7
6
Strategic Priority 1
The German
National Library
should intensify its
collection activities
and adapt its ac-
quisition processes
and instruments to
handle new types
of publication.
The collections of the German National Library were initially
restricted to printed versions of German books and jour-
nals, but today they also include newspapers, maps, sheet
music and sound recordings. The Library now holds a total
of 27 million physical media publications. Even though the
collections will never be able to claim absolute complete-
ness, there should be a stronger emphasis on retrospective
gap flling and especially on the collection of (so-called
grey) literature and music publications not issued by the
publishing trade. The Library has a great deal of experience
in collecting physical publications, however there has been
a shift of emphasis in the strategic orientation since 2006
towards collecting the new types of publication in public
networks; one million units have since been collected. The
implementation of procedures aimed at achieving wide-
spread automatic acquisition of online publications in the
form of text, images, sheet music and sound recordings,
and the repercussions which these acquisition procedures
have on the acquisition of physical media publications will
determine the procedural, fnancial and personnel priorities
of the collection activity itself in the coming months and
years. A concept is to be drawn up and specifc objectives
defned for the collection of non-physical sound recordings
by 2015. Individual concrete objectives in the ongoing
process of reviewing and adapting objectives
are to be integrated in the strategic priorities
by 2016.
The Collection division is responsible for build-
ing up all the collections. Above all it ensures
that copies of virtually all publications which
fall under the legal collection mandate are
ingested into the holdings. The division’s other
tasks include developing web harvesting and
quality assurance procedures for online publi-
cations and e-papers submitted via technical
interfaces.
Objective 1: The German National
Library should implement a collection
workfow based on a comprehensive
concept for its web harvesting activi-
ties by 2016.
2013
Based on the fgure of 200 websites which
were periodically harvested by a service provider
at the end of 2012, up to 4,000 crawls are to be
conducted.
2014
Routine operation for selective web harvest-
ing is to be expanded in line with the collection
concept.
2016
The number of crawled websites is to be
tripled by 2016.
Objective 2: The collection of digital
monographic publications should be
80% complete by 2016.
2013
The digital monographic publications co-
vered by the collection mandate and a step-by-step
plan for the expansion of the collection are to be
defned. A process for the systematic identifcation
of depositors to be included in the process is to be
set up and the quantities involved assessed.
The number of depositors is to rise from 3,200 to
3,500. Including sheet music, this rate is to contin-
ue increasing until 2016.
2015
60% of publishing trade production is to
be accounted for (based on the number of deposi-
tors and their production).
Objective 3: The number of periodical
publications collected should be twice
the current fgure by 2016.
2013
The digital periodical publications covered
by the collection mandate are to be defned in
terms of the constituent parts and the quantities
assessed.
The number of titles is to rise from 2,400 to 2,880.
An annual increase of 20% is to be reached in the
following years.
In the e-paper segment, the number of daily issues
is to increase from 380 to 630.
2015
All e-papers are to be collected (approx.
1,200 issues).
Objective 4: By 2016, the collection of
printed grey literature should reach a
completeness level of 90%, with 80%
for sound recording production.
2013
A project is to be carried out in conjunc-
tion with a university to create a model structure
for comparing the collections of the German Na-
tional Library with those of the regional bibliogra-
phies of Bavaria and Saxony.
2014
The random sample alignment of the
catalogues of the German National Library with re-
gional catalogues is to be carried out automatically.
The reminder procedures are to be simplifed and
automated and the acquisition of sound recordings
included.
Any gaps are to be systematically evaluated. The
reminder procedure is to be expanded for publica-
tions issued outside the publishing trade and the
commercial sound recording industry.
This is to cover 98% of printed works and 90% of
sound recordings.
The key performance indicators required for meas-
uring the degree of completeness of printed grey
literature are to be defned and identifed. These
indicate how many publications are issued outside
the publishing trade and the commercial sound re-
cording industry within the given time period and
how many of these are covered by the collection
mandate of the German National Library.
Objective 5: Retrospective acquisi-
tions should be actively expanded.
40% of collection gaps should be
closed by 2016.
2013
The number of gaps in the holdings is to
be reduced by 5,000 titles as a result of retrospec-
tive acquisitions.
2014
The antiquarian acquisitions process is to
be put out to tender.
2016
The acquisition of antiquarian works is to
be continued as a measure aimed at reducing gaps
in the sheet music and sound recording holdings.
The main focus is on acquisitions which help ren-
der existing parts of the collection usable.
Objective 6: Awareness levels are to
be raised, especially among those
obliged to deposit works, about the
German National Library’s objective of
ensuring that its collections are as up-
to-date and complete as possible.
2013 – 2016
Presentations are to be given an-
nually and journal articles published as part of the
public relations work.