There are three different types of assessments that are the most effective for responsible stewardship of collection materials: Collections Assessment, Processing and Workflow Assessment, and Collection Use and User Assessment.
Collections Assessment
A comprehensive collection survey is foundational for collection management as it enables a repository to get a sense of what collections it holds, where they are stored, how much space they occupy, and if they are discoverable. Collecting basic information will help staff better understand and report on holdings as a whole, identify hidden collections that should be made discoverable, and plan for space and stacks management. If time permits, gathering additional information will help plan preservation projects, identify collection development strengths and gaps, establish processing priorities, plan digitization projects, identify high-use collections for outreach efforts or stacks/location management, and support reporting and annual planning.
A collection assessment survey can be scoped to cover a limited group of collections, or entire holdings within a repository. Establish a strategy and methodology for the collection survey before gathering data. The use of checklists, spreadsheets, controlled vocabularies, or other standardized ways of collecting data should be determined before carrying out the survey.
For suggested approaches for data collection, visit the Collection Assessment Toolkit.
Processing and Workflow Assessment
When the total length of a processing project and the collection extent is tracked, it can be used to calculate the average amount of time it takes to process collections, which in turn will enable staff to form a basic, but informed, idea of how long it will take to process future collections based on their extent, format types, and complexity. This information is a solid foundation to advocate for the resources necessary to process collections, and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of local processing practices.
Tracking the time spent on discrete processing tasks can help staff better understand and evaluate overall processing workflows, and better communicate to donors and library leadership and administrators the cost of processing in terms of the specific activities and specialized skills required.
Establish a strategy, methodology, and list of what question(s) are being answered for the processing and workflow assessment before gathering data. The use of checklists, spreadsheets, or other standardized ways of collecting data should be determined before carrying out the gathering of data.
For suggested approaches for data collection, visit the Processing and Workflow Assessment Toolkit.
Use and User Assessment
Developing an understanding of who the repository’s users are, what they need, and how they discover and navigate collections can meaningfully improve processing outcomes.
Use and user data can help to make informed decisions about processing priorities, evaluate the efficacy of processing and description practices, and identify collections that would benefit from additional or more granular processing and description.
Use and user assessment can further inform collection management in setting priorities as to physical location of collections, and prioritizing collections for processing. Data on use and user satisfaction with description surrogates may also help refocus processing practices that may improve public services workflows.
Establish a strategy and methodology for use and user assessment before gathering data. The use of checklists, spreadsheets, or other standardized ways of collecting data should be determined before carrying out the gathering of data. If working with research and public services staff who may already collect some of this data through an automated request and workflow management software, consider requesting access to their tracking or reporting systems, such as using statistics databases or logs.
For suggested approaches for data collection, visit the Use and User Assessment Toolkit.