Celebrating 300 Episodes of The Authority File: The Evolution of Collection Development

A compilation of 9 episodes that discuss the progression of collection development practices

Posted on December 20, 2022 in Blog

To celebrate The Authority File reaching 300 episodes, the Choice team put together several lists highlighting key episodes and topics. Today we’re taking a look at the evolution of collection development in the past few years. This batch of episodes handles effects from the pandemic, tracking patron engagement, and the ever-increasing relevance of digital resources. Enjoy!

Episode 195: The Academic Library (Not Quite) Post-Pandemic: Tracking Econtent Engagement

It’s no secret that diversity in reading mediums—print, ebook, audio—make for a more robust, accessible, and patron-friendly collection. But how has the COVID-19 pandemic affected circulation trends? As we inch closer to in-person learning, will audio and ebooks lose their appeal? Read more and listen here.

Episode 244: Ten Years of Books at JSTOR: An Interview with ITHAKA’s John Lenahan

It’s no surprise that ebook usage has surged since the pandemic. While adapting to remote learning, many diehard print fans began to favor the accessibility and flexibility of e-content. However, this shift to digital resources in academia started far earlier than 2020. Read more and listen here.

John Lenahan headshot. John has gray/black hair and wears a blue collared shirt with a white background.

Episode 89: Moving From Content Discovery To Delivery: Academic Big Data

Big academic publishers are trying to turn big data on researchers and the research life-cycle into big money. Karen Phillips talks through SAGE’s priorities regarding data (hint: it’s not about collecting reams and reams of it) and how user behavior is making discovery services feel a bit old fashioned. Read more and listen here.

Episode 100: Live from the Charleston Conference!: Legacy Missions and Changing Collections

During the Charleston Conference’s Vendor Showcase Bill caught up with Oya Rieger of ITHAKA S+R and Antje Mays of the University of Kentucky Libraries to discuss their talk “Legacy Missions in Times of Change: Defining and Shaping Collections in the 21st Century.” Read more and listen here.

Ithaka S+R logo. Abstract drawing of a ship in waves in blue and white.

Episode 133: Adjusting to Modern Library Needs: Brave New Non-Print World

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every trade—publishing and librarianship included. But what has it revealed about these markets? How can stakeholders best prepare for the fast-approaching fall semester? What of these temporary changes will stick once we regain “normalcy”? Read more and listen here.

Episode 43: COUNTER: Library Use Cases and the Bleeding Edge of Usage Statistics

Shifting funder mandates. Hybrid open publication. Institutional repositories. Libraries as publishers. These are just a few of the issues COUNTER’s Code of Practice (COP) 5 addresses. Read more and listen here.

Accessible Archives logo. On the left, a drawing of a tree with an open book leaning against the base of the tree. To the right of the tree, "Accessible" written in dark red text and "Archives" below "Accessible" in brown text. White background.

Episode 152: Academic Librarianship in the Age of COVID: An Unprecedented Look Ahead

Our guests discuss the future of interlibrary loans for ebook content and how job descriptions for librarians will ultimately change. As university heads pull purse strings taut, they chat about how usage and demographic data could help mold library budgets moving forward. Read more and listen here.

Episode 288: Unpacking the Personal Library: Key Takeaways and the Evolution of Collection Development

Jason Camlot and Jeffrey Weingarten, coeditors of Unpacking the Personal Library: The Public and Private Life of Books, share key takeaways on collection practices and the value of personal libraries. Read more and listen here.

Unpacking the Personal Library book cover. Sculpture of an open-faced book with a wooden frame and blocks of text missing their pieces. Has white background with book title and editor names in black text.

Episode 98: Through the Looking Glass: Taking on the Publisher’s Perspective

In some ways, the internet has disintermediated libraries from their patrons, and disrupted traditional avenues of book distribution, but at the same time it has opened up new possibilities for electronic distribution. This has opened up a whole class of metrics, and a wealth of information about their readers that was previously hidden from publishers. Read more and listen here.

Keep up with the rest of the Celebrating 300 Episodes of The Authority File posts on Choice’s blog, Open Stacks.

You can find more Authority File episodes on our website, Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

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