Submitted by Eileen Hansen, Midwest Chapter Member
Mercy College of Health Sciences Library, Des Moines, IA
EHansen@mercydesmoines.org
Tight library budgets make library selection decisions more important than ever. With the demise of the Brandon-Hill list series, health science librarians are turning to Doody’s Core Titles for selection expertise. Doody’s has implemented a collaborative process that relies on the collective expertise of subject specialists and medical librarians to select the most authoritative and useful titles. Consider becoming a part of this process by volunteering to become a librarian selector in one or more specialties.
There is a time commitment, but the procedure is very streamlined, with e-mail reminders and access to useful selection tools. The process takes place over several weeks, completely online. An initial list is compiled by a content specialist. Librarian selectors enter at this point and add titles felt to be important. The list is recompiled and each librarian scores each title, noting items that should be considered as essential purchases. James Shedlock and Linda Walton more fully describe the process in this article in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association.
Bette Sydelko sent out an e-mail to Midwest Chapter members, recruiting other librarian selectors back in 2004. She related her positive experience and encouraged others to participate in the development of a useful collection development tool. She convinced me, and now it’s my turn to convince you! We know what our patrons request and find most useful. Selectors are acknowledged at the Doody’s Core Titles website and by a certificate of appreciation. Participating in the Doody’s Core Titles selection process has increased my knowledge of available resources and helped me build a more useful (and used) collection. In her review of Doody’s Core Titles, Karen S. Fisher concluded, “The greatest strengths of the DCT are the comprehensiveness of the list and the participation of a large number of professionals.” If you would like to become a selector and contribute your expertise, contact Anne Hennessy.