MLS Information Resources & Collection Management 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which concept describes a library's strategy of relying on access to materials held elsewhere rather than building local ownership of low-use resources?
- Just-in-case collection building
- Access versus ownership model (Correct answer)
- Comprehensive collecting policy
- Shared print retention program
Correct answer: Access versus ownership model
The access-versus-ownership model shifts emphasis from owning physical items to ensuring patrons can access materials through ILL, document delivery, or licensed databases.
Question 2: A librarian is reviewing approval plan slips from a vendor. What is the primary benefit of an approval plan in academic library acquisitions?
- It eliminates the need for a collection development policy
- It automates the receipt of new titles matching a pre-set subject and format profile, reducing selector workload (Correct answer)
- It guarantees the lowest possible price on all titles
- It ensures all purchases go through competitive bidding
Correct answer: It automates the receipt of new titles matching a pre-set subject and format profile, reducing selector workload
Approval plans streamline acquisitions by automatically sending (or notifying of) new publications that match the library's subject, publisher, and format parameters.
Question 3: Which ALA policy document provides guidance to libraries on resisting external pressure to remove materials from their collections?
- Standards for Libraries in Higher Education
- Library Bill of Rights (Correct answer)
- Code of Ethics of the American Library Association
- Principles for Licensing Electronic Resources
Correct answer: Library Bill of Rights
The Library Bill of Rights affirms that library collections should not be subject to censorship and that materials should not be removed due to partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Question 4: In collection assessment, what does 'overlap analysis' measure?
- The percentage of a database's content duplicated in another library's holdings or subscriptions (Correct answer)
- The ratio of circulating to non-circulating items in a collection
- The degree to which a collection matches a subject bibliography
- The number of interlibrary loan requests fulfilled within 48 hours
Correct answer: The percentage of a database's content duplicated in another library's holdings or subscriptions
Overlap analysis identifies the extent to which two or more databases or collections contain the same titles, helping libraries avoid redundant expenditure.
Question 5: A hospital library must evaluate whether to keep a nursing procedures manual published in 2014. Which CREW weeding criterion is most applicable?
- The item has been on the shelf for more than five years
- The content may be factually misleading or dangerous given advances in clinical practice (Correct answer)
- The item is in poor physical condition due to heavy use
- The item duplicates another title already in the collection
Correct answer: The content may be factually misleading or dangerous given advances in clinical practice
In health sciences collections, outdated clinical information poses patient safety risks, making factual obsolescence the most critical weeding criterion.
Question 6: Which preservation strategy creates an exact bit-for-bit copy of a digital file including all original characteristics, without any format conversion?
- Emulation
- Refreshing
- Format migration
- Replication (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Replication
Replication (also called bit-stream copying or data replication) creates identical copies of digital files to protect against media failure, without altering content or format.
Question 7: A collection development librarian is applying the Conspectus method to assess a subject area. What does a 'collection level 3' rating indicate?
- The library holds only a minimal number of introductory works on the subject
- The library supports advanced undergraduate and basic graduate study with substantial holdings (Correct answer)
- The library holds a comprehensive research-level collection including all significant works
- The library has identified the subject as a gap requiring immediate investment
Correct answer: The library supports advanced undergraduate and basic graduate study with substantial holdings
Conspectus level 3 (Study or Instructional Support Level) indicates holdings adequate to support advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate coursework but not doctoral research.
MLS Information Resources & Collection Management 5
Which concept describes a library's strategy of relying on access to materials held elsewhere rather than building local ownership of low-use resources?