Collection Analysis at Minnesota State University, Mankato is supported by a Collection Management Technology team. If you'd like to contact us, please do: gustan2@mnsu.edu
Minnesota State University, Mankato is a regional, public, comprehensive university, the largest university in the Minnesota State System of colleges and universities. Mankato is distinctive within Minnesota State for several reasons. Although the university is situated in the heart of a largely rural area, stretching down across southern Minnesota into Iowa, and continuing from side to side into Wisconsin and South Dakota, the university is home to “students from more than 100 countries … and is recognized by the Council on Undergraduate Research as one of the top 20 universities in undergraduate research in the United States” ( https://www.mnsu.edu/future-students/international-admissions/, 3/31/2023). Mankato also provides numerous graduate study opportunities.
There are multiple audiences for this guide. This guide is intended to support any ongoing collection analysis initiatives at Mankato. These will include support for (1) the Collections Power BI (CPBI), a tool for communicating to campus about library support for the curriculum, (2) the Collection Review, a bi-annual process whereby we adjust collections to stay within budget, and (3) the General Collection Reduction Plan (GCRP), a massive weeding project running from AY23 through AY25.
This guide will include links to our current reports, information about how to use the reports, information about how the reports were built, and broader context information. Unfortunately, the CPBI can only be accessed by users within the Minnesota State system. Other report links should be accessible by anyone. The Journal Data pages include information of broad relevance to librarians anywhere.
This guide is best viewed from a computer, not a phone. The pictures in this guide will not show up on phones. Springshare, the company that provides the software underlying this guide, does not provide adequate space for alt text for pictures, so the alt text is minimal.
This guide consists of main pages and sub-pages. These can be navigated using the tabs on the left. There is more general information on the main pages, such as "Journal Data," and there will be more specific kinds of information on the sub-pages, such as "Journal Data: Usage."
Collections provide the foundation for library services, including reference, instruction, and research consultations. Collection Analysis provides the basis for collection strategy.