NSLA’s second webinar partnering with OCLC Research Library Partnership (RLP) introduced Total Cost of Stewardship: Responsible collection building in archives and special collections. This framework and accompanying tools address the ongoing challenge of descriptive backlogs in archives and special collections by connecting collection development decisions with stewardship responsibilities.
Chela Scott Weber, RLP Senior Program Officer, introduced the framework, which was developed by the RLP’s Collection Building and Operational Impacts Working Group. The framework model considers the value of a potential acquisition and its alignment with institutional mission and goals alongside:
- the cost to acquire, care for, and manage a potential acquisition
- the labour and specialised skills required to do that work
- institutional capacity to care for and store collections.
The framework is supported by a number of communication and cost estimation tools designed to help institutions estimate and communicate the time, labour, and costs required to manage collections. These tools support archives and special collections in making informed, shared collection building decisions and support communication between colleagues in curatorial, administrative, and technical services roles.
Following this, Carrie Hintz, Associate Director, Rose Library, Emory University, talked about how the library has implemented the framework and adapted the tools to suit its need (such as making an online version of the Potential Acquisition Report Form). Reflecting on the outcomes of using the framework, Carrie said that one unexpected benefit was a growth in trust between the various teams involved in acquisition and stewardship through working together with the tools.
OCLC Research is continuing its outreach to assist libraries to use and implement the framework. For those in the Asia-Pacific region there is an open support session on 13 May at 9-10am AEST (free but registration is required). There will also be a Twitter chat on 20 May – follow #oclc-tcos.
