Copac Collection Management Tools Pilot Phase 2
Most academic research libraries face considerable pressure on available space, a situation which is only marginally eased by the availability, and adoption, of electronic digitised resources. This climate means that it is now commonplace, even in well-established ‘traditional’ research collections, for librarians to consider the editing and disposal of very low-use book stock in order to cater to their other service demands. Given this situation, there is a need for a broader view of the value of individual materials and collections in the national research context.
To help address this issue, this project proposes to continue the partnership of Leeds University, RLUK, Top Class Computing, and Mimas (through Copac) to further develop and refine the collections analysis tools, particularly in regards to the usability of the user interface. In addition to technical development, the work will involving bringing more libraries on board to provide data and test the tool, communicating this work more widely to key stakeholders, and exploring potential business models for supporting the tools as a shared service.