Aims and Approaches in Special Collections Assessment: A Case Study from the Osler Library

Abstract

The Osler Library of the History of Medicine, a branch of the McGill University Library in Montreal, Quebec, is a research center for the history of medicine and science with significant rare book and archival holdings. As part of an institutional review launched in 2013, the Osler Library decided to look into methods of collections analysis to compile data about its collections and uncover subject strengths among items, enabling the library to better promote and communicate information about holdings to users, plan for growth, and target collections development. Collections assessment initiatives in rare books and special collections represent the coalescing . . .