Collection Development Policies: New Directions for Changing Collections

Get the tools you need to build a collection development policy that will help your library run efficiently—today and in the future!

Considering the amount and variety of topics being published, effectively organizing and guiding a library in today’s accelerated world is no easy task. Collection Development Policies: New Directions for Changing Collections is the contemporary librarians guide to building or revising a first-rate collection development policy. In this up-to-date book, experts in the field take you step-by-step through the publishing process from writing an initial draft to applying the official copy. Find out what did and did not work in their own practices and get the tools you’ll need to tackle any obstacles you may encounter.

Collection Development Policies: New Directions for Changing Collection covers a variety of topics—including pricing policies and remote storage facilities—without leaving out the traditional concerns of space and funding. This valuable book also addresses the needs of specialized collections with information on acquisition policies for contemporary subjects collections and building subject specific policy statements. Experienced professionals examine the stability of the electronic resources market and explain how the impact of technical services is redefining the access, collection, and cataloging of libraries.

Collection Development Policies also provides examples of collection policies currently in use. Read about:

• the subject specific policy statements of Schreyer Business Library and the women’s studies collection at Pennsylvania State University
• Berkeley’s Collection Development Policy (CDPS) and the factors hindering its revision
• the creation and revision of St. John’s University’s collection development policy
• Simmons College’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science’s term project and syllabus—and how it can be applied to functioning libraries
• the Association of Research Libraries’ Web pages—and how they have been influenced by the electronic management revolution

Appearing simultaneously as The Acquisition Librarian volume 15, number 30 (2003), this book serves as a librarian's guide to building or revising collection development policies. It features eleven papers on topics like space, funding, pricing policies, the stability of the electronic resources market, remote storage, and the needs of specialized collections. Contemporary examples of collection policies are also provided. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Tracie J. Ballock, B.A., MLS(Duquesne University)
Description:This book is a compilation of articles dealing with many of the collection development policy issues currently facing libraries in today's rapidly changing environment. It was copublished simultaneously as The Acquisitions Librarian, Volume 15, Number 30, 2003.
Purpose:The editor's hope is to help libraries devise useful collection development policies that will be flexible enough to continue to meet their needs well into the future. This work allows practitioners to compare how other institutions have handled selected issues and provides feedback on what has and has not worked in other libraries.
Audience:Most librarians involved with the development of any aspect of a library's collection would find this an insightful read.
Features:The 11 articles in this collection are written by librarians with extremely diverse academic library backgrounds. The topics range from the creation of subject specific collection policies to the usefulness of more general policies. Several authors include helpful lists of items to be considered when creating policy statements in addition to sample policies. The book points out the importance of these policies when creating a library strategic plan as well as the value of liaison involvement in collection development. As the reader progresses through the various sections it becomes apparent that the drastic changes taking place with today's library collections are having a major impact on libraries as a whole. Each author includes a fairly extensive bibliography filled with many valuable references. The book concludes with a useful index.
Assessment:This book would be beneficial to those in any library looking to create a new collection development policy as well as those working on revising an outdated policy. This is a practical, informative, easy to read resource that covers a wide variety of contemporary collection development and collection management issues.