Article,
Deselection of print monographs in the humanities and social sciences in the digital age
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/CB0220160002, 35 (2): 3747 (2016)
DOI: 10.1108/CB0220160002
Abstract
Purpose For most college and university libraries, deselection of monographs should be an essential component of collection development. Few of these libraries have unlimited space for book stack expansion. This research study aims to cover the reasons why this should be undertaken and how it can be accomplished in the humanities and social sciences. At the main campus of Adelphi University Libraries, a conservative approach was used to identify and carefully review monograph titles that were published more than 50 years ago, and, in most cases, this resulted in their deselection without significantly affecting the collection. For some of these titles, the author determined that they might be worth replacing with available ebooks and the author did so. Design/methodology/approach A brief overview is provided to delineate why deselection is important, and how it can be accomplished. A literature review was prepared. It included a review of deselection at small, medium and largesized college and univers...
