Conforming collections: assessing medical and allied health collections using Doody’s Core Titles

Authors

  • Efren Torres, Jr. De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5527-8857
  • Zipporah Dery De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute
  • Raquel Samar De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute
  • Marlon Gado De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2022.1114

Keywords:

collection development, medical and allied health collection, match, trend, Doody’s Core Titles

Abstract

Objective: This study assessed the print collection of an Asian academic medical library using list-checking. The library’s book collection was matched to Doody’s Core Titles (DCT) subspecialties to identify strong and weak subject areas and understand temporal trends from 2014 to 2020.

Method: List checking was employed as the method of research.

Results: Basic sciences and nursing were the strongest subspecialties from 2018 to 2020, with many subjects having 100% matches, likely because most academic programs share the same basic sciences foundation subjects and nursing collections had been developed for many years as a long-standing program of the institution. Associated health-related disciplines was the weakest subspecialty.

Conclusion: These subjects need to be prioritized in collection development. All subspecialties exhibited an increasing trend of matching between 2014 and 2020. Electronic books were included in the matching to DCT 2020; however, the match was low compared to print only or both print and electronic titles. DCT title matching can not only identify gaps in library collections that need to be filled but also point toward opportunities to develop strong and varied collections in medicine and allied health.

Author Biographies

Efren Torres, Jr., De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute

Director, Romeo P. Ariniego, MD, AFSC, Library

De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute

Zipporah Dery, De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute

Chair, Academic Resources and Creative Activities

Romeo P. Ariniego, MD, AFSC, Library

De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute

Raquel Samar, De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute

Chair, Collections Development and Access

Romeo P. Ariniego, MD, AFSC, Library

De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute

Marlon Gado, De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute

Collections Development Librarian

Romeo P. Ariniego, MD, AFSC, Library

De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute

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Published

2022-12-08

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Section

Original Investigation