A System-wide Perspective on SCELC Library Collections
1. SCELC Colloquium, 6 March 2013
A System-wide
Perspective on SCELC
Library Collections
Constance Malpas
Program Officer
OCLC Research
Follow me @ConstanceM
The world’s libraries. Connected. With thanks to Brian Lavoie
2. Aggregate resource comprising millions of
titles, tense of millions of WorldCat
holdings, including ~1M titles unique in WorldCat
‘system’
Diverse range of institution and library types with
robust resource sharing network … an ecosystem
Membership spans 3 mega-regions:
NorCal, SoCal and Dal-Austin
The world’s libraries. Connected.
5. Growth in SCELC Library Holdings in WorldCat
Jan 2012 – Jan 2013
100%
Median holdings in January 2013: 110K titles
80%
Median growth Jan 2012 – Jan 2013: +2%
60%
Considerable volatility at institutional scale
Percent Growth
A few libraries exhibit negative growth
40% Collectively, a pattern of moderate, sustained growth
20%
0%
0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000
SCELC Member Holdings in WorldCat
-20%
Based on analysis of 104 SCELC holding symbols; some outliers have been excluded from this graph to improve legibility.
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
6. Institutional Infrastructure
Non-ARL academic libraries constitute
majority of SCELC membership and hold
more than 75% of aggregate inventory
Library Type Percent of SCELC Percent of SCELC
Library Population Aggregate Holdings
Non-ARL Academic 82% 77%
(
* ) Special
ARL
13%
2%
10%
13%
* Other 3% <1%
* Institutions with stewardship mandate and preservation capacity
Based on analysis of 104 SCELC holding library symbols
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
7. Average Distribution of WorldCat Holdings
for Titles in SCELC Member Libraries
70%
10% held by <10 libraries
60% 6% held by 10-24 libraries
19% held by 25-99 libraries
50%
65% held by >99 libraries
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1 2 to 9 10 to 24 25-99 >99
Holding Libraries (WorldCat)
Based on average WorldCat holdings distribution for 104 SCELC libraries
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
9. Where to draw the line?
What does the distribution of
library resources tell us?
The world’s libraries. Connected. http://www.maps.com/map.aspx?pid=17252
10. Why focus on ‘mega-regions’?
• Mega-regions differ from informal NorCal, SoCal
boundaries because they reflect the actual
organization of regional economic activity
• A useful framework for examining distribution of
library resources and infrastructure, a ‘natural unit’ of
measure
• Helps situate print management within broader
networks of economic exchange; builds on existing
organizational infrastructure and institutional
interests
The world’s libraries. Connected.
11. Print Books in California Mega-Regions
NorCal SoCal
Regional print book collection Regional print book collection
• 12,481,999 discrete titles • 9,771,974 discrete titles
• 40,154,364 holdings in 775 libraries • 39,969,816 holdings in 774 libraries
• 3.22 holdings per title on average • 4.09 holdings per title on average
• Median age: 23 (i.e. published 1988) • Median age: 30 (i.e. published 1981)
27% of titles in North America 21% of print book titles in North America
>1.5M titles unique to NorCal > 900K titles unique to SoCal
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
12. Print Book Holdings by Library Type
Majority of regional print book inventory is held by academic libraries
NorCal SoCal
N = 40M holdings N = 40M holdings
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
13. Print Book Holdings by Academic Library Type
…mostly in non-ARL academic libraries
NorCal SoCal
N = 22M academic holdings N = 26M academic holdings
35% 37%
20% 27%
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
14. Regional collections are complementary
Each enriches scope of collective resource
NorCal
>6M titles not duplicated in SoCal duplicates 63% of SoCal collection
SoCal
>3MK titles not duplicated in NorCal duplicates 49% of NorCal collection
Each contributes preservation value
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
15. Summing up
Regional context for shared print management differs
NorCal SoCal
• More titles, more holdings • Fewer titles, fewer holdings
• Less duplication at intra- • More duplication at intra-
regional and inter-regional regional and inter-regional
scale scale
• Lesser part of inventory held • Greater part of inventory held
by ARLs by ARLs
• Fewer options for • More options for redistribution
redistribution of stewardship of stewardship
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
17. Print Books in SCELC Libraries
• On average, print book titles account for ~75% of
individual SCELC library holdings in WorldCat
• As of January 2013, an aggregate resource of nearly
5.3M discrete titles, 13.7M holdings
Print Book Titles
• Average 2.6 SCELC in SCELC Libraries
holdings per title 5,300,000 5,271,295
5,200,000
• Scope of collection is 5,100,000
5,000,000 4,948,924 +7%
growing 4,900,000
4,800,000
4,700,000
January 2011 January 2013
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
18. Scale Matters: Assessing Print Preservation Risks
~86% of print
books in SCELC
collective
collection are
held by fewer
than 5 libraries
in group
N = 5,271,295 titles
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
19. Scale Matters: Assessing Print Preservation Risks
~86% of print
books in SCELC
collective
collection are
held by fewer
than 5 libraries
in group
~16% of print
books in
ASERL/WRLC
collective
collection are
held by fewer
than 5 libraries
in WorldCat
N = 5,271,295 titles
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
20. What do SCELC libraries have to offer as a regional preservation asset?
Collectively, SCELC libraries hold 5.3M print book
titles, representing
28% of the NorCal regional collection
(NorCal duplicates 70% of SCELC)
47% of the SoCal regional collection
(SoCal duplicates 93% of SCELC)
does SCELC want to assume sole responsibility for
managing these books as a regional resource?
Probably not.
The world’s libraries. Connected.
21. Could SCELC libraries strike bargains with regional print management hubs?
Might provide
preservation / access
Very Large services for average
Repository X 15% of SCELC
holdings in NorCal
Might provide
preservation / access
Very Large services for average
Repository Y
16% of SCELC
holdings in SoCal
The world’s libraries. Connected.
22. A cooperative preservation and access strategy
SCELC Library Overlap with Regional Repositories
NorCal repository SoCal repository
50%
45%
40%
might recover
35%
>15K linear feet
30% of shelf space
might recover
25% >8K linear feet
of shelf space
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
WR$
WUOHS
SP1
GTX
SJG
SYF
ANTIO
JPG
SKN
PPI
CHM
DSR
CPU
ACD
CBC
CAACT
CIJ
FPD
MGSOL
STA
SRQ
CPC
KDM
HN#
GGB
CC9
GGY
OR3
GH0
C5U
CSM
CUF
UOP
LFE
TJP
QP9
CCT
MEC
C7M
YU0
CUH
CKV
CAF
MIO
MIQ
CHC
SCB
CNU
CMM
LGV
CBF
CIA
CFT
LUB
SXQ
MXL
TGW
CAW
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
23. What can SCELC libraries worry less about preserving?
Duplication between SCELC Library Collections
and HathiTrust Digital Library
70%
Percent of Holdings Duplicated in HathiTrust
60%
About 30% of your collection, on average
50%
40%
30%
26% in copyright
20%
10%
3%
public domain
0%
0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000
Holdings in WorldCat
As of January 2012.
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
24. Where should SCELC libraries be focusing more preservation effort?
WorldCat Holdings for Print Book Titles in SCELC Libraries
1,800,000
Look to other
partners
1,600,000 Preserve as
institutional Strike
1,400,000 assets agreements
1,200,000
within SCELC
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
1 to 4 libraries 5 to 9 libraries 10-24 libraries 25 to 99 libraries >99 libraries
N = 5,271,295 titles
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2013
25. Parting Thoughts
• SCELC libraries manage a significant collective
resource for which traditional, institution-scale
stewardship models may not be sustainable.
• Assessing preservation risks at group scale may
lead to misjudgments about locus and level of
investment.
• Scaling up to regional and network level
infrastructure reveals more opportunities to
redistribute and ‘right-scale’ stewardship
solutions.
The world’s libraries. Connected.
As a native Californian, I can vouch for the cultural significance of the divide between Northern California and Southern California, or NorCal and SoCal.I was pleased to come upon this map which confirms my personal suspicion that Northern California really is the more significant ‘half’ of the state. This map draws the line at the point where census tract population data suggest there is an equal number of people on either side of the line. This tells us something about the population density of Southern California cities.What would happen if established boundaries based on the distribution of library resources in CA?
With my colleague Brian Lavoie, have been working for the last year on a project that uses the concept of a mega-region to explore possible regional consolidations of library collections.