Presented in partnership with OCLC Research Library Partnership (RLP), this webinar introduces Total Cost of Stewardship: Responsible collection building in archives and special collections. The 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 needs.
Related links
Total Cost of Stewardship: Responsible collection building in archives and special collections – OCLC
Potential Acquisition Report Form – Rose Library
