Resources for SJSU Librarians

The library follows the policies set by the Academic Senate, specifically S15-10, University Policy, Revisions to SJSU Library Policy. 

Summarized, the policy reads that librarians use their domain expertise to determine what materials can be deselected. They compile a list of proposed withdrawals, which includes bibliographic and circulation data. That list is shared with the liaison department faculty, usually through communication with the department chair or the librarian's usual contact for department faculty. Faculty is given a minimum of six weeks within an academic semester to review and provide feedback to the librarian. An example of how to manage this process is provided in the Example Workflow for Librarians tab. 

Full text: https://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/AS1869.pdf

The relevant sections of S15-10 read:

7. Evaluation of the Print Collection.
Maintaining a high-quality academic library collection requires periodic evaluation of the collection with reference to the mission of the University and the diverse needs of each discipline. This reflects the academic library’s commitment to meet its primary responsibility to maintain the library collection’s relevance now and into the future as well as a recognition that the library’s collections must evolve as the amount of information grows and methods to access it change. The evaluation process is conducted by liaison librarians in collaboration with faculty to facilitate sound decision-making with regard to the periodic relocating or discarding of materials. In all cases, the
primary goals are to improve the quality of the collection, improve the effectiveness of 
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browsing, and to provide space for new acquisitions. Collection evaluation is a
professional responsibility of all library faculty involved in collection development.
7.1 Relocating Materials (Stack Shift).
This process does not involve discarding any materials. The procedures are relatively
automatic and standardized and usually require minimal review by the liaison librarian
and the specific department associated with a particular Library of Congress
classification. The Library of Congress Classification system is used to determine the
scope and range of subject areas (https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/).
7.2 Withdrawal of Materials.
Withdrawal is an important procedure designed to maintain the quality of the collection.
The Library recognizes that each disciplinary or interdisciplinary program has a unique
set of needs in regards to library use and materials. These needs will be taken into
account as withdrawal criteria are developed and decisions are made.
7.2.1 Withdrawal of Duplicates.
This type of evaluation begins with computerized identification of duplicate copies and
circulation history. The procedures are relatively automatic and standardized and
usually require minimal review by the liaison librarian and the specific department
associated with the relevant Library of Congress classification.
7.2.2 Withdrawal Procedures.
The liaison librarians identify the departments associated with a particular Library of
Congress classification. Library liaisons will work closely with all such identified
departments throughout the full review process as described below.
First, liaison librarians will collaborate with faculty in departments associated with that
Library of Congress classification to identify the criteria the liaison librarian will use to
review the collections (7.2.2.1). Second, materials identified for potential withdrawal will
be made available for review by all faculty campus wide (7.2.2.2). Third, a final review
will take place with the departments associated with that Library of Congress
classification (7.2.2.3).
7.2.2.1 Identify Criteria for Withdrawal. Liaison librarians have primary responsibility
for evaluation of the collection. Liaison librarians will collaborate with the departments
associated with the relevant Library of Congress classification to determine the criteria
for reviewing the associated collection.
7.2.2.2 Campus-wide Review. Recognizing the interdisciplinary nature of many
subject areas, material recommended for withdrawal from the collection will be shared 
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directly with all departments via their liaison librarians and listed by subject area on a
shared website for a period of six weeks during a regular semester (Spring or Fall). The
information provided will include the criteria jointly established by the liaison librarians
and departments along with a link to an analysis (circulation, holdings in other libraries,
etc.) of the titles under consideration. During this time, all faculty will be encouraged to
review the material and provide feedback to their liaison librarian. A blanket request to
keep all books on a list will not block the next stage of review.
7.2.2.3 Final Review. The final review will be a minimum of four weeks. Liaison
librarians will share the information obtained in the campus-wide review with the
departments associated with the Library of Congress classification area of the material
being considered for withdrawal (7.2.2.1). Items identified for retention in the campuswide review will normally be retained. In addition, faculty campus wide can continue to
offer feedback through liaison librarians. The liaison librarians will consult with the
departments to identify materials on their lists that should be preserved. In the event a
department feels strongly about removing an item that was requested to be kept during
the campus-wide review, the liaison librarian will facilitate a discussion among the
relevant individuals to reach a conclusion regarding retention for the item(s) in question.
Any materials that this final review deems worthy of preserving shall be kept in the San
José State University Library collection.
7.2.3 Criteria for selection of print materials for withdrawal from the collection.
The following general criteria, listed in alphabetical order, are examples of the types of
criteria that may be taken into consideration when identifying materials for withdrawal.
The Library recognizes that each academic department has a unique set of needs in
regards to library use and materials, so the following criteria will not necessarily be
applicable for each subject area. In addition, consideration will be given to the potential
cross-disciplinary value of materials as well as their use for historical research.
7.2.3.1 Availability. Availability can be considered both internally and externally.
Considerations include: a) Whether or not other copies or editions exist in the SJSU
collection and/or b) Whether or not the item can be readily borrowed from other
institutions via Interlibrary Services or other library resource sharing programs. The
desired format for availability will vary by program/discipline/department. Some will
require/prefer electronic versions of materials while others will require/prefer print
versions.
7.2.3.2 Content. A candidate for withdrawal may be one where the content has been
determined by the liaison librarians in collaboration with faculty in departments
associated with that Library of Congress classification area to be no longer beneficial to
the collection (e.g., superseded information, duplicated content, changes in curricular
needs). 
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7.2.3.3 Past use. Past use is generally considered a predictor of future use. Past use
is measured by circulation system records and counts, interlibrary loan circulation
records, and in-house usage statistics/records. Periods of inactivity will vary by
discipline and circulation records may not necessarily be an appropriate criterion for
withdrawal. Items, especially single copies, should not be discarded solely because of
low use.
7.2.3.4 Physical condition. A candidate for withdrawal may be one that is worn,
defaced, or otherwise in poor condition to the point that it cannot be used and its value
to the collection does not warrant replacement or preservation in the same or an
alternate format.
7.2.4 Evaluating collections supporting discontinued programs.
The library should retain at least a "basic information" level in a discontinued program’s
subject area. Recognizing that the interests of departments frequently overlap, the
primary liaison librarian must consult with his/her assigned faculties and other liaison
librarians, who in turn will consult with faculty of relevant departments and other
University constituencies. The historical research value of materials should also be
taken into account. Consultation with other CSU institutions maintaining programs
similar to the one discontinued should be part of the process of evaluating materials
prior to their consideration for removal from the collection.
7.2.5 Disposal of withdrawn materials.
Materials to be withdrawn that are not wanted by other CSU or area libraries will be
placed in a designated, well-marked area in the Library for at least two weeks, giving
faculty, students, and the public the opportunity to claim them free of charge

Deselecting print materials is a collaborative activity involving the subject librarian, their liaison faculty, and the library's systems and metadata team. In Fall, 2024, liaison librarian Jane Dodge and cataloging lead Jill Strykowski, in consultation with the Library Integrated Systems and Collection Strategy teams, ran a pilot deselection. The steps are updated on this document:

De-selection process steps

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OpVCUkSxMbyWe9adXH3HP2j2DW0IXVw1segOTe0BW_0/edit?usp=sharing

Tips:

1. Describe your goal. Document the objective for this particular deselection. Is it small and targeted? More broad-reaching? Which call number ranges will you be using? The goal for Fall 2024 was "Small, targeted deselection focusing on rarely- or never-circulated print items."
2. Determine your criteria. For Fall 24, we used the following, somewhat conservative, approach:
   1. Available at at least five other CSU campuses, available within 1-2 days via our CSU+ system;
   2. Available via Inter-Library Loan from at least 50 libraries in the U.S.;
   3. Readily available and not considered rare according to WorldCat, the Library of Congress catalog;
   4. Not an SJSU faculty or staff publication. Please note, faculty/staff pub status relies on hand-entering and we have missed some over the years. If you spot an item written by an SJSU colleague, please let the librarian know so the record can be corrected and the item can be kept in the library in perpetuity.
3. Determine a time frame. The liaison faculty will need to be given at least six weeks during a Fall or Spring semester to evaluate the proposed deselection list.
4. Name your activity. We named our project "Deselection Activity - Fall, 2024." You will need a consistent name for files and communication.
5. Consult with the ILS Application & Data Coordinator. In our case, this was Jung Ah Lee. They will show you the canned report in Alma that you can use with our Fall 2024 activity criteria, or you can work with them to create a new report. The output will be a spreadsheet.
6. Once you have the spreadsheet, share it with the cataloging lead, who can provide WorldCat data for the items. You will need to merge the reports in order to have one consolidated report that includes all bibliographic, circulation, and holdings data.
7. Review your report yourself and make changes as you see fit.
8. Once you have your proposed list of items to be deselected, you will need to share it with your faculty. You can manage this however you like. Email may suffice for your purposes. We used a section of the CD website to communicate with our faculty and followed these steps:
   1. Make a copy of the report for faculty use and rename it. Change the permissions to "Comments Only."
   2. Go to the SJSU Library Collection Development external guide: https://library.sjsu.edu/collectiondevelopment/ and drill down to your College and Department.
   3. Add a box at the end of your page for Deselection. You can map or copy Box ID 33352435 "Deselection."
   4. Optionally, add a box for your specific deselection policy. Our sample is Box ID 33352440 "Deselection for Global Innovation and Leadership."
   5. Add another box with the name of your deselection activity. We named our project "Deselection Activity - Fall, 2024." In a text section, describe the activity and give the faculty any context or instructions you'd like them to have. Our text is saved as Box ID 33352442 "Deselection Activity - Fall, 2024." Be sure to include the due date and instructions for adding comments on the worksheet.
   6. In the same box, add a new Link to the spreadsheet you are offering to the faculty. Our example is Original Asset ID 78359977.
9. Publish your guide and make it available to your faculty.
10. Once you have the faculty feedback, make your final decisions on your final spreadsheet.

Collections Strategy: collection-development@sjsu.edu 

Alma: ILS Application & Data Coordinator

WorldCat and metadata: Cataloging & Gov.Pub. Lead

ILL data: library-ils-group@sjsu.edu