The assessment report evaluates the engineering collection of DLSU libraries using a list-checking approach to determine the growth, quality, and existing gaps in holdings. Over a five-year period, the libraries acquired 2,120 titles with an output of 82,056 engineering publications, but the collection remains deficient in both quantity and quality as per standards indicated by Choice Magazine. Recommendations include implementing an aggressive acquisition strategy and improving selection processes to better align with current publication outputs and quality recommendations.

1. THE DLSU LIBRARIES' ENGINEERING
COLLECTION: AN ASSESSMENT REPORT
USING THE LIST CHECKING APPROACH
by
Elizabeth B. Padilla
Ana Maria B. Fresnido
Vivian C. Soriente
Cynthia L. Cordova
DLSU LIBRARIES

2. INTRODUCTION

3. DLSU Libraries’ Collection
Development Mission
• To build and maintain an adequate and well-
balanced collection that responds and
supports the needs of its library clienteles
• To develop a mixed collection of resources
that adheres to standards, both qualitatively
and quantitatively

4. Standard Tools Used for Assessing
the Engineering Collection
• 2001 - Books for College Libraries (BCL)
• 2004 - Best Book for Academic Libraries (BBAL)
• 2014 - Choice Magazine

5. Objectives of the Study
to ascertain the present
profile of the engineering
and technology collections;
to find out how it has grown in the last five years and
at what pace it is developing in relation to the number
of publication output produced in the last 5 years;
to examine how the present collection
fare with the titles listed in the Choice
Magazine (issues for 2010-2014);
to identify the quality of
the collection based on
Choice Magazine; and
to identify
the gaps in
the collection

6. METHODOLOGY

7. Assessment Techniques
• Collection profiling – provides a breakdown
(number of titles/volumes) of the engineering
holdings by class letter
• List check or check listing - compares the
library’s holdings against a standardized or
authoritative list.

8. Collection Profiling Procedure
Examine difference between holdings and publication output to identify strengths and
weaknesses of the engineering collection in terms of quantity
Determine number of publication output using Books-in-Print (BIP) Global Edition
From year 2010-2014 (5 years)
Parameters: written in English, for college level and published in the
United States, United Kingdom and Canada
Extract engineering holdings from Sierra
Number of tiles/volumes per class letter

9. List Checking Procedures
9
Analyse results and integrate finding with results of other techniques
Determine percentage of library’s holdings in relation to the number of titles being
checked
Record number of titles held that are listed in Choice
Check list completely against OPAC
Exact match – put check mark Other edition – indicate date No match – put “0”
Select the list appropriate to the subjects and the goals
Choice Magazine, 2010-2014

10. Scope and Limitations
Inclusion
• printed books classified under the
following:
Exclusion
• Printed books classified
under
– TR - Photography
– TT - Handicrafts
– TX - Home
• eBooks and other resources
in other formats
• books that are currently
housed at the Science and
Technology Complex -
Integrated School and Pre-
School (audience level)
T Technology (General)
TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
TC Hydraulic engineering
TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
TE Highway engineering. Roads and pavements
TF Railroad engineering and operation
TG Bridge engineering
TH Building construction
TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
TK Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering
TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics
TN Mining engineering. Metallurgy
TP Chemical technology
TS Manufactures

11. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

12. Profile of DLSU Libraries’ Book Holdings in
Engineering & Technology
Class Letter Subject No. of
Titles
% No. of
Volumes
% Rank
T Technology (General) 2,284 11.79 3,143 12.51 3rd
TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering
(General)
3,208 16.56 4,177 16.63 2nd
TC Hydraulic engineering 165 0.85 207 0.82 11th
TD Environmental technology. Sanitary
engineering
897 4.63 1,165 4.64 7th
TE Highway engineering. Roads and pavements 90 0.5 110 0.43 12th
TF Railroad engineering and operation 28 0.14 31 0.12 14th
TG Bridge engineering 67 0.34 72 0.28 13th
TH Building construction 604 3.11 748 3 8th
TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery 1,849 9.54 2,467 9.82 4th
TK Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear
engineering
6,179 31.89 7,539 30.03 1st
TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics 567 2.92 716 2.9 9th
TN Mining engineering. Metallurgy 210 1.08 286 1.13 10th
TP Chemical technology 1,448 7.5 2,055 8.18 6th
TS Manufactures 1,774 9.15 2,388 9.51 5th
TOTAL 19,370 100 25,104 100

13. Engineering Publications Output,
Years 2010 to 2014
(based on BIP)
Class Letter Subject Publications Output per Year Total
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
T Technology 1677 1213 1857 1324 1159 7230
TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering
(General)
4088 3464 5956 3202 3489 20199
TC Hydraulic engineering 136 93 104 61 90 484
TD Environmental technology. Sanitary
engineering
832 796 1082 509 482 3701
TE Highway engineering. Roads and
pavements
37 8 22 20 15 102
TF Railroad engineering and operation 140 152 99 7 19 417
TG Bridge engineering 30 27 41 23 25 146
TH Building construction 683 740 661 324 277 2685
TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery 1718 1516 2096 1182 1497 8009
TK Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear
engineering
5191 4617 6555 3722 3571 23656
TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics 1263 1363 1415 455 510 5006
TN Mining engineering. Metallurgy 163 185 209 185 160 902
TP Chemical technology 1271 1378 2178 1297 1114 7238
TS Manufactures 550 545 588 294 304 2281
TOTAL 17779 16097 22863 12605 12712 82056

14. Findings
• The total number of DLSU library’s printed
books as of July 2015 is 19,370 titles
– Current holdings represent the 50-year collection
development effort of the Libraries in building its
engineering collection
• The total number of engineering publication
outputs (based on Books-in-Print (BIP) Global
Edition in the last five years (2010 to 2014) is
82,056 titles

15. Breakdown of Book Acquisition in Engineering by
Mode of Acquisition,
AY 2010-11 to 2014-15 (5 years)
Class Letter Subject Mode of Acquisition Total %
Purchase Donation
T Technology (General) 159 55 214 10.09
TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering
(General)
336 40 376 17.74
TC Hydraulic engineering 12 6 18 0.85
TD Environmental technology. Sanitary
engineering
77 55 132 6.23
TE Highway engineering. Roads and pavements 10 2 12 0.57
TF Railroad engineering and operation 1 1 0.05
TG Bridge engineering 11 11 0.52
TH Building construction 104 9 113 5.33
TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery 185 30 215 10.14
TK Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear
engineering
483 77 560 26.42
TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics 58 42 100 4.72
TN Mining engineering. Metallurgy 18 10 28 1.32
TP Chemical technology 131 32 163 7.69
TS Manufactures 135 42 177 8.35
Total 1720 400 2120 100.00

16. Breakdown of Book Acquisition in Engineering by
Publication/Copyright,
AY 2010-11 to 2014-15 (5 years)
Publication
Date
Class Letter
Total
T TA TC TD TE TF TG TH TJ TK TL TN TP TS
1979 and
below
7 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 7 3 3 1 2 33
1980-1989 10 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 5 4 1 0 4 7 38
1990-1999 16 19 2 5 1 0 0 3 0 28 12 0 6 8 100
2000-2009 41 111 4 61 1 0 1 26 68 142 41 14 55 52 617
2010-2015 140 237 12 63 10 1 10 81 139 378 43 11 97 108 1330
Undetermined 1 1 2
Grand Total 214 376 18 132 12 1 11 113 215 560 100 28 163 177 2120

17. Findings
• In the last five years, the DLSU Libraries
acquired a total of 2,120 titles
• TA (Engineering, General/Civil Engineering)
and T (Technology, General) had the most
number of holdings acquired
• The rate of acquisition is increasing steadily
• The average yearly acquisition is 424 titles
which is equivalent to 2.58% of the total
engineering publications output

18. List Checking of the Engineering Collection
against Choice Magazine
Breakdown of Choice Title Listings by LC Class
LC Class Subject No. of Titles %
T Technology (General) 83 11.05
TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) 76 10.12
TC Hydraulic engineering 18 2.40
TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering 95 12.65
TE Highway engineering. Roads and pavements 3 0.40
TF Railroad engineering and operation 4 0.53
TG Bridge engineering 5 0.67
TH Building construction 11 1.46
TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery 104 13.85
TK Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering 134 17.84
TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics 118 15.71
TN Mining engineering. Metallurgy 15 2.00
TP Chemical technology 74 9.85
TS Manufactures 11 1.46
TOTAL 751 100.00

19. Breakdown of Choice Title Listings by
Publication Date
Publication Date No. of
Titles
%
2006 1 0.13
2009 88 11.72
2010 204 27.16
2011 150 19.97
2012 115 15.31
2013 125 16.64
2014 67 8.92
No Date 1 0.13
TOTAL 751 100.00

20. Recommendation
Level
Meaning
4 Essential: A publication of exceptional quality for
academic audiences and a core title for academic libraries
supporting programs in relevant disciplines.
3 Highly recommended: A publication of high quality and
relevance for academic audiences.
2 Recommended: A publication containing good content
and coverage and suitable for academic audiences.
1 Optional: A publication that, due to limited value or
deficiencies, is marginal for academic audiences.
0 Not recommended: A poor quality publication or one not
suitable for academic audiences.
Choice’s Recommendation Levels

21. List Checking Results
LC Class Subject
Choice
Entries
Available Not Available
Exact Hits
Hits in Diff.
Edition /
Version
Total
Hits
% No Hits %
T Technology (General) 83 7 1 8 1.07 75 9.99
TA
Engineering (General). Civil engineering
(General)
76 6 4 10 1.33 66 8.79
TC Hydraulic engineering 18 0 0 0.00 18 2.40
TD
Environmental technology. Sanitary
engineering
95 2 5 7 0.93 88 11.72
TE Highway engineering. Roads and pavements 3 0 0 0.00 3 0.40
TF Railroad engineering and operation 4 0 0 0.00 4 0.53
TG Bridge engineering 5 0 6 6 0.80 5 0.67
TH Building construction 11 0 0 0.00 11 1.46
TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery 104 6 6 0.80 92 12.25
TK
Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear
engineering
134 13 1 14 1.86 120 15.98
TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics 118 2 2 0.27 116 15.45
TN Mining engineering. Metallurgy 15 1 1 0.13 14 1.86
TP Chemical technology 74 3 1 4 0.53 67 8.92
TS Manufactures 11 4 4 0.53 10 1.33
TOTAL 751 44 18 62 8.26 689 91.74

22. Findings
• The DLSU was able to acquire 58 “best” titles from AY 2010-11
to 2014-2015 out of 645 best titles.
• 4 or (6.45%) of the titles acquired by the Libraries listed in
Choice were assigned recommendation levels 0 and 1, which is
an indication of poor selection judgment as far as the four
titles are concerned.
Recommendation Level Available Not Available
0 2 25
1 2 19
2 33 386
3 22 249
4 3 10
TOTAL 62 689
Breakdown of Choice Titles by Recommendation Level

23. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS

24. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSION
• The DLSU Libraries
engineering book
collection is
deficient in terms
of quantity due to
the very low
acquisition rate.
RECOMMENDATION
• Carry out a more aggressive
acquisition program to catch
up with the number of
engineering titles being
published annually.
• Considering the cost of
developing the engineering
collection, it would be best to
prioritize areas supporting the
university programs where the
gaps are wide (TA, TP, TH, and
TJ, respectively).

25. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSION
• The engineering
collection also fell
short in terms of
quality, that is, as
far as Choice
Magazine is
concerned.
RECOMMENDATION
• Find ways on how to
improve on the
selection process
ensuring that most
of the essential titles
are acquired

26. RECOMMENDATIONS
• Look closely into the collection development
practices and find ways on how to improve on
the selection process ensuring that most of
the essential titles are acquired.
• Identify a selection tool which can be used by
faculty members in recommending books for
acquisition would be desirable.

27. Thank you!