Introducing Collections Services

Duke's blue devil reading a book - the library iconEarlier this year, the Collection Strategy & Development department was added to Technical Services.  After his arrival, Joe Salem, the new Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs, affirmed that this organizational change, which mirrors existing structures at many of Duke’s peer institutions makes strategic sense moving forward. It brings together collection strategy and stewardship around the lifecycle which is now wholly represented in the division. It is important to mark this change to update the framing of collections holistically.

Since its inception, the modern Duke Libraries as part of a comprehensive, research institution grows daily as scholarship continues, formats change, and culture evolves. Our work is supporting the full resource lifecycle which enables a range of scholarly pursuits. The six departments in the division (Collection Strategy & Development, Conservation Services, Continuing Resource Acquisitions, Metadata & Discovery Strategy, Monograph Acquisitions, Resource Description) are responsible for overarching collections stewardship – strategy and analysis, licensing and acquisition, access and description, and preservation to extend the life and reach of Duke University Libraries’ (DUL) collections.

Within this division, it is important to highlight that we are tasked with working across the collections spectrum. We provide support directly or indirectly for nearly all collections-related programs. We support general and special collections, in English and on average over 80 non-English languages. Of course, we support all formats – physical and online. We provide collections management and/or cooperatively work with all Duke affiliated libraries, and we keep DUL’s collections networked through extensive engagement with its many consortia partners.

With these things in mind, I wanted to note two changes that are effective immediately. First, the Continuing Resource Acquisitions department will now be called Electronic Resources & Serials Acquisitions (ERSA) to provide a more overt understanding of that work. And finally, Technical Services is now named Collections Services. It is a good amalgamation of where we’ve been as well as where we are now. Updates to the directory, website pages, org chart, etc., will all be made in the coming weeks.