ORCID

0000-0002-0027-7953

Abstract

“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” This paper describes how two librarians newer to the University of Tennessee Libraries refreshed collection development workflows at the Libraries after a reorganization. This reorganization distributed tasks across departments in a different manner due to the new departmental configurations. In this new matrix environment, more communication was required to achieve desired outcomes, but more buy-in was also needed from constituents such as the subject librarians. This paper describes how a new Collections Committee was formed to make decisions on high-dollar resources; what information was added to the traditional request form to facilitate the committee’s decisions; what information was asked of vendors at the point of trial or initial interest; and how this fed into a new collection development policy. By revamping the workflows to ask for more information up front, the presenters were able to help the new Collections Committee obtain all the information needed for decision-making at the point of decision. The authors share insights into how organizational changes can be used as an opportunity to instigate workflow changes that help libraries acquire resources more nimbly and flexibly.

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Begin at the Beginning: Revamping Collection Development Workflows

“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” This paper describes how two librarians newer to the University of Tennessee Libraries refreshed collection development workflows at the Libraries after a reorganization. This reorganization distributed tasks across departments in a different manner due to the new departmental configurations. In this new matrix environment, more communication was required to achieve desired outcomes, but more buy-in was also needed from constituents such as the subject librarians. This paper describes how a new Collections Committee was formed to make decisions on high-dollar resources; what information was added to the traditional request form to facilitate the committee’s decisions; what information was asked of vendors at the point of trial or initial interest; and how this fed into a new collection development policy. By revamping the workflows to ask for more information up front, the presenters were able to help the new Collections Committee obtain all the information needed for decision-making at the point of decision. The authors share insights into how organizational changes can be used as an opportunity to instigate workflow changes that help libraries acquire resources more nimbly and flexibly.