Diversity Collection Audit & Assessment

This is primarily a collection-centered assessment project using qualitative and quantitative methods.

Method: Compare UWF holdings data against Resources for College Libraries (RCL) core titles, using interdisciplinary RCL subjects and relevant LC classification ranges.

Holdings analyzed: 2019 and 2021 holdings data for all print holdings across all UWF Libraries locations (JCPL, PSL, and ECL).

RCL categories: African American Studies; African History, Languages, & Literatures; Asian American Studies; Asian History, Languages, & Literatures; GLBT Studies; Gender Studies; Latin American History; Latino Studies; Middle Eastern History, Languages, & Literatures; Native American Studies; Spanish and Portuguese Languages & Literatures

LC class ranges: Afro-Americans; Class; Elements of the Population; Emigration and Immigration; Ethnology, Social/Cultural Anthropology; Indians of North America; Latin America; People with Disabilities; Race; Sexual Life; Women, Feminism

Additional LC ranges included in subsequent analyses: African Languages and Literature; Arabic Languages and Literature; Asian Languages and Literature; Hebrew Language and Literature; History of Africa; History of Asia, Indo-Iranian Languages and Literature; Islam; Judaism; Neurosciences; Sex Role; Spanish and Portuguese Language; Spanish and Portuguese Literature 

Limitations:

• Not 100% accurate with comparing/matching different editions and formats within a collection
• BBAS requires a subscription
• Only breaks LC down to second subclass
• LC call numbers do not account for interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary titles
• Some titles are out of UWF collection scope

Method: Assign diversity codes to list of FY20 acquisitions (n = 806) and New Books shelf list (n = 844) to demonstrate how intentional we are (or aren't) about collecting diverse materials.

Assess each book/title individually to determine whether it reflects a measure of diversity (i.e. something other than white, male, nondisabled, and heteronormative).

• Use title, TOC, summary, and/or subject headings
• Monographs only (no DVDs, Zines, curriculum materials, or other formats)
• Content: main topic(s), theme(s), location(s), character(s) etc.
  • not author(s)

Holdings analyzed:

• FY20 acquisitions - 865 titles, includes all print and electronic monographs for all locations (JCPL, PSL, and ECL)
• FY21 acquisitions - 1090 titles, includes all print and electronic monographs for all locations (JCPL, PSL, and ECL)
• FY22 acquisitions - 886 titles, includes all print and electronic monographs for all locations (JCPL, PSL, and ECL)
• New Books Shelflist (April 2020) - 844 titles, includes print monographs from JCPL only
• New Books Shelflist (March 2023) - 505 titles, includes print monographs from JCPL only

Categories: African/African-American; Arab/Arab-American/Middle Eastern/Muslim; Asian/Asian-American/Pacific Islander; Disability/Neurodiversity/Physically Challenged; General/Multidisciplinary; Hispanic/Latinx; Immigrants/Immigration/Refugees; Jewish; LGBTQ+/Sexuality; Native American/Indigenous Peoples; Poverty/Homelessness/Socioeconomic Status; Race/Ethnicity; Women/Gender

Not included: Ageism; #ownvoices / #livedexperiences; Political Diversity; Religious Diversity; Veteran Status

Limitations:

• Subjective - human fallibility in assigning codes
• Cumbersome approach for larger collections
• Inconsistency of code assignment if using multiple selectors/evaluators
• Difficult to anticipate all possible codes/categories needed
• New Books only includes print JCPL titles (no e-books or ECL/PSL titles)
• A number alone doesn’t account for diverse content within a diversity category 
  • i.e. not all “Jewish” books should be about the Holocaust
  • i.e. not all “African American” books should be about slavery
  • i.e. multiple subcategories under the “LGBTQ+” umbrella

Method: Assign diversity codes (using Diversity Codes method above) to list of titles that were requested via interlibrary loan in FY20  (n = 676) and that were published in the last 10 years to determine potential gaps in collecting diverse materials.

Interlibrary loans analyzed: FY20 requests - 676 titles, includes all monograph requests via ILLiad.

Categories: same as above.

Limitations (in addition to those above):

• Requests for monographs through the State University Library System (UBorrow) excluded.
• Patrons allowed to request items that are checked out or in a format that they do not prefer, so some titles may be owned by UWF.
• Some titles may have been purchased after the requests were made in ongoing collections/ILL analysis.
• Heavy researchers may request many titles from one area of interest, which may skew results.

Method: Begin compiling a list of diversity related book awards and compile lists of the last three award recipients (years). Compare UWF holdings to determine how many award winners we have in our collection.

Holdings analyzed: all OPAC holdings (print and electronic) across all locations (JCPL, PSL, and ECL).

Categories: Broad Scope/Intersectionality; African/African-American; Women/Gender; LGBTQ+/Sexuality; Hispanic/Latinx; Native American/Indigenous; Jewish; Arab/Arab-American/Middle Eastern/Muslim; Asian/Asian-American; Disability

Limitations:

• Time consuming to compile lists
• Not comprehensive – there are many book awards that could be included
• Majority of awards are for diverse content – only a few are specific to diverse authors
• Most awards have a humanities or social science theme - science, health, business not as well represented
• Lots of intersectionality/crossover (i.e. gender and race)
• Varied sample sizes – both within and among categories
• Some awards/titles are out of UWF collection scope
• A few titles we have are e-books, which could be part of a subscription package and not intentional purchases
• Checklists can tell you what a library "should" own, but don't address the quality of what you "do" own

Method: Use GreenGlass Sustainable Collection Services to assess age and use of relevant LC classification ranges and compare our holdings to a comparator group of 16 peer and aspirant institutions. 

Holdings analyzed: November 2019 holdings data for print monographs with regular loan status across all locations (JCPL, PSL, and ECL).

Number of items/records included in UWF's GreenGlass instance: 429,815

• WFPAC = 402642
• WFFWB = 25,702
• WFCUR = 1471

Data Points: collection age (by decade); addition since 2010; usage; comparison to peers/peer-aspirants

Limitations:

• GreenGlass compares what you have to other libraries – it doesn’t tell you what you don’t have
• Analyzes only print items with regular circulation status (in our instance)
• LC call numbers do not account for interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary titles
• Platforms relying on MARC/OCLC data likely have some margin of error

• Comparison against core bibliographies
• Shelf analysis (direct collection analysis)
• White's Brief Test of Collection Strength
• Citation analysis
• Usage/circulation statistics