Undergraduate Library Collections 40 Years Later: An Assessment of Use and Preservation Needs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Undergraduate libraries are approaching their 40th year of existence at. many major research institutions. As this landmark nears, it signifies an opportunity to assess the physical collections, to see both how these high-use collections have aged, and whether their use patterns are keeping pace with the original missions of their respective institution. The authors report, on a detailed collection survey of the University of Illinois Undergraduate Library, which analyzed preservation needs of over 200,000 circulating monograph volumes, as well as the collection's composition and use.