Request for Proposal - Collections Consultant

["Jane Binksma" <jbinksma at gwemail dot ryerson dot ca>]

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR A COLLECTIONS CONSULTANT TO REVIEW THE RYERSON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BUDGET PROCEDURES 


Institutional Description

The Ryerson University Library serves a student population of over 18,000 FTE students, including 680 graduate students, and 625 faculty members.  The Library has a staff of more than seventy, including twenty-one career status and three contract librarians and one archivist. The collection totals about 500,000 books, 2,100 hard copy serials and an impressive electronic resources collection of over 21,000 full text journals, e-books, and online databases.  

Librarians at Ryerson work in a team and subject cluster arrangement.  There are three teams * Borrower Services, Information and Learning Commons Team and the Collection Services Team.  Librarians approach collection development, faculty liaison and bibliographic instruction as clusters, divided as follows: Business, Arts, Engineering and Applied Science, Community Services, and Communication and Design.  Every librarian is responsible for varied subject areas within these clusters.  Consultation with faculty members varies, but is considered a factor in making some collection decisions.

Goal

The number one strategic goal in the academic plan of the Ryerson University Library is the strengthening of our collections.  This includes the maintenance of the monograph budget, the expansion of our electronic collection and the collection of material to support scholarly and research activities of our faculty and graduate students.  

An overhaul of the budget and fund system is required to ensure that the Library is equipped properly to best achieve this institutional goal.  

Objectives

1.  The current budget formula is dated and no longer meets our needs. The library is interested in exploring alternatives that will allow us to allocate monograph funds to subject areas in a more judicious manner.  It must be structured in such a way to ensure the following:

*	Current programs receive the required funding
*	Proposed and new programs should be planned for, and easily included in the library budget
*	Future allocation decisions should not be limited to a set number of variables (i.e. flexibility)

2.	The current fund structure is voluminous and elaborate.  A simpler and smaller fund tree is desired.  This needs to be taken into consideration when creating the allocation process.

3.	Analysis of purchasing and collecting levels are currently tracked through the above mentioned fund tree.  If the fund structure is to be modified, we must still be able to provide collection analysis.  The consultant should recommend alternatives to using fund codes for analysis to satisfy the information sought by interested parties.

4.	A pilot project for evaluating and implementing approval plans is currently underway.  The consultant will recommend how to best proceed with the approval plan, and to what extent.

Deliverables/Outcomes

1.	A recommendation for a revised budget allocation system that allows for expansion to include new programs 

2.	A recommendation of a new and simplified fund structure	

3.	Procedures for retrieving frequently requested collection analysis statistics previously collected via fund code, including but not limited to:

*	Money spent in a subject area in a given amount of time
*	Number of monographs purchased in a subject area in a given amount of time

4.	Recommendations regarding the approval plan including, but not limited to:
*	Which vendor(s) should be maintained/approached
*	Which subject areas/LC ranges should be included in the profiles
*	Whether slip or book plans are the best path for Ryerson, and at what point slip plans should be advanced to book plans
*	How workflows should be managed to ensure the maximum efficiency of approval plans 

Support in completion

The collections consultant will work closely with the full term Collection Team librarians in achieving these outcomes.  In addition, the consultant will meet with individual subject librarians for input on special areas of consideration.  The Chief Librarian will be regularly consulted and updated on progress.  


Location of work

The consultant will be provided with office space and equipment (including fully networked computer system) within the library.

Timeline & budget

It is expected that the consultant will provide a completed report of recommendations within a maximum of 30 days.  A further 10 days (maximum) will be added to assist in discussion of implementation.  The workweek will be from Monday to Friday.  The total budget for the process will be a maximum of $20,000.  

It is expected that work will commence in early August 2005.

Desired qualifications

*	At least 10 years experience in collection development in an academic library
*	At least 10 years experience in collection budget management
*	Extensive experience with starting and managing approval plans
*	Familiarity with integrated library systems, preferably Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
*	Specific knowledge of fund codes, subject category tables and collection analysis through statistics reporting functions in an integrated library system, preferably Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
*	Demonstrated success in supervising and directing collection development in an academic library
*	Understanding of technical services workflow in an academic library (i.e. ordering, receiving, processing, cataloguing).

Scope of proposal

Applicants should send an updated resume, a letter outlining their qualifications, and a statement describing how they would set out to achieve the required outcomes, drawing on previous accomplishments where possible to demonstrate capability.  

Names and contact information for three professional references should also be included.  The references should be able to specifically attest to the applicants' ability in budget management, and collection development procedure writing.  

Deadline for applications is July 15, 2005.

Please send application packages to the Chief Librarian, Ryerson University, Room LIB 266B, 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON. M5B 2K3, citing the following statement:  RE:  Collections Consultant Request for Proposal.



Jane Binksma
Acquisitions Librarian
Collections Team
Ryerson University Library
350 Victoria Street
Toronto, ON
M5B 2K3
416-979-5000 ex. 4855