The CDL, CRL, & HathiTrust Shared Print Collaboration launches a free collection comparison tool to advance equity of collection decision making.
Chicago, IL, & Ann Arbor, MI January 22, 2021
Formed in January 2020, the California Digital Library (CDL), the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), & HathiTrust Collaboration is building on a decade of collaboration, innovation, and expertise to define a new phase of shared print built on open and interconnected infrastructure. The collection comparison tool brings together the shared print retention commitments registered in CRL’s Print Archives Preservation Registry (PAPR), HathiTrust digital collection metadata, and the local library serials data submitted by users. Users know instantly which titles in their collection have been retained by shared print collections and which have not. This tool utilizes technology included in WEST’s decision-support system, AGUA, built and supported by CDL.
"We are all accountable for creating a diverse collective collection, and tools like this break down barriers to strategic action," said Karla Strieb, Associate Dean for Content and Access at Ohio State University Libraries, and member of HathiTrust and the Center for Research Libraries.
The collection comparison tool has been designed for ease of use. Comprehensive instructions guide the user through the steps for uploading serials relating to the data of interest and downloading the resulting reports; to do this, users can use a .csv file with a list of OCLC numbers or ISSNs to trigger the comparison. Users can input up to four additional fields of local information. This free tool is available for unlimited use and can be accessed at papr.crl.edu/tools/compare.
CDL, CRL, and HathiTrust’s decision to develop this tool, which makes two of the most comprehensive sets of freely available serials data accessible and easy to use, was informed by conversations with the Rosemont Shared Print Alliance and the Partnership for Shared Book Collections. Forward-looking alliances with Rosemont the Partnership will continue to play an important role to surface infrastructure needs for CDL, CRL, and HathiTrust’s collaborative work.
“Action at scale requires data at-scale. Initiatives like the Collection Comparison Tool are critical to libraries and their shared future.” Said Jeff Kosokoff, Assistant University Librarian for Collection Strategy, Duke University Library (DUL), who represents DUL in local, regional, national, and international contexts such as CRL, NERL, TRLN, the Partnership for Shared Book Collections, the Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation Collection Development Group, and HathiTrust.
To find out more about CDL, CRL, and HathiTrust’s collaboration and its activities, go to www.cchcollab.org
Contacts: Alison Wohlers, CDL, alison.wohlers@ucop.edu
Amy Wood, CRL, awood@crl.edu
Heather Weltin, HathiTrust, weltin@hathitrust.org