Collection Development ― Past and Future

With the prolific changes in the electronic environment, do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the multiplying of electronic information resources, the different methods of access, and their combined impact on collection development? If so, Collection Development is the book to help you get a handle on what’s out there! In no time at all, you’ll be able to select and integrate electronic resources into collection development programs at even the most traditional of libraries! In the process, you will learn alternative approaches for dealing with electronic databases, on-line access, and fiscal planning for the integration of the new information technologies into collection development.

Collection Development offers useful strategies for dealing with electronic resources in terms of selection and evaluation, collection development policies, organizational structure, and budgeting. You also acquire important information on:

• Internet information resources accessible through Gophers and World Wide Web sites
• access vs. ownership issues
• serving the remote user at an extended campus site
• the relationship of selection to acquisitions
• managing a CD-Rom collection development process
• planning issues of cooperation, collaboration, and change
• pricing and planning issues and their impact on library budgets
• negotiating site licenses
  
  Librarians in collection development, academic librarians, and personnel in technology/authomation development will find Collection Development an indispensable tool for grappling with the demands and pressures of screening and choosing the most suitable information resources from the dynamic, even saturated, world of technology. The book’s insights and practical methodologies will help you integrate new on-line and electronic information resources into your program with relative ease.