Leverage the Book Citation Index in library collection development

As scholarly communication increasingly shifts towards electronic formats, libraries are at the forefront of a digital transformation. The shift necessitates a strategic approach to resource evaluation and management, ensuring that the most relevant materials are accessible to students and researchers. To address the influx of new materials and the swift advancements in technology, such as AI, libraries must rely on robust collection development methods to discern authoritative digital content.

The challenging environment of collection development

Collection development is becoming increasingly complex as academic librarians wade through more and more content to meet the increasing expectations of their users. Set in a backdrop of evolving disciplines, changing pedagogical approaches and finite budgets, academic librarians are challenged to curate collections that reflect diverse perspectives and provide access to current materials, while also managing complex licensing agreements, varied acquisition models, resource sharing and more.

To evaluate the quality and reliability of digital resources, including ebooks, librarians rely on a variety of useful tools and strategies for selecting the most relevant electronic titles to support teaching, learning and research:

• • Book reviewing and recommendation media such as the Book Citation Index^™, Choice, Resources for College Libraries (RCL) titles and Library Journal
  • Demand-driven acquisition (DDA) programs that allow users to choose ebooks from a predetermined pool of titles
  • Faculty requests and reading lists to evaluate recommendations/suggestions for relevance to the curriculum
  • Supplier recommendations, including popular title lists and ProQuest^™ ’s own monthly Curated Topics
  • Setting up approval plans across purchasing platforms to identify new titles meeting strict criteria as they are published

Among these resources, Book Citation Index^™ (BKCI), an edition of the Web of Science Core Collection^™ from Clarivate^™, stands out for its ability to identify books that are most influential in their disciplines and across the scope of scholarship.

What is the Book Citation Index?

BKCI provides students and researchers with streamlined discovery of scholarly books from over 250 subject areas across the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. Over 151,000 books published since 2005 are currently covered.

Adrienne Tyrey, Senior Manager, Publication Selection Strategy at Clarivate, notes: “Books considered for coverage in BKCI must first undergo evaluation by our expert in-house editors. Each book must pass a set of evaluation criteria designed to select for editorial rigor and best practice at the book level.”

BKCI serves as a powerful discovery tool to help students and researchers locate the most relevant books for their work. As a part of the Web of Science Core Collection citation network, BKCI connects books to the wider world of scholarly and scientific research. Citation indexing links diverse research outputs across disciplines and helps users assess the influence of books on subsequent research.

Using the Book Citation Index for collection development

In the digital age, where information is abundant and often overwhelming, BKCI provides a curated lens through which scholarly works can be identified. It empowers librarians to find the signal in the noise and select books that deliver value to their patrons. Each book undergoes rigorous evaluation before being selected for BKCI. As a result, the index efficiently points librarians to high-quality scholarly content for their collections. By tracking citations to book content, BKCI provides librarians with helpful insights into the influence and relevance of books in the academic community.

For librarians tasked with the development and curation of a collection, BKCI offers a data-driven approach to decision-maing. It helps in identifying works that are not only relevant to the current academic discourse but also those that have a lasting influence on future research.

Now through September 30th, 2024, select Book Citation Index titles from over 20 notable academic publishers are 15% off their regular price.

To explore the latest BKCI title list available on Ebook Central^™, simply log into your LibCentral account or contact us to request a sample of BKCI’s Most Cited books and special offer details.

More ideas to support collection development:

• • Explore the collection development support we provide for every library need
  • Browse the Choice Outstanding Academic Title (OAT), Resources for College Libraries (RCL) and Doody’s Core Titles (CTs) lists on LibCentral
  • Book a consultation with our Content and Workflow Strategy Consultants
  • Request a custom title list
  • Request a Title Matching Fast (TMF) report for your library