Rightscaling stewardship - Atlantic Canadian Resources in Perspective

1Alan Moore Mulholland Point Lighthouse. FreeLargePhotos.com, 2008.

Right-scaling stewardship: Atlantic Canadian resources in perspective

Council of Atlantic University Libraries Conseil des bibliothèques universitaires de

l’Atlantique27 October 2014 | University of New Brunswick, Fredericton Canada

Constance MalpasResearch Scientist, OCLC Research

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What’s ahead

Orientation

http://www.bouletfermat.com/backgrounds/canada_circa_1900/eastern_canada_map_c1900_1280x1024.jpg

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History … in > 6800 libraries Canadian literature … in >1200 libraries Fishery policy … in > 1000 libraries

Atlantic Provinces in the Library Record

Harold F. McGeeCultural anthropologyAvg. 75 holdings per title

Impactful authors

Eric SagerEconomic historyAvg. 69 holdings per title

Terrence PunchGenealogyAvg. 35 holdings per title

Widely-collected subjects related to Atlantic Provinces

Regional identity institutionalized in global library collection

Widely-collected formats associated with Atlantic Provinces Guidebooks … in >4500 libraries

Statistics … in > 1900 libraries Maps … in > 1600 libraries

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Unbundling library services

http://www.proquest.com/blog/2014/Meet-John-D-Teskey-2014-Recipient-CARL-Distinguished-Service-to-Research-Librarianship-Award.html

traditionally managed as part of institutional ‘service bundle’ increasingly, re-bundled as a group

service

Collections

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Shared discovery, stewardship of digital assets

Shared framework for managing print collections

http://caul-cbua.ca/sites/default/files/CAULCBUAStrategicPlan2014-2016Final_1.pdfs

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Scarcity ≠ Value

Est. .5M CAUL titles with a single holding* in WorldCat

*not a particularly informative metric, in isolation

CAUTON ONCOMINGCAVEATS

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0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,0000%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Percent Distinctive Percent Core

Holdings (titles) in WorldCat

Core & Distinctive Titles in CAUL Member Libraries

Median 49% of catalogued collection is ‘core’[>99 holding libraries]

Median 5% of catalogued collection is ‘distinctive’ [<5 holding libraries]

October 2014

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0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,0000%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Percent Distinctive Percent Core

Holdings (titles) in WorldCat

Core & Distinctive Titles in CAUL Member Libraries

CARL/ABRAC institutions

‘distinctive’ language of cataloging

October 2014

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Strong ‘brand’ association with university’s Education department

http://www.msvu.ca/en/home/aboutus/mediacentre/news/ccbcresearchoct2014.aspx

Institutional value of collection is independent of its scarcity in wider marketplace

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Multi-scalar stewardshipInstitution scaleDriver: alignment with institutional mission & ‘brand’Features: tacit and informal agreementsEx.: U of King’s College – Bray Collection Memorial U – Newfoundlandiana

Group scaleDriver: shared stewardship prioritiesFeatures: trust networks, ‘club’ benefitsEx.: shared off-site storage? regional LOCKSS partnership? coordinated retention agreements?

Network scaleDriver: cross-sector benefitsCharacteristics: anonymous collaborationEx.: registering CAUL/CBUA stewardship commitments in union catalogues

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Right-scaling Stewardship

the scale of library stewardship will vary with available infrastructure and incentives

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~4K works related to Canadian Literature

in

Geographic distribution of 50 most comprehensive

collections

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Largest collections located where one might expect: major public libraries, national library, large

university libraries

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Canadian institutions are by and large the primary stewards of this

cultural record

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CAUL members are an important part of larger stewardship

network

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VIAF

5 most comprehensive collections:

440 related works in WorldCat

University of New Brunswick, Fredericton 33% (147)Mount Allison University 28% (123)Toronto Public Library 28% (123)University of New Brunswick 27% (118)University of Alberta 26% (114)

LAC ID: 0100H3766LC-n ID: 50050405

…VIAF ID: 4975240

holds the largest collection with more than 340 editions

Coverage Count of WorksDalhousie University 25% 27Mount Saint Vincent University 20% 22Cape Breton University 20% 22Saint Francis Xavier University 20% 22Saint Mary’s University 19% 21NSCAD 19% 21Atlantic School of Theology 19% 21University of King’s College 19% 21

“ “Narwhal” by gradesixlinden (Samantha)https://www.flickr.com/photos/63971282@N02/5825691918/

NarwhalStrong regional concentration of resources in Atlantic Canada

Total related works in WorldCat = 110

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Rare fishes

DALHOUSIE UNIV, KILLAM LIBR

DALHOUSIE FACULTY OF AGR MACRAE LIBR

MOUNT SAINT VINCENT UNIV LIBR

CAPE BRETON UNIV

SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER UNIV

SAINT MARYS UNIV

MARIE MICHAEL LIBR

NSCAD

DALHOUSIE UNIV, W K KELLOGG HEALTH SCI

UNIV OF KINGS COLLEGE

DALHOUSIE UNIV, SEXTON DESIGN

ATLANTIC SCH OF THEOL LIBR

DALHOUSIE UNIV LAW SCH LIBR

UNIV OF ALBERTA

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIV LIBR

UNIV OF WASHINGTON LIBR

UNIV OF UTAH

BURRIDGE CAM LIBR

CUMBERLAND CAM LIBR

ANNAPOLIS VAL CAM LIBR,LAWRENCETOWN SITE

ANNAPOLIS VAL CAM LIBR

NOVA SCOTIA COMM COL

NOVA SCOTIA COMM COL

NSCC WATERFRONT

INSTITUTE OF TECH CAM LIBR

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20%

Rhinochimaera atlantica

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadnose_chimaera#mediaviewer/File:Rhinochimaera_atl.JPG

a shared regional interestcommon core of gov docs

Total related works in WorldCat = 685

Single

large

st

colle

ction

CAUL members

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QE2 UBFTO

H

MT4IT

NLCUAB

DKUAUW

BTN

UNBCAMEU

UOHSN

KLG

GUBC

UATREB

UAUVT2

CM3FX

RSF

BDLC YU

SMHW

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

CAUL members

Mi’kmaq (People)

Inset: Miawpukek Mi’kmawey (Mikmaq of Conne River, Newfoundland) Prayer Book in Mi’kmaq Hieroglyphics (1810), p. 50.http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/prayerbook/id/1

Total related works in WorldCat = 722

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Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd.

DALHOUSIE UNIV

MOUNT ALLISON UNIV

UNIV OF REGINA

UNIV OF GUELPH

UNIV OF CALGARY

TRENT UNIV

UNIV OF WATERLOO

CISTI

YALE UNIV LIBR

WILFRID LAURIER UNIV

UNIV OF NEW BRUNSWICK

UNIV OF WINDSOR

UNIV OF NEW BRUNSWICK

MEMORIAL UNIV

LIBRARY & ARCHIVES CANADA

KANSAS STATE UNIV

UNIV DU QUEBEC

ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE BIBLIOTHEQUE

SAINT MARYS UNIV

UNIV OF ALBERTA

COLORADO MESA UNIV

WESTERN UNIV

UNIV DU QUEBEC A CHICOUTIMI

YORK UNIV LIBR

NUCLEAR ENERGY CORP OF SA

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

CAUL members

Dalhousie Trace Analysis Research CenterSLOWPOKE 2 Reactor (1976-2011)

Total related works in WorldCat = 7115

Distinctive collection strengths reflect institutional research priorities

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Concentration and diffusion

effective diffusion of library value relies on concentration, aggregation of library capacity

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Sinclair, A M. Clàrsach Na Coille: A Collection of Gaelic Poetry. Glasgow: A. Sinclair, 1881.

Atlantic Canadian Cultural HistoryCompendium of Scottish Gaelic verse from MSS collection of Am Bàrd MacGhillEathain (John MacLean), edited by his grandson, Alexander Sinclair, in 1881.

http://hdl.handle.net/2027/aeu.ark:/13960/t0ft95g39?urlappend=%3Bseq=147

“People in singing this song say ‘s a choille chruinn, but the poet who was a good Gaelic scholar has in his MS ‘s a choille chruim”

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Created and collected by John MacLean, ca. 1815 -1848

Compiled by Alexander Sinclair near Springhill, 1880s

Cultural baggage

Repacked

MacLean carries MSS of Gaelic verse from Western Hebrides to Nova Scotia, ca. 1819.

His grandson, a prominent Gaelic scholar, edits them for publication in 1881.

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Sinclair, A M. Clarsach Na Coille: A Collection of Gaelic Poetry. Glasgow: A. Sinclair, 1881.

Published in Glasgow, 1881

Presented to Wm. MacKay, Inverness, 1888

Distant reading Cultural exports from Nova Scotia find a readership in Europe.

MacKay was a solicitor and antiquarian, author of works on Highlands history whose books are found in many Canadian libraries.

MacKay portrait source: http://ebooks.library.ualberta.ca/local/urquhartglenmori00mackuoft

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MSS acquired by St Francis Xavier University, which now holds most comprehensive MacLean collection anywhere.

Sinclair’s family later donates MacLean’s papers to St Francis Xavier University and Nova Scotia Provincial Archives.

Transmission Sinclair lectured on Gaelic language and literature at St Francis Xavier and Dalhousie Universities in the early 20C

Sinclair portrait source: http://people.stfx.ca/mlinklet/

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MacKay copy acquired by McMaster

Microfilmed, 1981 Digitized, ca. 2008Second edition, 1928

First edition (1881) held in dozens of libraries worldwide

each successive edition acquired by libraries globally

Diffusion in global library system

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Regional Stewardship

• St Francis Xavier, Cape Breton University, Memorial Universities have distinctive collection strengths in Scottish Gaelic language, literature, poetry & music

• Most CAUL institutions collect in these same areas

• Opportunity to leverage collective strengths in larger library stewardship network, in Canada and internationally

A similar case could be made for Acadian, Mi'kmaq resources; Atlantic fisheries; nuclear energy and

other CAUL shared centers.

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Questions to Consider

• What is CAUL’s collective responsibility to stewardship of the scholarly and cultural record?– ‘Shared centers’ represent opportunities for strategic

redistribution of preservation responsibilities

• Where do CAUL efforts fit in broader shared print landscape? What is the right scale for shared stewardship?– Regional efforts in Maine, Ontario, COPPUL; national scale

• How can cooperative stewardship (shared storage, coordinated retention etc.) support institutional priorities?– Redirect library investment toward distinctive service offerings:

data curation, researcher reputation management, etc.

Tapadh leibh.Merci de votre attention.Thanks for your attention.

©2014 OCLC. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Suggested attribution: “This work uses content from [presentation title] © OCLC, used under a Creative Commons Attribution license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/”

[email protected]@ConstanceM

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Tapadh leibh.Merci de votre attention.Thanks for you attention.

“Been There!” photo by Adventures of KM&G-Morris https://www.flickr.com/photos/mzmo/7298976138/

[email protected]@ConstanceM

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AcknowledgementsMuch of the thinking reflected here has been shaped by the work of Lorcan Dempsey, particularly his attention to the ‘scalar’ dimension of library services, as well as the ‘2 directions’ (concentration and diffusion) of libraries on the Web.

I’m indebted to Lorcan and to my colleague Brian Lavoie for their application of Ronald Coase’s theory of the firm to understanding the library ‘service bundle.’

My analysis of CAUL ‘centers of distinctions’ relies on the ingenuity of Thom Hickey and his work with FAST and VIAF headings in WorldCat.

Any errors or omissions are my sole responsibility.