ARTICLES 

Search and Rescue: 

Rebuilding a Test Collection 

by Peggy S. Cooper and J. Stephanie Weiner 

Abstract 

Evaluation instruments are a frequent adjunct to the fields of education and psychology. This paper recounts the 
salvaging of a moribund test collection - how the authors went about rebuilding the Western Oregon State College Library 
test collection. Generating faculty involvement in the enterprise, creating a database to provide bibliographic control and 
efficient collection maintenance, and distributing responsibility for the collection between two library departments were 
key elements of the procedure. Appointment of a separate line-item in the library budget for test acquisitions, rapid 
completion of the project (less than six months), and development of a test database were the most notable results of this 
project. 

BACKGROUND 

Western Oregon State College is a small liberal arts college 
with an average annual enrollment of 4000 students. Like many 
institutions that evolved from state teacher's colleges and normal 
schools, it maintained a curriculum library as an integral part of 
the teaching resources. Responsibility for the curriculum library 
had often shuttled between the education department and the 
library. 

Although the curriculum library at Western remains a re­
sponsibility of the Education Department, the test collection 
came under the aegis of the library in the fall of 1987. The 
collection of341 standardized tests (unique titles, not including 
duplicates), was transferred to the library when the Learning 
Activities Resource Center (LARC) moved from the education 
building to its current location in the Instructional Technology 
Center. 

The main body of the collection included tests that were 
received in a random fashion as gifts from education faculty, as 
well as aminuscule number purchased upon faculty request. No 
additional tests were added to the collection between 1987 and 
1990, and no· manuals or policy statements existed to provide 
guidance for either circulation procedures or for collection de­
velopment. 

The test collection was moved to the library for several 
reasons, including space and budgetary limitations. Not only had 
the collection never been evaluated or inventoried, but many of 

the tests were either duplicated, outdated, or incomplete. The 
on! y bibliographic control of the collection was a list kept at the 
reference desk arranged by title, author, call number and 
acronym. Dewey Decimal numbers had been assigned to the 
tests by staff in the Learning Activities Resource Center (LARC); 
however, these recordss were never integrated into the library's 
card catalog. 

INTRODUCTION 

In May of 1990, the authors -as collection development 
librarians for Education and Psychology-were charged with 
evaluating and upgrading the Western Oregon State College 
Library's test collection. The Library Director agreed �o reserve 
a sum of $5000 from the l ibrary�s annual materials budget for 
this purpose. The potential for interdisciplinarity of the collec­
tion was explored, courses that might involve the use of tests 
were identified, and appropriate faculty contacted. With faculty 
assistance, outdated tests were weeded and,new and/or revised 
tests were .acquired. Policies and procedures for test acquisition, 
processing, and maintenance were developed, and a test database 
was constructed to assist with processing and reporting informa­
tion. The time frame -less than six months-of the rebuilding 
process was extreme! y important in providing continuing faculty 
support by displaying tangible results in a timely manner. Unlike 

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many other institutions, where the test collection is underfunded, 
this collection was given a generous materials allocation for the 
initial rebuilding process and assurance of an annual line item 
for test materials (Ginn & O'Brien, 1984/85). The library was 
fortunate in having a good collection of test evaluation and 
review source. Thus the initial funds could be used to jump-start 
this reclamation project rather than for the purchase of support­
ive material for the collection. The annual line item in the budget 
ensured permanent support for the collection (which had not 
previously enjoyed continuous funding), providing greater fiscal 
control, and freeing any one discipline from being unduly bur­
dened financially. This approach blended well with the reorgani­
zation of budget allocations based on discipline rather than 
format, which was already under way. 

METHODOLOGY 

A review of the literature on test collections in academic 
libraries provided little guidance for planning or implementing 
this project. With some notable exceptions, e.g. Robert M. 
Simmons, Rolland H. McGiverin, Alice S. Clark, David Ginn 
and Nancy O'Brien, it was found that relatively few articles or 
monographs have been written on test collections and their 
maintenance. Therefore, the authors decided to begin by a review 
of the existing collection. A list ofthe tests in the collection was 
compiled, including information on incomplete sets and dupli­
cate sets of instruments. Key faculty in education were then 
identified and contacted to advise on retention or discard of item 
in the existing collection. Due to space limitations, the decision 
was made not to retain multiple copies, previous editions, or 
little-used items. 

Exploration of the possible expansion of the education/ 
psychology focus of the collection to include instruments whose 
use was taught by faculty in other departments was the next step 
of the rebuilding process. By reviewing the college catalog 
(Simmons, 1979), twenty faculty members were identified who 
might be interested in teaching about tests in the areas of 
Education, Psychology, Physical Education, Criminal Justice, 
Sociology, Business, English as a Second Language, Special 
Education, Clinical Child & Youth Work, Teaching Research, 
and Student Development. Those faculty members were subse­
quently sent (1) a photocopy of the current test holdings list for 
suggestions for removal or retention, (2) a photocopy of test 
titles from the subject index of the latest volume (VII) of Test 
Critiques (Keyser & Sweetland, 1988), (3) a needs assessment 
survey (ALA, 1985) to elicit their specific needs for test mate­
rials (see Appendix 1), and ( 4) a bibliography of library holdings 
on the topic of tests and testing. 

While waiting for faculty members to respond to t_he needs 
assessment survey (approximately 90% did complete and return 
surveys), a bibliography was compiled of all books held by the 
library relating to tests. This list was distributed to the participat­
ing faculty. The twenty faculty who planned to use the test 
collection and expressed interest in it were invited to attend a 
meeting held to discuss new acquisitions, collecting levels, and 
collection access (ALA, 1985). Approximately one half of the 
invited faculty members either attended the meeting themselves 

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or sent department representatives. One of the critical outcomes 
of this meeting was the decision to order specimen sets when 
available (Simmons, 1979 and McGiverin, 1990), which en­
hanced the buying power of the allotted funds. One example is the 
Cattells' Cultural Fair lntelligerice Tests which costs $38.25 for 
the introductory kit and $7.75 for the specimen set, a savings of 
$30.50. 

Following the meeting, faculty responses to the survey and 
their recommendations for retention or deletion that were noted 
on copies of the current holdings Jist were reviewed. Based on 

faculty recommendations, approximately 85% of the tests which 
were either dated, irrelevant, or incomplete, were discarded from 
the collection. 

A list of items to be purchased was then compiled, including 

both new titles and later editions of items already in the collect­
ion. Test publishers were identified through use of Tests 
(Sweetland & Keyser, 1986) and current catalogs with price and 
availability information were requested, as Simmons (1979) 
recommends. These catalogs were retained for future use. Prices 

were added to the list of items requested for purchase, and the list 
was then evaluated, establishing criteria for purchase and prior­
ity of items to be ordered (McGiverin (1990). 

Criteria for purchase were as follows: 

1) items requested by more than one faculty member in 
two or more departments; 

2) items requested by more than one faculty member in the 
same department; and 

3) items costing less than $100. 

RESULTS 

Ordering 
An initial set of 95 tests were ordered. A separate budget 

code was established for the test collection in order to facilitate 
fund accounting. Orders were generated through the library 
book vendor's automated ordering system. Many publishers 
required authorization forms from both teaching faculty and the 
library (Simmons, 1979) guaranteeing that tests would be used in 
compliance with the publishers' regulations. 

Receiving and Processing 
After initial receipt in technical services, items were deleted 

from the vendor database. The order slip and item were then 
routed to one of the authors for verification of receipt of com­
plete order and invoice approval. 

Since the tests were not cataloged, it was necessary to 
provide bibliographic control of the collection. A test collection 
database, using a dBase III program, was created. The test 
database contains the following fields: 



FIELD NAME TYPE WIDTH 

title character 58 
edition character 58 
acronym character 10 
price numeric 52 
author character 30 
publisher character 30 
publication date character 8 
requesting faculty character 30 
accession number character 6 
items in packet numeric 2 

The database allows the following functions to be per­
formed: 

1) add new tests; 
2) update, edit, scan, and find tests currently in the 

database; 
3) generate labels to be placed on each test envelope or 

case, labels contain all of the information from the 
entry fields except price, requesting faculty, and copy 
number (Ginn & O'Brien, 1985); and 

4) generate alphabetical holdings lists of the test collec­
tion by author, title, and/or acronym. (See Appendix II 
for the test menu and entry options.) 

From this database, current lists of tests in the Library's 
collection were generated, and arranged alphabetically by au­
thor, title, and acronym. These lists were placed in looseleaf 
binders along with the following collateral material: 

1) a copy of the test collection circulation policies 
and procedures; 

2) a memo to faculty informing them of procedures they 
are required to follow to enable their students to utilize 
the test collection (Appendix Ill); 

3) a faculty approval form (distributed to all-relevant 
faculty) (see Appendix IV); 

4) a bibliography of the library's monographic holdings 
related to tests; and 

5) a test purchase request form (see Appendix V). 

Binders are located at the Reference Desk and the Circulation 
Desk in the Library. In addition, binders were sent to all 
departments utilizing the test collection for ease of access by 
faculty. 

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Processing of a large quantity of new materials required 
assignment of additional personnel to this task. For three 
months, as the items were received, a student worker was 
assigned to this project. 

Additional supplies were purchased, costing approximate! y 
$250, and consisting of: two sizes of file folders (1 plain, 1 
accordion style), property stamp, and labels for file folders, and 
test materials. Processing included the following tasks: 

1) entering the test into the database; 
2) generating labels for the folders from the database; 
3) counting the number of items in each test packet (to 

ensure return of all materials when item circulated), and 
affixing a label with a sequential number to each test 
item. The total number of items is entered into the 
database, and displayed on the label generated for 
the test folder; 

4) affixing pockets for circulation cards to each folder; 
5) typing test title on each circulation card; 
6) inserting a copy of the circulation policies and proce­

dures in each folder (Simmons, 1979 and McGiverin, 
1990); 

7) affixing a label stating copyright restrictions 
(McGiverin, 1990); 

8) filing folders of tests alphabetically by test title 
(Simmons, 1979 and ALA, 1985); and 

9) placing dummies in the test file for oversize items 
shelved separately (Simmons, 1979). 

Circulation Policies and Procedures 
Due to the sensitive nature of test materials, it was essential 

to develop a circulation policy that would enable the materials to 

be used without jeopardizing the agreements made with the 
publishers. The following policies were established for test 
collection usage at WOSC Library: 

1) Faculty members will supply the Circulation Unit 
of the Library with class lists for each course that 
requires use of the test collection (ALA, 1985). For 
special or individual studies, the supervising faculty 
member must provide written approval for the 
individual(s) using test materials. 

2) Only those students whose names appear on the class 
lists will be allowed to use tests and test materials. 

3) Current student I. D. is required to check out materials 
from the collection. 

4) Tests are kept on reserve at the circulation desk and are 
for use in the library only. They may be checked out for 
two hours with one two-hour renewal if no one else is 
waiting for the item (Clark, 1982). 

5) The contents of the test container must be reviewed 
with a library staff member when it is returned to the 
reserve desk. The patron is responsible for the replace­
ment cost of damaged or missing elements. The mini­
mum charge is $10.00; the maximum charge is the full 
replacement cost of the test, which ranges from $10-
$500 (Simmons, 1981). 

At the WOSC Library, tests are not cataloged, are not a part 
of either the circulating collection or the reserve collection, and 
have special circulation requirements. Therefore, separate check­
out procedures were established. These procedures emphasize 
the elements oftestsecurity and patron accountability (Simmons, 
1981 and ALA, 1985) (see appendix VI). 

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Location 
The test collection is housed in two 4-drawer legal size file 

cabinets located in the staff work area and accessible to the 
circulation area (Simmons, 1979 and McGiverin, 1990). Over­
sized material is housed on shelves near the circulation area 
(ALA, 1985). Dummies placed within the test file drawers 
enable rapid retrieval of these materials. The circulation 
personnel are responsible for retrieving and refiling the tests, 
and this is made easier by having the test files arranged 
alphabetically by title. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Six features emerged that seem atypical according to the 
supporting literature on test collections: 

1) Two bibliographers were equally responsible for all 
elements of the test collection enterprise. 

2) The elapsed time from start to conclusion was 
comparatively short, unlike many library projects. 
The total time period was seven months. 

3) An in-house database was developed. Plans have been 
made to modify the database to increase access point 
to the materials, and to generate administrative reports. 

4) The scope of the collection and the faculty involved 
were unusually multi-disciplinary, drawing on more 
than the usual Education/Psychology combination, 
and including disciplines less commonly represented 
in test collections, such as Physical Education, Crimi­
nal Justice, and Sociology. 

5) The literature indicates that this may be the only 
academic library with a line-item for tests in its budget. 
Funds for test purchases ai:e normally taken from 
money reserved for subject specific purchases as in the 
area of education. This provided the added and unan­
ticipated benefit of insuring continuous financial sup­
port (McGiverin, 1990). 

6) Faculty enthusiasm was so great that several members 
donated items from their personal collections 
(Simmons, 1979). 

The existential approach to rebuilding the test collection had 
some advantages as well as some disadvantages. The two 
disadvantages to this free-form method of collection develop­
ment were 1) a lack of clearly defined procedures for some 
portions of the acquisition process and 2) fewer access points 
in the database than might be desired. 

On the positive side, by not following the traditional 
Education/Psychology patter,n, the potential clientele was ex­
panded to include additional academic disciplines and depart­
ments. The lack of a rigid, preconceived collection develop­
ment philosophy allowed for an open-ended dialogue with 
faculty, and resulted in a high level of faculty input and their 
resultant "ownership" in the collection. This same degree of 
flexibility allowed for completion of the project in a relatively 
brief period of time. Guidelines were written that met the needs 

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of the collection, rather than developing a collection that met the 
pre-established guidelines. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

The recommendations that follow are based on experience 
gained during this project as well as two common denominators 
- naivete and hindsight - aild have been incorporated in the 
procedures for the test collection at Western Oregon State Col­
lege. 

1) Establish a line item in the budget for the test collection; 
this ensures continuing financial support .. 

2) Establish written documentation of acquisition and 
receipt procedures specific to tests with all relevant 
departments within the library, and complete this step 
prior to ordering test materials (ALA, 1985). 

3) File tests alphabetically by title rather than by subject to 
minimize training time and filing errors. 

4) Share responsibility for the test collection; this distrib­
utes the workload more evenly, increases the knowl­
edge base, and adds to the number of personnel avail­
able to assist in maintenance (see the earlier comments 
on staffing patterns). 

5) Review materials in the collection annually and involve 
both faculty and librarians in the process to ensure a 
relevant and well-rounded collection. 

6) Involve faculty in the selection of materials and provide 
them with information on the collection, such as lists of 
holdings and use of statistics. 

7) Initiate a test collection database which will aid in 
processing materials and provide greater bibliographic 
control. 

REFERENCES 

Clark, A. S. (1982). Managing curriculum materials in the 
academic library. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow. 

Ginn, D., & O'Brien, N. (1984/1985). Selected test collections 
in the United States: A survey of organization. Behavioral & 
Social Science Librarian, 4(2/3), 9-20. 

American Library Association. (1985). Guide for the develop­
ment and management of test collections with special em­
phasis on academic settings. Chicago: Author. 

Keyser, D. J., & Sweetland, R. C. (Eds.). (1988). Test critiques 
(Vol. 7). Kansas City, MO: Test Corporation of America. 

McGiverin, R. H. (1990). Educational and psychological tests in 
the academic library. Behavioral & Social Sciences Librar­
ian, 8(3/4), 1-85. 

Simmons, R. M. (1979). Organizing andservicing a collection of 

standardized tests: A manual for librarians. Arlington, VA: 
Educational Resources Information Center. (ERIC Docu­
ment Reproduction Service No. ED 180 434) 

Simmons, R. M. (1981). Standardized test collection manage­
ment. Education Libraries, 6(3), 67-70. 



Sweetland, R. C., & Keyser, D. J. (Eds.). (1986). Tests: A 
comprehensive reference for assessment in psychology, 
education, and business. (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. 

Peggy Cooper Collins, Collection Development/Circulation Serv­
ices Librarian, Western Oregon State College Library. 

J. Stephanie Weiner, Serials/Microforms Librarian, Western Or­
egon State College Library. 

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