Collecting Mexican Imprints: Collaboration among University Libraries in California

1. Collecting Mexican Imprints:Collaboration among University Libraries in California Barbara J. Robinson Librarian for Latin American & Iberian Studies University of Southern California (USC) brobinso@usc.edu March 13, 2008 IFLA Collection Development Workshop Guadalajara, Mexico

2. Introduction & Objectives • Steps to Collaboration • Principal Participants • CALAFIA’s Activities • Northern Mexican States Agreement • Why Mexico & the Northern States? • Agreement Requirements • Benefits & Risks • Lessons Learned • Sources of Mexican Publications - Booksellers • Selected Sources on Mexican Publications Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

3. Steps to Collaboration among California Latin American Library Specialists 1976 • UC Libraries: A Plan for Development –“ONE LIBRARY” concept. 1989 • Brief Guidelines for Collaborative Collection Development and Management among University of California and Stanford University Libraries, by the UC Collection Development Committee. 1993 • Creation of CALAFIA, UC’s California Cooperative Latin American Collection Development Group, joined by Stanford University Libraries and the USC Libraries Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

4. The Principal CALAFIA Participants Latin American Library Specialists/ Bibliographers/Selectors from: • University of California (UC) Library System – 8 of 10 campuses • Stanford University Libraries • University of Southern California (USC Libraries) Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

5. CALAFIA’s Collaborative Activities: • CD agreements related to current Mexican imprints • List of Latin American microfilm sets on Web • Latin American journal subscriptions • On-going information exchange • Sharing duplicates Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

6. CALAFIA’s Successful CD Agreements Related to Mexico 1982 • Berkeley-Stanford Cooperative Project: broad based collecting of Latin Americana; includes Mexican imprints. 1997 • Northern Mexican States Agreement—5 libraries cover 6 states • Southern Mexican States Agreement—3 libraries cover 5 states Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

7. Other Types of Mexican Materials Collected by CALAFIA Libraries: Materials not covered by the agreements: • Mexican fine press & artists’ books • Mexican cinema—videos/DVD, posters, etc. • Election materials—ephemera • Government documents • Journal subscriptions • Antiquarian & out-of-print publications Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

8. Why Collect Mexican Imprints and Specifically Northern Mexican States? • Mexico is a top source of Spanish language publishing and has high quality publications • 80% of publishing in Mexico is centered in D.F. – easier to collect and identify • Northern Mexico is among the most difficult areas to collect and not as well represented in our libraries • Northern borderlands area is of interest to studentsand scholars Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

9. Northern Mexican States Agreement:Basic Requirements • Geographical assignment – states on the northern border w/ United States • Minimum allocation per year/per state = $1500 • Collection development profile to guide selection Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

10. Geographical Assignments – Northern Mexican States Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

11. Expenditures & Titles PurchasedFY 2006/2007 by State Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

12. Other Requirements of the Northern Mexican States Agreement • Collection profile – see CALAFIA Home Page http://library.stanford.edu/depts/hasrg/latinam/calafia/ • Collecting methods – approval plan and/or firm orders • Priority cataloging & records in each OPAC • Inter-library loan access • Signature page for ULs and CD Officers • Annual review & monitoring Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

13. Benefits of Collaboration:Northern Mexican States Agreement • Optimize resources & effort • Assure adequate collecting coverage of a region • Present & future-oriented – preserve materials for current & future generations of scholars • Provide a unique identifiable collecting focus for each participating library • Share physical materials & bibliographic information • Reduce duplication Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

14. Risks of Collaboration:Northern Mexican States Agreement • Change in institutional CD priorities • Book fund reduced • Buying power reduced -- currency fluctuation and rising book prices • Unequal commitments/ effort by participants • Larger institutions less motivated to participate • Acquisition/bookseller issues Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

15. Lessons Learned:Northern Mexican States Agreement Success requires: • Leadership & Support from participating Universities, ULs & CD Officers • Buy-in from subject specialist librarians • CD collection profile crafted by participating librarians • History & culture of collaboration • Communication • Time Commitment • Trust in each other to uphold the agreement • Reliable & knowledgeable book dealers • Monitoring & Reporting of results Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

16. Sources of Mexican Publications: Booksellers/Exporters in Mexico & U.S. In Mexico: • Martin de Jesus Sanchez Espinosa: Libros Mexicanos (formerly Mexico Norte)—principal approval plan vendor for the CALAFIA Northern Mexican States Agreement Other booksellers for Mexican imprints (approvals/firm orders): • Libros Latinos (California) • Howard Karno Books (California) • Books From Mexico (Mexico DF) Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

17. Selected Sources on Mexican Publications Publications • Libros de Mexico & Boletin Bibliografico Colegio de Mexico Book Fairs • Mexico – FIL Guadalajara and Palacio de la Mineria • California – Los Angeles and San Francisco Antiquarian Book Fairs Websites • Portal del Libro Mexicano – began 2004; 36,000 titles • Fondo de Cultura Economica (FCE) Conferences • SALALM & LASA panels and book exhibits Individual contacts • Faculty, graduate students & colleagues Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries

18. ¡Muchas Gracias! Collecting Mexican Imprints -- Barbara Robinson, USC Libraries