Conspectus Collection Assessment
Conspectus collection assessment is a structured method for describing and evaluating a library collection subject by subject using a standardized framework of collecting levels. Developed by the Research Libraries Group (RLG) and elaborated by the Western Library Network (WLN), the conspectus partitions the universe of knowledge into subject divisions aligned with Library of Congress or Dewey classification and rates each on a 0-to-5 scale that runs from out-of-scope to comprehensive. Crucially, it separates the existing strength of what a library already holds from its current collecting intensity and its collection goal, producing a profile that supports cooperative collection development and comparison across institutions. Howard D. White's Brief Tests of Collection Strength (1995) gave the method an objective verification layer, using graded checklists to corroborate the otherwise judgmental level assignments.
Source record
Citations copied verbatim from the method’s source record. No claim-level verification is inferred from them.
- White, H. D. (1995). Brief Tests of Collection Strength: A Methodology for All Types of Libraries. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. · ISBN 9780313294624
- Bibliotheca Alexandrina / IFLA Section on Acquisition and Collection Development (2001). Guidelines for a Collection Development Policy Using the Conspectus Model. The Hague: IFLA. · URL
Curated claims
Claims persisted in the evidence ledger, each with its own assessment.
This view does not invent a claim assessment when the ledger has none.
Related methods
Generated from the method graph and shown as machine-suggested relations — no evidence claim is inferred.