Meriam Library conducts ongoing and annual collection assessments, as well as collection assessments on demand for new programs and accreditation reports. All collection assessments are conducted by the Acquisitions and Collection Assessment Librarian. Any academic department needing such an assessment should contact the Acquisitions and Collection Assessment Librarian directly, to insure that the information and statistics are complete, current, and adequate for each type of assessment requested.

Our major collection assessments occur in four forms:

Academic Program Reviews

This data is compiled every summer for the preceding academic year, and a report of the data is distributed to each academic department’s book chair in the fall semester. The report contains the following elements:

  • Call number ranges for print book collections supporting each department; number of book titles held in those collections; and total number of checkouts for these books over the past academic year.
  • Call number ranges for ebook collections supporting each department; and total number of titles in each of the Library’s available ebook platforms.
  • A list of online indexes and databases supporting each academic department.
  • Number of individual journal titles supporting each academic department that are not available in online full-text databases, with annual usage data for each title, if available.
  • Total number of e-journals supporting each academic department, with a list of the top 30 most used titles during the past academic year.

Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey

Data for this annual report is collected by various units of the Library, and compiled by the Acquisitions and Collection Assessment Librarian. The report includes detailed data for the following areas:

  • Staffing types, FTEs and expenses
  • Materials, operations, and maintenance expenses
  • Library collections
  • Institutional repositories
  • Library services
  • Interlibrary loan services
  • Student enrollment

New Programs

New programs are required to provide evidence of consultation with the Library Dean indicating that a new program can be supported by the Library. In fulfillment of this requirement, the Library will provide a report that contains the following elements:

  • Call number ranges for print books collections supporting the new program; number of book titles held in those collections
  • Call number ranges for ebook collections supporting the new program; and total number of titles held in those collections
  • A list of online indexes and databases that support the new program
  • Total number of journals that support the new program
  • Recommendation for additional resources to support the new program

Accreditations

The Library will report whatever the accrediting body requires. Please send the relevant documents to the Acquisitions and Collection Assessment Librarian.