ASERL CRL Collection Analysis

In April 2019, the ASERL Board approved expanding the CRL Collection Analysis Pilot to the remainder of the ASERL Scholars Trust libraries.  This was an important point in the lifespan of Scholars Trust as a collaborative endeavor.  We gained a greater understanding of the scope of serials holdings among all ASERL Scholars Trust libraries which continues to inform decisions about collection growth for both Scholars Trust and our participation in the Rosemont Shared Print Alliance.

The analysis contributed to the unprecedented growth in the program:  17 of the 33 libraries accepted 4,780 additional titles for retention, exceeding the 4,500 goal.

Scholars Trust Retention Database:

The ASERL-CRL Collection Analysis project includes a nomination of titles for retention.  The analysis identifies the top three libraries that report holdings with the deepest run of a print journal title.  All in-scope titles are assessed against the retention criteria as defined in the Retention Model and those which meet the criteria are then nominated for retention to the library/libraries identified as holding the deepest run.  To coordinate the title nomination process, we use a database tool based on the gap-filling framework of the Journal Retention and Needs Listing (JRNL).  This tool – the ASERL Scholars Trust Retention Database – is a stand-alone tool and while it has many similarities with JRNL, there is no interoperability between the two.

Login to the database at:  https://apps.uflib.ufl.edu/aserlretention/
To request a new user account, send email request to:  Rebecca Crist, rebecca@aserl.org
Please note:  Access to the Retention Database is limited to libraries participating in the ASERL-CRL Collection Analysis.  The database uses Google authentication to identify the user and present the user’s customized view.  The email address used for registering the account must be associated with a Google account.  It can be a Gmail address or another email address linked to a Google account.

Title nominations were posted to the ASERL Retention Database in 4 rounds:

  • The first two rounds of nominations focused on titles for which there was a single library with the deepest run of the title.  Of these, the first posting included titles that had no retention commitments within Scholars Trust or the Rosemont Shared Print Alliance (~3,500 titles).  The second posting included titles where 2 or fewer retention commitments existed (~5,300 titles).  Please note:  the ability to identify the posted rounds in the Retention Database was implemented after these nominations were listed, as such there is no indication of “Round 1” or “Round 2” for these titles in the database.
  • The third round of nominations (~4,700 titles) included titles for which two or three libraries are tied for the top holder position – each library has an equally strong run of the title.  Depending on the number of existing retention commitments within Scholars Trust or the Rosemont Shared Print Alliance, a title may be nominated to two or more libraries.  This batch also includes some single top holder titles that were not included in the first/second round of nominations.  These titles are designated as “3rd Round” in the notes field in the Retention Database.
  • The 4th round of nominations (~3900 titles) includes titles where 4 or more libraries own equally complete runs of the titles. Titles nominated to participating libraries are designated as “4th Round” in the notes field in the Retention Database. However, due to the high level of overlap in holders, the majority of the titles were posted as an “Open Call” and assigned to “ASERL Scholars Trust”.  These titles are designated as “4th Round – Open”.  Any library having at least 75% complete run of the titles are encouraged to consider accepting the nomination.

These four rounds complete the title nominations for the 17,400 titles that met the retention criteria.

 

Supporting Documentation:

Data Elements for Analysis [pdf] – lists and describes the data elements that are used in the analysis, and indicates those that are required/preferred/optional to include in the submitted records.

ASERL-CRL Collection Analysis FAQ [pdf] – Answers to commonly asked questions.

Need help?  Contact Rebecca Crist, Program Coordinator for Shared Collection Resources