Mapping Collections

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Mapping Collections Paul Needham, Research
Officer, Cranfield University "Use and Value of
Engineering Grey Literature - a MAGiC
Seminar Wednesday 24th July 2002 at the British
Library, St Pancras MAGiC PartnersBritish
Library Document Supply Centre Cranfield
Universitydstl (was DERA) Loughborough
University, Dept of Information SciencePublic
Records Office SIRSI Limited
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Aims objectives

• To enhance awareness, access and use of key
  collections of technical reports (grey
  literature) for the benefit of UK engineers and
  UK plc.
• Collection development, management and retention
• Improve the visibility of key collections
• Enhance access via electronic storage and
  document supply

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Collection management and development

• Situation in the UK
• Apart from the substantial holdings of the
  British Library, major collections are scattered
• These resources are difficult to identify, locate
  and access
• Three strands
• Map key holdings in the public domain
• Collection rationalisation
• Collection analysis methodology

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Mapping key holdings in the public domain

• Collection and item level
• RSLP
• Resource discovery
• Bibliographic references to report literature
  are embedded in library catalogues.
• A hopeful assumption, but, only partially true
  ...
• ARC reports
• Scoping the problem http//www.magic.ac.uk/docs/ar
  cscope.html
• Implications for collection mapping,
  rationalisation, and the National Reports
  Catalogue
• Only half the picture!

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Collection Rationalisation

• In order to examine the feasibility and
  implications of collection rationalisation, the
  project will take a case study approach, focusing
  on a number of key report series from ... the ARC
  ... the National Engineering Laboratory, the
  Royal Aircraft Establishment
• Public Record Office
• Disposition policy http//www.pro.gov.uk/recordsma
  nagement/dispositionpolicy/dispositionpolicy.htm
• Royal Aerospace Establishment
• RAE/Lib.Bib-370 - over 100 distinct report series
• DERA predecessors http//www.magic.ac.uk/docs/DERA
  Table2.html
• Tip of the iceberg!
• Reports producers

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C1 has part of SA
Series A
Collection 1
Rpt A1
Rpt A2
C2 has Rpt A1
Rpt An
C2 has part of SA
Collection 2
C2 has part of SB
Corporate source 1
Series B
Rpt B1
C2 has Rpt B1
Rpt B2
Rpt Bn
Collection n
Series Z
Rpt Z1
Rpt Z2
Production
Holdings
Rpt Zn
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Mapping key collections ... and reports production

• Reports production
• Corporate sources and their associated reports
  series
• Preliminary reports producers questionnaire
  http//www.magic.ac.uk/producers.html
• ARPI/Report Series Codes Dictionary/ASLIB
  Directory of Information Sources in the UK
• Signposts within reports series
  http//naca.central.cranfield.ac.uk/reports/arc/35
  55.pdf
• People!
• Collections
• Preliminary reports holdings questionnaire
  http//www.magic.ac.uk/holdings.html
• Library catalogues and databases
• People again!
• Collaboration, cooperation and active
  participation

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Preliminary reports questionnaires

• Hardcopy and online versions
• A lot of hard work
• Online version widely promoted
• Producers Holdings Total
• Sent out 261 167 428
• Total Returns 042 16 043 26 085
• Hardcopy returns 040 95 037 86 077
• Online returns 002 05 006 14 008
• Technical reports - yes 037 88 021 49 058
• Technical reports - no 005 12 022 51 027
• Core community
• People in 60 organisations with knowledge of
  technical reports
• A key to the foundation of a sustainable National
  Reports Catalogue

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Collection analysis methodology

• develop a methodology for identifying key
  reports or groupings of reports, within a
  collection, to enable the prioritisation of
  decisions relating to cataloguing and
  digitisation.
• Establishing cataloguing priorities
• There are no cataloguing priorities ...
• Someone, somewhere, has already catalogued this
  report!
• Collaboration, cooperation and active
  participation
• Establishing digitisation priorities
• Quantitative indicators
• Qualitative indicators

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Quantitative indicators

• Measuring existing usage
• Figures are often unavailable
• Tells us nothing about the future use of a report
• Some reports series more heavily used than others
• In general, recent reports are used more heavily
  than older reports
• Citation analysis
• Labour intensive, difficult and of limited
  statistical significance

Qualitative indicators

• Content analysis of current literature
• Journal alerting services
• Establish areas of current research interest
• Monitoring requests for reports within
  participating organisations
• Experts in the field

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Collection analysis methodology

• Determine current and emerging trends
• Electronic discussion forums mailing lists
• Alerting services
• Digitise whole series
• Digitise signposts within series
• Digitise recent reports
• Digitise on demand
• Digitisation itself leads to greater use and
  improves availability of statistics
• Dont worry
• born digital is becoming the norm ...

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So far, so good ...

• We have preliminary information regarding
• Corporate sources of reports
• Libraries with reports collections
• We have guidelines for digitisation
  prioritisation
• We also have
• ARPI
• Signposts within series
• People with knowledge and willing to participate
• We only need to describe a report once!
• So, what now?
• All will be revealed!

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Any questions?