Course Catalogue

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This course explores the domain of collections management within libraries, with a specific focus on special collections, and the role of the librarian in supporting digital scholarship. The course serves as an important core module in the MSc degree and is a unique offer across librarianship degrees currently available in the UK. The course builds on research and expertise in some of Information Studies' key strategic areas, and on our partnerships with Archives and Special Collections within the university, as well as other external partners across central Scotland, such as the National Library of Scotland, and Glasgow Life.

10x1hr lecture per week, over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.

4x2hr lab, over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.

Standard entry to Masters at College level

N/A

None

Essay - critical analysis of collections development policies from a choice of library sectors (public, academic, school, or national) (2500 words)

Report - design a collections management policy for a special collection focused on hybrid/digital concerns (2500 words)

This course aims to:

■ Present the theories of collection management and collection development in the modern library and information world

■ Explore the challenges of working with special collections in both the analogue and digital worlds

■ Evaluate the importance of special collections to society and how they are managed and stewarded both for the current needs and those of the future

■ Introduce the concept of digital scholarship and the interactions with and usage of digital collections from various patron perspectives

■ Provide an understanding of what happens when collections become data, its impact on users of library collections, and how libraries respond

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Explain the importance of good collection management and development in a library and information service

■ Critique a range of collections development policies from library and information services

■ Critically analyse the importance of special collections and their preservation and dissemination for the scholarly needs of society

■ Reflect on the ways in which digital scholarship presents new challenges for library and information services

■ Design an effective collections management policy that incorporates special collections and preservation/digitisation strategies

■ Demonstrate a critical understanding of how digital scholarship supports multiple forms of reuse of information objects from multiple audience perspectives

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.