Collections Data, Tools, and Strategy: Applying R, Tableau, and Excel to Print Assessment

As is the case at most academic libraries, collection assessment has become anessential component of collection management and development work. Although much of theassessment focus has disproportionately fallen on e-resources, print collections remainfruitful areas for evaluation and review. At Emory, print collections, including acomplex approval plan, continue to be a significant component of our overarchingcollection strategy (in volume and expenditure). However, shifting priorities forlibrary space and the growth of interdisciplinary programs and centers within theUniversity are placing a higher demand on subject librarians for communication andcoordinated decision-making regarding print acquisitions. As a result, we are currentlypreparing for a comprehensive print collection review, of which the approval plan is anintegral component. This assessment will inform a more coherent print strategy, whicheffectively and efficiently meets research and teaching requirements as well asadministrative needs. Using data cleaning and visualization tools, such as R, Excel, andTableau, we have enriched our local usage data with detailed Gobi approval data (e.g.,series, publisher, subject, etc.) and profile parameters. Merging these data types andenriching local use data will allow us to analyze the print collection in a more nuancedfashion and ask questions that do not require the LC classification framework. Thisanalysis considers the development of additional tools and approaches that facilitatesubject specialist communication with collection management and overall collaborativedecision-making, especially in cross disciplinary areas.