Collection Development Librarian Interview

Kate Miller

LI855 Collection Development and Management

Summer 2013

For this assignment, I interview Lawrence MacLachlan, the Director of Research and

Instructional Services at University of Missouri – Kansas City. I have worked with Larry for a little over a

year now. I learned details about collection development at the law library from speaking to him. Larry

received his J.D. from Wayne State University, and his M.L.S from Catholic University of America in

Washington D.C. He did take a general collection development class during library school. He felt it

was quite generic, but he appreciated the exposure to asking the right types of questions during the

collection development process. He felt the class was very practical because it covered situations of

determining collections where the budget was limited.

During our interview, Larry explained the collection development process for the library. He

uses a program called GOBI to select materials and send his selection to the acquisitions librarian. Larry

filled out profile based on the libraries current collection development. According to the library’s

profile, certain books are emailed to Larry that fit the profile criteria and Larry peruses the options and

determines if they are worth ordering. Larry stated that the profile does change based on the

composition of the student body as well as particular faculty research areas. He stated that technology

has changed the process dramatically since when he started at UMKC. He explained that he used to

have to read through stacks of catalogs filled with book listings to select the materials for the law library.

Now with the availability of World Cat, publisher websites, and electronic profiles, it has increased the

speed of determining which books are unique and useful to the faculty, staff and students who use the

library. He can also quickly check the price of the materials as well as the availability of the materials

via other channels like interlibrary loan. Larry explained that the availability of website ordering was

the thing he liked most about his recent job evolution.

After he makes his selections, the library material requested is emailed to Glenn Higley, the

Acquisitions Associate, who orders the books. Glenn also keeps the budget updated, and lets Larry

know if more money becomes available to spend on more library materials. At times, the Library

Director and Associate Director make suggestions for titles to acquire. Faculty may request material

depending on their teaching topics, and students may request material based on their research. Larry

explained that we do not have an external clearinghouse, but that he was the in-house “clearinghouse”.

Ultimately, Larry makes the decision as to which books to order, and Glenn executes those requests.

He said that he never has had a book challenged, but has had complaints about certain books.

Even with multiple complaints, he said that he has never removed a book due to anyone’s objections.

Larry also mentioned that there have been times when he has refuse to purchase books that were

suggested to him to order for the library. He said that the book needs to be useful and within the realm

of the broader scope of the law to be included in the collection. He referred me to the UMKC Law

Library website which is linked to the school’s collection development policy. Although he doesn’t refer

to the 114 page policy as much now that he is familiar with it, Larry said that if there was any debate,

that he would use the collection policy to determine the outcome.

On the topic of eBooks, Larry mentioned that he has found that the faculties aren’t aware of the

digital resources available in the law library. He thinks that primary law resources, including cases,

statutes and regulations, will become primarily online. However, he believes that secondary material

will be kept in print for the most part. He feels that secondary sources primarily will be where the

library can add value to faculty and students. Larry also stated that the law library world seems to be

moving away from materials that need loose-leaf supplementation. Larry noted that the law library has

shifted to less emphasis on the public and more on teaching and research.

I learned a great amount from interviewing Larry about collection development but also about

the direction of law librarianship in general. I found him to be quite helpful in explaining the process to

someone who is new to collection development. I look forward to the way that libraries will continue to

evolve in the coming years.