Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly earned his PhD in Computer and Information Science from the University of South Australia. His research interests include information science, knowledge organisation, libraries, the sociology of knowledge and the philosophy of (social) science. Matthew is the CEO of Library Management Australia, a strategic information consultancy. ceo@librarymanagementaustralia.com.au
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Objective – This research was designed as a pilot study to test a methodology for subject based collection analysis for public libraries.
Methods – WorldCat collection data from eight Australian public libraries was extracted using the Collection Evaluation application. The data was aggregated and filtered to assess how the sample’s titles could be compared against the OCLC Conspectus subject categories. A hierarchy of emphasis emerged and this was divided into tiers ranging from <0.1% of the sample to >1% of the sample. These tiers were further analysed to quantify their representativeness against both
the sample’s titles and the subject categories taken as a whole. The interpretive aspect of the study sought to understand the types of knowledge embedded in the tiers and was underpinned by hermeneutic phenomenology.
Results – The study revealed that there was a marked tendency for a small percentage of subject categories to constitute a large proportion of the potential topicality that might have been
represented in these types of collections. The study also found that distribution of the aggregated collection conformed to a Power Law distribution (80/20) so that approximately 80% of the collection was represented by 20% of the subject categories. The study also found that there were
significant commonalities in the types of subject categories that were found in the designated tiers and that it may be possible to develop ontologies that correspond to the collection tiers.
Conclusions – The evidence-based methodology developed in this pilot study has the potential for further development to help to improve the practice of collection development. The introduction of the concept of the epistemic role played by collection tiers is a promising aid to inform our understanding of knowledge organization for public libraries. The research shows a way forward to help to link subjective decision making with a scientifically based approach to managing knowledge resources.
guiding selectors and informing users has been promoted as a pillar of good professional practice. While these policies purport to open up the methods and the criteria used in selection so as to promote transparency and a sense of professional objectivity, how they actually are developed and put into practice has remained largely implicit in the research literature. This analysis revealed
that policies tended to focus on local issues and remained heavily materials focused. How collections are developed to support user’s information needs and substantive issues associated with topicality are largely unarticulated.
Objective – This research was designed as a pilot study to test a methodology for subject based collection analysis for public libraries.
Methods – WorldCat collection data from eight Australian public libraries was extracted using the Collection Evaluation application. The data was aggregated and filtered to assess how the sample’s titles could be compared against the OCLC Conspectus subject categories. A hierarchy of emphasis emerged and this was divided into tiers ranging from <0.1% of the sample to >1% of the sample. These tiers were further analysed to quantify their representativeness against both
the sample’s titles and the subject categories taken as a whole. The interpretive aspect of the study sought to understand the types of knowledge embedded in the tiers and was underpinned by hermeneutic phenomenology.
Results – The study revealed that there was a marked tendency for a small percentage of subject categories to constitute a large proportion of the potential topicality that might have been
represented in these types of collections. The study also found that distribution of the aggregated collection conformed to a Power Law distribution (80/20) so that approximately 80% of the collection was represented by 20% of the subject categories. The study also found that there were
significant commonalities in the types of subject categories that were found in the designated tiers and that it may be possible to develop ontologies that correspond to the collection tiers.
Conclusions – The evidence-based methodology developed in this pilot study has the potential for further development to help to improve the practice of collection development. The introduction of the concept of the epistemic role played by collection tiers is a promising aid to inform our understanding of knowledge organization for public libraries. The research shows a way forward to help to link subjective decision making with a scientifically based approach to managing knowledge resources.
guiding selectors and informing users has been promoted as a pillar of good professional practice. While these policies purport to open up the methods and the criteria used in selection so as to promote transparency and a sense of professional objectivity, how they actually are developed and put into practice has remained largely implicit in the research literature. This analysis revealed
that policies tended to focus on local issues and remained heavily materials focused. How collections are developed to support user’s information needs and substantive issues associated with topicality are largely unarticulated.
Britain: The Pursuit of Complete Knowledge. Palgrave
Studies in the Enlightenment, Romanticism and the Cultures
of Print. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-
137-41153-2. US$95
Burke, Colin B. 2014. Information and Intrigue: From Index
Cards to Dewey Decimals to Alger Hiss. History and Foundations
of Information Science. Cambridge, MA & London,
UK: MIT Press. ISBN 9780262027021. US$47.00;
£32.95 Also available as an ebook: ISBN 9780262323345.
fix. This problem originates in a view of public library collection development as simply a
response to user demand. Where this becomes the prevailing wisdom, as it has in the
United Kingdom and Australia, the result is often that quality materials, such as publications
by university presses, are shunned by selectors. For readers who would ordinarily choose
this material the remedies to such a state of affairs are few and far between. One remedy is
for the disenfranchised reader of quality materials to use the services of an academic
library. While this is certainly an option for readers who live close to an academic library,
and in much of the developed world it seems that academic libraries do open their doors to
these community borrowers, questions arise as to why should the academic library take on
the responsibility for catering to these community borrowers