents of an academic library; making it unnecessary to retain ties, for dark and light storage, based collectively curate our print collections in the on risk management parameters; national interest. News from the field will redundant copies of lesser used print include reports on programs, best practices, materials; o Distributed archiving, or “archiving publications, and professional development • the annual cost of central campus storage in place.” opportunities. Commentary will explore the and preservation of print is much higher • Regional business and governance nature of the safety net being fashioned today than the cost of digital storage.4 continued on page 77 76 Against the Grain / December 2011 - January 2012 ation and stewardship of a collective collec- 140,000 e-books Curating Collective Collections tion will require a robust set of infrastructure from page 76 elements, such as: • Nationally adopted and uniformly models, and ownership and retention applied protocols for disclosure of agreements; o holdings of journals and other %RRNVMultiMedia • Regional and national service models materials in series, that build on and extend existing re- o retention commitments, 5 million item source-sharing capacity; cd’s dvd’s vhs o copy-level usage data, and • Policy-based leadership structures to database shape and coordinate a national in- o holdings of the nation’s high-den- frastructure for collective action that sity storage facilities; engender trust among the regional • Registry of print archives reposito- partners, operate on sustainable bud- ries; Attentive get models for shared investment in a • Certification of reliability of print and shared collection, and provide mecha- digital repositories;

nisms for governance, commitment, • Systems to ensure privacy of users and Out of Print Searching Customer and risk management in the national avoid unwanted surveillance; interest; • Malleable text, i.e., provision of What are the most promising elements of digital content that can be “skimmed,” Customized Collection Development Lists Service existing programs and partnerships, what are underlined, and excerpted; their deficiencies, and what models (inside • Easy access to print-on-demand; and outside academia) can we learn from in • Resolution of copyright (e.g., orphan fashioning a national trust/collective collec- works) and other intellectual property Foreignbooks/media tion? What roles will liberal arts colleges, Visit us on the beautiful Seneca Lake Wine Trail

issues related to use and management 9+6*#.. ;56'/5 public and special libraries play in shaping of shared collections.  f  06'4(#%' collective collections? Challenges and Perils Courteous Collection Models and The profession must guard against a and Curatorial Practices temptation to sweep difficult issues under Creating collective collections will re- the carpet in a rush to address short-term Professional quire us to extend, strengthen and re-imagine pressures. As a form of collective risk man- Paperback Binding Pre-Processing our traditional collection management and agement analysis, a number of nettlesome cooperative collection development models issues and concerns inherent in shared print and practices, including: archiving must be aired forthrightly, even Sales • Models for shaping collective collec- when there are no definitive answers. Among tions, e.g.,: the issues are: Force o Publisher-based collections • There is a tension between access o Discipline, domain, or area stud- and archiving goals. For example, ies-based collections for materials “archived in place” (i.e., o Format or genre-based collec- “distributed archiving” or commit- FedEx tions ment retention agreements to retain materials in open stacks), what are o Geographic-based collections the risks of inherent in these copies Ground • Collection analysis and decision sup- serving both access and archiving port software; purposes, and how are these risks SkyRiver Partner • Developing and applying selection mitigated? Similarly, as the number of Shipping

and risk management criteria; print copies in the nation shrinks, the WorldCat Fedlink Vendor • Optimal number of copies to retain remaining copies of some items may Partner based on risk and disciplinary dif- accrue considerable value, making OCLC ferences/needs; robust “last copy” them vulnerable to theft; agreements. • Some libraries may succumb to the • Synchronizing digital preservation temptation to conduct stealth weed- and print preservation across multiple ing and transfer operations because collective collections; it seems easier than dealing with • Assessing condition and completeness stake-holders. How can we structure (validation standards) of materials constructive campus conversations Green retained; to listen to concerns and learn from • Policies and options for disposition of advice and perspective from stake- materials withdrawn; holders in the scholarly record? Practices • Developing relationships between • What mistakes might we make as we commitments for print archiving and “manage down” our local collections WWW.BUSCAINC.COM for prospective collection develop- and rely increasingly on a national ment. collective collection? What missteps have we already made on this path, How do we work together to ensure a and what can we learn from them? • In making this conceptual and operational conscious, thoughtful and careful process shift, are we vulnerable to a “present-minded- of curating collective collections to ensure • Over a period of centuries, how vul- ness” that is based on the present obsession of that mistakes are not made? What methods, nerable and reliable is a system wholly our culture — digital access — that may upset best practices and cooperative strategies are dependent on uninterrupted electrical an essential balance among the communica- emerging, and how well are they working? supply? tion forms on which we rely? • Concentration of valuable scholarly • Worries about disposition of materials that Infrastructure assets in a few locations is counter to only accrue historical value years after they Accomplishment of the above-mentioned the principle that “lots of copies keep essential activities to achieve responsible cre- stuff safe.” continued on page 78

Against the Grain / December 2011 - January 2012 77 • How do we coordinate shared print archiving Curating Collective Collections nationally and internationally? Endnotes from page 77 • What existing models outside librarianship 1. Thanks to Bob Kieft of Oc- and higher education might inform the cidental College for this apt turn are published, for example public library development of the social and technical of phrase. materials such as self-help books, popular infrastructure? 2. OhioLINK Collection Build- fiction and biography, etiquette, and other • What voices outside librarianship need to be ing Task Force, Julia Gammon genres that later become invaluable sources and Edward T. O’Neill. 2011. heard and what ideas and concerns need to be OhioLINK–OCLC Collection and for cultural historians. grappled with as we systematically and stra- • What if we start down this road but find Circulation Analysis Project 2011. tegically (or not!) “drawdown” “redundant” Dublin, Ohio: OCLC Research. part-way there that the political will and/or library holdings? http://www.oclc.org/research/ financial resources necessary to do the job publications/library/2011/2011- well are not forthcoming? Invitation to Participate 06r.htm Other Big Questions While those already active in shared print ar- 3. Constance Malpas, Cloud- chiving will read and contribute to this column, a sourcing Research Collections: Another facet of Curating the Collective Col- primary purpose is to engage a broader spectrum Managing Print in the Mass- lection will be thoughtful essays wrestling in a pub- of librarians in thinking about and discussing digitized Library Environment lic forum with some of the larger questions attendant these issues. You are invited to help shape this (Dublin, Ohio: OCLC Research, to this remarkable conceptual and operational shift column by: 2011), p. 66 http://www.oclc. from managing individual institutional collections to org/research/publications/li- reliance on a cooperatively curated, shared national • Offering opinions, ask questions and sug- brary/2011/2011-01.pdf reported collection. Some of obvious questions include: gest topics for articles. Remember, please a rate of 31%, which has now send me a note now suggesting three top- • What is the political economy of a national increased to 45% as announced by ics you’d like to see covered in the year John Wilkin at the HathiTrust shared collection? Who will own and have ahead. Constitutional Convention on access to materials? What are the long range • Proposing to write or co-author articles on October 8, 2011. cost and power implications of the structures 4. Courant, Paul N. and Mat- we establish for sharing? Who might be left relevant issues about which you are passion- ate and knowledgeable. thew “Buzzy” Nielsen, “On the out? Will shared print archiving ameliorate Cost of Keeping A Book,” in or exacerbate inequitable access to scholarly • Commenting on and contributing to a pos- The Idea of Order: Transforming materials? sible Curating the Collective Collection Research Collections for the 21st • How can we build sustainable trust networks blog. Century Scholarship. CLIR Publi- that will endure for generations? Stay tuned and be in touch! cation no. 147, June 2010.

Collecting to the Core — Financial Crises by Peter Z. McKay (Business Librarian, University of Florida Libraries; Economics Subject Editor, Resources for College Libraries)

Column Editor: Anne Doherty (Resources for College Libraries Project Editor, CHOICE/ACRL)

Column Editor’s Note: The “Collecting to the Core” column highlights monographic has value based on government decree and is works that are essential to the academic library within a particular discipline, inspired by intrinsically useless, the Bank of England’s the Resources for College Libraries bibliography (online at http://www.rclweb.net). In each ability to create money was restricted since essay, subject specialists introduce and explain the classic titles and topics that continue to new note issues had to be backed by gold. For remain relevant to the undergraduate curriculum and library collection. Disciplinary trends a comprehensive history of gold and its role may shift, but some classics never go out of style. — AD as both an economic unit and a mythologized object of human desire, see financial historian Peter Bernstein’s The Power of Gold: A His- “Money will not manage itself, and Lombard Street has a great deal of tory of an Obsession.3 While the Bank of money to manage.” — Walter Bagehot, Lombard Street1 England performed many public functions, such as establishing the gold-backed legal tender and purchasing government bonds, it remained n 1873 the British journalist, political com- as the original crisis management manual for privately owned. There was an inherent conflict mentator, and economist Walter Bagehot, central banks. This essay discusses some of the between its role as a private institution whose Ithe long-time editor of The Economist, fundamental works covering modern financial primary constituency was its shareholders and published Lombard Street: A Description of crises, from nineteenth-century Lombard Street its public role to promote financial stability. the Money Market.2 At the time, London was to twenty-first century Wall Street. In a crisis, the key question was whether the the financial capital of the world and Lombard Founded in 1694 to finance the War of the Bank of England would preserve the wealth of Street — home to the Bank of England, private League of Augsburg against France, the Bank its private shareholders or help rival banks in banking houses, joint stock banks, and bill bro- of England grew to become the de facto issuer order to preserve the public financial system. kers — was the epicenter of finance, much like of British currency and the country’s central The nineteenth century saw frequent, frighten- today’s Wall Street. Bagehot’s book was based bank. In addition to its role as the government’s ing financial crises that intensified this tension. on a series of essays published in The Economist bank, it became the bankers’ bank and the As Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff beginning in the 1850s. In addition to a lively keeper of Great Britain’s currency and reserves, chronicle in This Time Is Different: Eight Cen- portrait of the contemporary money market colloquially coined “The Old Lady of Thread- turies of Financial Folly, the United Kingdom and leading personalities in mid-nineteenth needle Street.” When the British Parliament alone experienced banking crises in 1810, 1815, 4 century London, the book forcefully argued that officially established the gold standard in 1821, 1825, 1837, 1847, 1857, and 1866. the Bank of England must play the key role of the Bank of England was required to redeem These frequent financial crises highlight lender of last resort in stemming a banking pan- all of its notes in gold on demand. In contrast how the banking system functions as a con- ic. Today, Lombard Street is widely regarded to today’s “fiat money” system whereby money continued on page 79 78 Against the Grain / December 2011 - January 2012