[LM_NET] Clarification: Collection Age Analysis

[Shonda Brisco <sbrisco@FWCDS.ORG>]

Thanks to everyone who has responded to my upcoming workshop question about the 
automation systems that allow (or don't allow) you to perform a collection age 
analysis.  While some have also offered suggestions that I use vendors such as 
Follett's Titlewave or Mackin's database to run this type of age analysis, I need 
to clarify a couple of things (before I get more email responses...)

I wanted to ask about the automation systems only because I needed to find out what 
systems DON'T allow these types of activities (some don't...which is another 
workshop altogether..."Automation Systems: What to Look For When Choosing Your Next 
One!").  While many of the librarians may be using some of those "problematic 
systems", others will not be, and can run their own collection age analysis 
(something that we all need to be able to do--but maybe a "newbie" librarian didn't 
know was there, so we could explain the process to him / her...another perk to the 
workshop! <grin>) However, if the librarian can't run an analysis on their system 
(Plan A), I resort to...Plan B!

My Plan B to the homework assignment would be to allow those "problematic-system 
librarians" to use either Follett or Mackin to run their analysis---however, I must 
confess, that IF your collection is not cataloged correctly (MARC record problems), 
then even Follett and Mackin will be futile (believe me, I found that situation at 
my last library!) The only records that Follett discovered cataloged correctly were 
the ones that I had done during the three years I was there (annoying, huh?).

So, thanks for sharing the information about the vendors that have these great 
products---yes, I did know about them and I am glad that there were even a couple 
of others suggested that I wasn't aware of, so now I have a variety of choices to 
share for Plan B!

I just wanted to clarify what I wanted and needed for the homework so I wouldn't be 
getting more information about the vendor's collection age products.  

SO...if you have a "vixen" of an automation system that doesn't allow for a 
collection age analysis, or if you don't know how to run one on your system, I'd be 
interested!! This will be good experience for me to understand what some of my 
workshop attendees may face after we finish our program and they start the homework 
session!

Thanks again, guys and dolls!



Shonda Brisco, MLIS
US / Technology Librarian
Fort Worth Country Day School
Fort Worth, TX
sbrisco@fwcds.org

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