MLS Information Resources & Collection Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which collection development principle states that a library should acquire materials that meet the demonstrated needs of its community rather than building a theoretically ideal collection?
- Demand-driven acquisition (Correct answer)
- Just-in-case collecting
- Conspectus method
- Core collection theory
Correct answer: Demand-driven acquisition
Demand-driven acquisition (DDA) prioritizes purchasing materials based on actual patron use or requests rather than speculative need.
Question 2: A library subscribes to a database through a consortium. Which term describes the price advantage gained by multiple libraries negotiating together?
- Volume licensing
- Consortial pricing (Correct answer)
- Bundled licensing
- Tiered pricing
Correct answer: Consortial pricing
Consortial pricing refers to the discounted rates achieved when a group of libraries negotiates collectively with a vendor.
Question 3: When evaluating a reference database, which metric best indicates its relevance to a specific academic discipline?
- Number of full-text titles
- Subject coverage and indexing depth (Correct answer)
- Interface design rating
- Vendor market share
Correct answer: Subject coverage and indexing depth
Subject coverage and indexing depth determine how thoroughly a database represents the literature of a particular field.
Question 4: A library's collection policy includes a statement on 'currency.' To which characteristic of materials does this refer?
- Monetary cost of the item
- Availability in multiple formats
- Recency and timeliness of content (Correct answer)
- Circulation frequency
Correct answer: Recency and timeliness of content
Currency in collection evaluation refers to how current or up-to-date the information in a resource is relative to the field.
Question 5: Which United States law most directly affects a library's ability to lend digital e-books under standard licensing agreements?
- Freedom of Information Act
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act (Correct answer)
- USA PATRIOT Act
- Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
Correct answer: Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) governs digital copyright protections that affect how libraries license and lend e-books.
Question 6: A serials librarian notices that a journal's impact factor has dropped significantly over three years. What is the most appropriate initial action?
- Cancel the subscription immediately
- Review the journal's scope, cost, and usage statistics before deciding (Correct answer)
- Increase the subscription tier
- Archive all back issues and deaccession
Correct answer: Review the journal's scope, cost, and usage statistics before deciding
A declining impact factor warrants holistic review of the journal's cost, patron usage, and scope before making a cancellation decision.
Question 7: In the context of digital preservation, what does the term 'format migration' mean?
- Moving files from one server to another
- Converting digital content from an obsolete format to a current one (Correct answer)
- Exporting metadata to a new catalog system
- Transferring ownership of digital assets to another institution
Correct answer: Converting digital content from an obsolete format to a current one
Format migration involves converting files from aging or obsolete formats to currently supported formats to ensure long-term accessibility.
