Fisheries periodicals in the FAO Library: review of an international collection.

Abstract

A complete review was made of the collection of almost 2 000 periodicals titles on fisheries, aquaculture and related aquatic sciences held by the Fisheries Branch Library (FBL) of the David Lubin Memorial Library (DLML). An examination of FAO's present and past strategies identified relevant criteria for evaluating the relevance and importance of each title. The main criterion was relevant subject area. The criteria were ranked in a series of five facets. Each periodical title was ana lysed against the facets and allocated a code which determined whether the title should be kept, kept for a time limited period or disposed of. From the analysis, a core collection of over 1 700 titles is identified, with 200 titles identified for disposal. Listings of titles are included. The effectiveness of the previous collection policies was evident when virtually no gaps in respect of titles missed could be identified. Unfortunately, other gaps are beginning to appear in the coll ection caused by the declining periodicals budget, problems with the exchange programme and the termination of some of the Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Information System (ASFIS) work. The paper discusses issues such as alternative access to periodicals via digital means, collection development, maintenance and disposal policy. The review process which was developed and its recommendations are relevant to many library situations, including national fisheries institutions, as well a s decentralized and specialized libraries in many fields.