UC Irvine Libraries

The ALCTS Collection Evaluation and Assessment Interest Group (IG) has been meetingtwice each year in conjunction with the ALA Midwinter Meeting and AnnualConference for nearly a decade. Volunteer led, trying to host a mix of topics thatresonate with both academic and public librarians, who are the majority of the ALCTSmembership, topics have varied widely as the role of collection evaluation and assessmenthas expanded and those associated with this work has also grown and intensified.Libraries have increased the role of assessment to nearly all functions and non-costneutral activities to determine the role of importance and the priority or value thatsomething has to overall library services. As long as library collections and materials areamong the most expensive costs in library operations, collection evaluation and assessmentbecomes an even greater priority. The ACRL Top Trends in Academic Libraries: AReview of the Trends and Issues Affecting Academic Libraries in Higher Education, hasidentified Collection Assessment as among the top trends in the last several releasededitions. Public libraries have also identified Collection Assessment as a more importanttheme in their strategic planning.