National Library of Australia


University of Melbourne collection assessment
Education

Priscilla Stott, Collection Management Librarian
1June 1996

  1. Aims
  2. Methodologies
  3. Education Libraries
  4. Special Collections
  5. List Checking
  6. Shelf Scanning
  7. Evaluation by Experts
  8. Assessment of the Collections
  9. Areas of Research Strength
  10. Areas needing to be Enriched
Acknowledgements
Bibliography


1. Aims

1.1 To evaluate the education collections classified at DDC370-379 throughout the University of Melbourne Library.

1.2 To identify areas of the collections which need improvement in currency and scope.

1.3 To lay the foundation for a collection management policy for the education area.

2. Methodologies

The collections were assessed using criteria laid down in the Australian Conspectus Manual:

3. Education Libraries

The Education Resource Centre and the library at the Department of Early Childhood Studies at Kew have both undergone considerable change in the last fifteen years with the mergers of academic institutions. Before 1982 both libraries were completely autonomous supporting the teaching staff and students. The Educatiion Resource Centre served Melbourne State College, where primary and secondary teachers were trained and Kew, the Institute of Early Childhood Development, concentrating on courses for training kindergarten teachers in child care. The libraries acquired their own material covering a broad range of disciplines including education, to support the courses offered at their respective institutions. In the 1982 the two institutions were merged to form Melbourne College of Advanced Education.

Then in 1989 there was another merger with the University of Melbourne and the two libraries became part of the Institute of Education and then in 1995 it became known as the Faculty of Education. This last merger has the gratest impaaact on the two libraries which lost their autonomy to become branch libraries of the University of Melbourne Library. The direction of the libraries altered with the change in teaching courses. No longer did both libraries collect material in a broad range of subject areas to support the various courses. Now the focus has become much narrower focusing on education and with a greater emphasis on research. This emphasis on research is reflected in the acquisition and goal levels of the conspectus results.

In 1991 the Education Department Library was merged with the Education Resource Collection. With the Incorporation of the Education Resource Centre into the University system, material acquired in the education field is now located at th Education Resource Centre leaving the Baillieu with an older collection. Some of this older material is now in part located in the Research Collections now housed in Levels 1 and 2 of the Education Resource Centre.

The education budget for 1996 is $629,583 of which $219,717 is allocated for serials which account for about 35% of the budget. Although we hold 53% of the journals listed in the various peridocal indexes we need to continue to evaluate our journal collection. Also we need to ensure there is funding available to order any new journals, which would enhance our collection.

There is some duplication between the Education Resource Centre and Kew because of the distance from each other. However in the near future the Kew campus is to be brought on site so that this duplication will cease.

4. Special Collections

4.1 Audio visual Collection

The audiovisual collection held at the E.R.C serves the Education Faculty and the University as a whole. There is a smaller collection at Kew. Both collections include videos, films, slides, kits, pictures, tests, kits, CDs, computer discs.

4.2 Microfilms

The ERC holds a complete set of ERIC documents.

4.3 Theses

The ERC has a collection of about 1,170 theses including Bachelor of Education investigations as well as Masters of Education theses.

4.4 Children's Books

The Children's Literature collection at Kew and ERC provides an integral part of the teaching courses. They are representative collections of literature, both juvenile fiction and picture story books, currently read by children. As these are currently working collections, there has been no attempt to build up a historical collection. Both campuses collect duplicate copies of children's book award winners. These are the Newberry, Carnegie, Caldcott, Greenaway and the Australian Children's books of the Year. The ERC collection is kept in closed storage.

4.5 Textbook Collection

This is a current working collection which includes current sschool level materials of current juvenile books to support and supplement teaching programmes in ERC. Kew also has a collection of nonfiction to support its courses in early childhood studies.

5. List Checking

A number of lists were checked to assess the collection strength in education. This was carried out by students from the Department of Librarianship in 1993. When divising a list, a balance between Australian and overseas coverage was sought. The task oflocating suitable bibliographies of non-book materials to use in Conspectus checking proved difficult especially for education and kits. Some sources were checked completely and others by sampling.

5.1 Bibliographies used for checking

Periodicals

Monographs

Film and Video

5.1.2 Results of the list checking

5.1.2.1 Monographs

To ensure Australian coverage it was necessary to check a wide variety of bibliographies. The comments of the students while checking the lists proved to be invaluable regarding qualitative data in terms of collection strengths and weaknesses.

 
	 
Title No. checked No. held %
ABN 1282 638 41
Bib. Guide to ed. res. 290 174 60
Bib. of Aust. ed. 170 65 38.2
Encyc. of Ed. Res. 280 177 63.2
Encyc. of Spec. Ed. 95 63 66.3
Guide to Ref. books all items in ed.
Int. Encyc. of Curr. 68 39 57.3
Int. Encyc of Ed. 645 400 62
Int. Encyc. of Ed. Tech. 198 107 54
Int. Higher Ed. 439 247 54.5
Educ. in Aust. 239 210 87.8
Reports & Maj. Doc. 128 67 52.3
Sub. guide ABIP 139 94 67.6
Sub. guide BIP 751 337 44.8
Walford 217 134 61.46
BBIP 191 87 45.5

5.1.22 Serials

Serials listed in the following Indexes and Abstracts were checked:

Education index.

 
	 
 
	 
Title No. checked No. held %
AEI 461 264 57.2
APIP 81 44 54.3
BEI 276 154 54.3
Contents pagee 783 407 51.9
CIJE 439 913 48
Education Index 366 196 53.5

6. Shelf Scanning

The shelf scan provided an overview of the collections, size, age and possible areas of strength, minimal coverage and growth. An impression of undergraduate and research emphasis was gauged. It helped define the areas which might need particular attention when list checking.

7. Evaluation by Experts

A number of Academic staff were invited to offer their comments in their area of specialisation. These comments, from a library user's perspective helped define the possible gaps, in addition to areas requiring special attention in future collection development work.

8. Assessment of the Collections

8.1 Monographs

The overall collection of the division is 3aE. There is a good undergraduate collection at the ERC with a recent emphasis on building research collections. The complete set of ERIC documents strengthens our research collection. Most of the signicant Australian texts are held. There is a strong collection in early childhood studies at Kew. Since 1990 extra resources have been channeled towards the research component of these collections.

Despite efforts to develop a collection supporting research and post graduate study, our collections cannot be defined as Level 4 research given the absence of materials in other languages, orginal material and ephemera.

8.2 Serials

The fact that the library holds 264 titles from the 461 titles ie 57% indexed by the Australian education index is a matter of concern if more emphasis is to be placed on providing research resources for staff and students. Newer titles need to be investigated as potential subscriptions espcially in areas not covered by previously published material.

8.3 Indexing and abstracting services

The University of Melbourne holds or provides access to the major indexes and abstracts in the discipline both in print and electronic format.s the electronic formats are available as CD ROMS or on-line. These inlcude the following:-

8.4 World Wide Web sites

Many students and academics make use of a wide range of sites on the World Wide Web. Most universities around the world have their own home pages offering information about what is available at that site. These sites are examples of Web sites to visit relating to education:-

8.5 Electronic Journals

The following are examples of a number of journals available in the area of education:

9. Areas of Research Strength

Strengths in the collection were identified as follows:

10. Areas needing to be Enriched

These areas were identified:-

Acknowledgments

The basis of the report is the work of Leanne Howard and her team of helpres from the School of Librarianship in 1993. The help of other Library staff and the Academic staff in investigating and assessing the collection. In updating the results and format my thanks go to Shirley Sullivan, Leanne Howard for their help and support.

Bibliography

Garden, Donald S. Teacher training in Carlton: the predecessors of the Institute of Education. PhD Thesis, University of Melbourne, 1992.

Last modified: August 18 2004.