A Content Analysis of Digitization and Accessibility Practices for Academic Library Clothing Collections in the United States

The purpose of this content analysis is to provide an overview of the current state of U.S. academic libraries’ clothing collections as observable digital resources and theorize on how differing approaches to their digitization, classification, and applied access services may impact the collections’ usability and accessibility for library patrons. This research study functions as an examination, comparison, and analysis of the existing relationships between cataloging and digitization practices, as well as access services for digital clothing collections associated with U.S. academic libraries. Utilizing a comparative content analysis and purposive sampling, the following study benchmarked associated institutional practices across 8 different institutions and collections. Findings revealed notable disparities across all facets of these collections; data that supplemented the analysis of the current states of digitization and accessibility practices in this area. The analysis of these findings serves as the foundation for a proposal of the need for the comprehensive, industry-wide development of applicable standardization policies and practices to enhance the digital mediation of academic library resources and fashion/clothing/costume materials.