ARKLink: A Consortium of Arkansas’ 47 Academic Libraries 

Draft Collection Development Statement 

Collection Development Task Force
Submitted by Task Force Chair Amanda Moore to ARKLink Board
September 14, 2000

Introduction

The role of libraries in society is both simple and noble.  Libraries exist to acquire, provide access to, and safeguard knowledge in all forms and to provide instruction and assistance in the use of all accessible collections.  Libraries give meaning to the human attempt to transcend space and time in the advancement of knowledge and the preservation of culture.  Libraries serve needs of the individual, the community, and society.  This commitment to service necessitates the centrality of quality, a desire to live up to and surpass the expectations of library users and a desire to set high standards for the contributions the Library makes to the University’s pursuit of knowledge and educational excellence. 

Academic libraries and institutions of higher learning are facing revolutionary changes.  New technologies are rendering dramatic shifts in scholarly communication, publishing, classroom instruction, and the traditional boundaries of brick and mortar.  Despite these changes, the library remains a hybrid of both digital and book collections and the purveyor of knowledge in digital, printed, audio and photographic formats. 

New technologies present a variety of new challenges but also provide the historic opportunity to orchestrate major advances in information access and the assimilation of knowledge.  The traditional perception of the library as the heart of the university can be greatly enhanced through a broad range of virtual collections and services available to all members of the university community—whether they be on campus, at home, or studying abroad.  As a central and valued community space, both physically and virtually, the library will become more of a civic integrator, a locus of information, and a center for intellectual growth and achievement.

While on the one hand revolutions are occurring within academic libraries, on the other hand, one of the biggest challenges now confronting American higher education is the need for cost containment.  Following World War II, higher education growth became habitual, and even into the 1980’s when many institutions nationwide experienced declines in enrollments and difficulty balancing budgets, expenditures for higher education grew by five or six points above inflation.  [Dowler, Lawrence, Gateways to Knowledge, Cambridge: MIT, 1997, p. 7.]  In this environment, academic libraries have faced consistently stagnant budgets, rapidly escalating costs within the publishing industry, technological innovations to incorporate within collections, and increased public expectations (along with increased library usage as high as 400%).  [ACRL Statistics]

In order to preserve professional commitments to service and quality, academic libraries nationwide have moved toward greater cooperative endeavors.  Cooperation allows groups of libraries to collectively purchase electronic and print materials and share access among libraries.  Library collaboration has allowed a great number of high quality resources to be easily accessible to the public at a reduced cost per member of the served public.  In fact, libraries in forty-two states nationwide have successfully joined forces to benefit the public by cooperatively sharing high quality research information electronically.

ARKLink

In Arkansas, the ARKLink Library Consortium, which is a voluntary association of all 47 academic libraries in the state of Arkansas, formed in April 1998.  It includes private and public two and four year college and university libraries, vocational/technical institutions, and four year colleges and universities.  ARKLink’s mission is “to increase, enhance, and facilitate cooperation among libraries in the state of Arkansas through consortial purchasing of resources, expanding access to resources, and encouraging partnerships between and among libraries.”

ARKLink’s primary goal has been to share library resources so that collections can be made available across geographic and institutional boundaries.  A top priority for the organization is consortial purchasing of electronic resources to be shared statewide.  Specific goals related to this include *develop and enhance library collections by cooperatively identifying and acquiring electronic databases and other library resources at discounted, consortial prices for every library’s benefit (and ultimately the public’s benefit), *support and pursue the digitization of Arkansas’s unique historical and cultural materials, and support distance learning initiatives serving Arkansas students.  [ARKLink: Partners in Sharing Library Resources.  Position paper prepared by Arkansas academic libraries.]

Arkansas College and University Library Gateway Collection

The Arkansas College and University Library Gateway will consist of electronic academic database collections shared by all of Arkansas’s 47 institutions of higher learning.  Access will be available to the public through the World Wide Web on all campuses and remotely. 

The selected databases will be high quality, will support the core curricula of all state institutions of higher education, will support the primary distance learning initiatives of all the state institutions, and will publicly supply unique digitized materials about Arkansas. 

The core class requirements for all institutions of higher learning established by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education are English/Communications, Math, Science, Fine Arts/Humanities, and Social Sciences.  A survey of the core courses offered at all the state institutions reveals that most classes fall into the following specific categories:

·        Cultural and Physical Anthropology/Geography/Gender Studies

·        Art/Theater/Architecture/Classics

·        Biology (zoology, botany, anatomy, physiology)/Health Sciences

·        Chemistry

·        Economics

·        English/Communications/Writing/Rhetoric/Literature/Film

·        History (world civilization and American)

·        Math (algebra, calculus, trigonometry)

·        Music

·        Philosophy/Religion

·        Physics/Astronomy/Physical Science/Geology

·        Political Science/Government

·        Psychology

·        Sociology

These specific categories can be used as the subject basis of selected databases, along with databases covering

·        General Reference

·        Arkansas Studies

·        Careers/Business       (to meet the needs of many job hunting students and to fulfill, to some extent, the needs of the local community who visit the academic library)

 Criteria for Selection

·        Priority will be given to electronic resources supporting the Arkansas Department of Higher Education’s “Core Minimum Requirements for Institutions of Higher Learning.”

·        Selected resources will represent a balance among academic disciplines.

·        Periodic assessments of products needed within two and four year institutions will aid in the selection process.

·        Preference will be given to full-text resources.

·        Preference will be given to World Wide Web based services.

·        Preference will be given to services for which ARKLink retains the permanent right to access information that has been paid for (in the event that a licensed database is subsequently canceled or removed.)

·        All selected materials will support the core academic and instructional needs of students at Arkansas’ two and four year institutions.

·        Selected materials must be accessible to all students and faculty currently affiliated with the state’s institutions of higher education.

·        Selected materials will honor the American traditions of free speech and inquiry.  (The American Library Association’s “Library Bill of Rights,” “Freedom to Read Statement,” “Electronic Library Bill of Rights,” and “Access to Electronic Information, Services, and Networks” will be the standard.)

·        Priority will be given to electronic resources relating to Arkansas’ culture and history.

Evaluation Considerations

·        Does the vendor’s reputation suggest that the material will be of high quality?

·        Does the vendor provide support?  Telephone?  Email?  Twenty-four hour service?  On site service?  On site training?

·        What is the subject matter?

·        Does the subject matter support the needs of students and faculty in Arkansas’ institutions of higher education?

·        Does the subject matter reflect either a core curriculum field or distance learning classes or programs, or is it related to Arkansas culture or history?  

·        What dates does the database cover, and how frequently is it updated?

·        Who is the audience?  Undergraduate?  Graduate?  Researcher?  Community member?

·        Is the information of high quality?  Is it possible to review the product?

·        What are the limitations and restrictions of the licensing agreements?

·        How much training will be needed for librarians, students, and faculty?

·        Will this product impact cataloging departments?  Will it need to be archived or preserved?

·        Is any special equipment needed to use the product?

·        What is the cost of the resource for each member library?  Is the cost shared equitably among member institutions? 

The Arkansas College and University Library Gateway will give all of Arkansas’ students the tools for academic excellence and a gateway to knowledge and lifelong learning.

Databases Recommended for the Arkansas College and University Library Gateway Collection 

ABI/Inform Fulltext
ACM Digital Library
America: History and Life
Anthropological Literature
Applied Science and Technology Abstracts
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Archives
Art Abstracts Fulltext
ArticleFirst
Biological Abstracts
Biosis Fulltext (Proquest)
CAB Abstracts
CINAHL
CIS Congressional Universe
Compendex Web
Contemporary Authors
Contemporary Literary Criticism
EconLit
Essay and General Literature Index
ERIC
General Science Abstracts Fulltext
GeoRef
Health Reference Center
Historical Abstracts
Humanities Abstracts Fulltext
International Index to Music Periodicals
ITKnowledge.com
LEXIS/NEXIS
MEDLINE
MLA Bilbiography
netLibrary
PAIS International
Perseus Project
Philosopher’s Index
Project Muse
ProQuest Academic
PsycInfo
Sociological Abstracts

ARKLink: A Consortium of Arkansas’ 47 Academic Libraries

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Arkansas College and University Library Gateway Collection   

·      Supports the Department of Higher Education’s “State Minimum Core Curricula” 

• Accessible to all Arkansas college and university students

• Supports distance learning initiatives

• Adds value to the state network’s infrastructure by providing a significant content base for higher education

updated 2/12/2001
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