Collection Priorities Subgroup Meeting Minutes

February 21, 2002

Present: Mischa Buczkowski, Faye Chadwell, Carol Hixson, Tom Stave, Ed Teague
Absent: James Fox, Robin Paynter

Rankings

Hixson handed out a sheet with the ranking criteria that included definitions for the point values. The group discussed the point values within each criterion and the significance of each one. There was considerable discussion about whether staffing size and availability of records should be retained as criteria or only be provided as information. Chadwell suggested that once the group set priorities, it was really the province of the Catalog Dept. to decide how and when to get the project accomplished. Hixson agreed that this was true in a practical sense but was concerned that not including those factors in the overall setting of priorities might make it seem that the responsibility for making the collections accessible rested exclusively with the Catalog Dept., rather than with the library as a whole. After some more discussion, the group decided to retain them as criteria but to give them a lower significance.

The group then discussed the relative significance of each criterion. Research interest or demand was considered the most significant and was given a .5 significance ranking. Current bib access was rated .25 in significance, ability to provide physical access was given .15. Staffing and record availability were each given .05 ( see the criteria sheet). The significance factor is used to multiply against the original point value assigned in a category. A raw point value of 5 in research interest would become 2.5 after being multiplied by the .5 significance factor for that criterion. Hixson said she would redo the rankings already arrived at using the new significance factor (see the revised chart)

Hixson voiced the hope that the ranking criteria would stabilize at some point. In support of that, she would like the group to decide over email in the next two weeks if it was satisfied with the ranking criteria.

Next meeting

The next meeting will be from 11-12, March 7. The agenda will be to continue ranking the collections.

notes by Carol Hixson

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