Collection Development

The Collection Development Committee was founded in 2000 in order to formulate an overall collection development policy; and to address issues of duplication, collection overlap, large purchase items, selection of electronic publications, central fund purchases and other issues as they arise, such as building an integrated reference collection (print & electronic).

Current members

Melanie Meyers (AJHS), Renate Evers (LBI, chair), Lyudmila Sholokhova (YIVO), Bonni-Dara Michels (YUM), Eric Fritzler (CJH), Jaime Taylor (CJH), Ilya Slavutskiy (CJH)

Major accomplishments and work results

Policies

• Collection scope of the various institutions was formulated
• Collection grid of subject responsibilities and collection level was formulated
• A collection policy for electronic resources was formulated

Issues of duplication

• The reference collection in the reading room was integrated; new additions to the reference collection are discussed in an ongoing process
• Periodical holdings were reviewed and duplicates identified.
• Agreements with major book vendor were established regarding purchase profiles to minimize duplication, ensure coverage, and take advantage of electronic ordering and processing.

Reference Collection/Shared purchases

• A collection of electronic databases and e-journals (such as Encyclopedia Judaica, World Biographical Information System, JSTOR) was bought / licensed via a central fund on recommendation of the Collection Development Committee.

Ongoing activities & future plans

• Work meetings or e-mail discussions to realize the collection policy (e.g. discuss library acquisitions in order to ensure coverage and minimize duplication, establish vendor agreements, etc.)
• Regular work meetings and / or e-mail discussions regarding the reading room reference collection (additions, removals, etc.)
• Evaluating the use of the purchased / licensed electronic resources
• Finding support and funding for continuation and expansion of electronic & non-electronic research tools

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Documentation

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