Library Juice Academy Online Course: Introduction to Collection Analysis
February to March 2022
I am so very grateful for the Professional Development Award I was awarded from CLRC, which allowed me to take this very informative online course. Collection analysis is a very important task that librarians must perform in order to insure that the collections we are sharing are diverse and contain accurate, up-to-date information. Collection analysis allows librarians to see which areas of the collection might need improvement and which others might benefit from weeding. Without collection analysis, it is much harder to make sure that the information we are collecting and offering is accurate and diverse, which is especially important with the rise of misinformation and disinformation. Libraries cannot teach information literacy without proper maintenance of our collections. Without diverse collections, voices and understandings of different cultures, systems, and people are misrepresented and left unheard.
As an early career librarian, understanding how collection analysis works and how to perform collection analysis is essential. From this course, I gained a basic understanding about the different collection analysis reports and what kind of information can be collected with these reports. I also learned how to perform different collection analysis formula functions in excel. This course challenged me to use the more complex formulas available in excel, and inspired me to explore more about excel and how else it might be helpful for me. This is mutually beneficial to me as a supervisor, and as a future librarian. Creating reports is already an essential part of my role, and these functions that I learned while taking this course will be applicable to my current work.
I learned from others within this course about how this data might be presented to help make a case regarding developing or weeding a certain area of the collection. Learning how to leverage data to make a case for certain improvements or projects is an essential tool to be able to use. From my classmates in this course and the professor as well, I now have access to resources on how I might be able to implement this tool in my own work.
I want to thank CLRC again for giving me the opportunity and for helping me develop myself as a new librarian. I look forward to taking more courses from Library Juice Academy in the future. If anyone would like reach out to me to learn more about this course, please feel free to email me at glassmsl@lemoyne.edu.
Simcha Glassman
Interim Access Services Supervisor, Le Moyne College
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