WEST Welcomes Two New Archive Builders

During the 2019 Strategic Planning Session, the WEST governance groups issued two strategic recommendations that shaped the 2020 collections analysis:

• • Recommendation 3a: Prioritize development/analysis to surface Silver and Gold titles that are invisible because they are not held by any of the six Builders
  • Recommendation 4: Recruit 2-4 additional members to participate in Cycles 10 & 11 analysis as Archive Builders

WEST recruited four Archive Holders to participate in the Cycles 10/11 collections analysis as Archive Builders, which allowed the project team to perform a comprehensive analysis of their high risk serials and identify Silver and Gold journals that these members hold that are not held by the continuing Builders (Arizona State University, Stanford University, University of California NRLF, University of California SRLF, and University of Kansas; Rice University was also included in this analysis as a recent Builder). This analysis provided insights into the high quality collections present in non-Builder collections that are not held at the continuing Builder institutions; these findings are crucial for identifying at-risk materials that have been overlooked in past analyses and have not been eligible for archiving proposals or the protections that retention by WEST affords these materials.

After discussions with the Operations and Collections Council (OCC) and the institutions that participated in this analysis, WEST is very pleased to announce that two members will begin serving as Archive Builders starting in Cycles 10/11: the University of Denver, and the University of Missouri. The University of Denver and the University of Missouri’s distinctive collections and enthusiasm for the WEST program will be major assets to the WEST community and help strengthen and expand the collections for the benefit of all. Welcome to both of our new Builders!