Collection Development Skills

Collection development is "the process of planning and building a useful and balanced collection of library materials over a period of years, based on an ongoing assessment of the information needs of the library's clientele, analysis of usage statistics, and demographic projections, normally constrained by budgetary limitations". (ODLIS)

Collection development is also an essential duty of many librarians, some core skills are listed below:

Develops and uses relevant library collection development policies and strategic plans as criteria for reviewing and selecting library materials;

knowledge of the library processes for selection and review of new and gift materials, review of approval titles, and conservation and preservation of the library collections;

Understands and works within the budgeting process and systems for collection development in the library;

Updates and applies knowledge of assigned subject areas on a continual basis;

Assesses and evaluates existing and potential collections to guide collection development and management decisions;

Some references that help you increase your skills:

Johnson, Peggy. Fundamentals of Collection Development & Management. Chicago: American Library Association, 2004.

Bob, Murray C. "The Case for Quality Book Selection." Library Journal 107 (September 15 1982): 1707-1710.

MacDonald, Brad-S; Dunkelberger, Robert. "Full-text Database Dependency: An Emerging Trend among Undergraduate Library Users?" Research Strategies 16 (1998): 301-7.

LaFond, Deborah M., Mary K. Van Ullen, and Richard D. Irving. "Diversity in Collection Development: Comparing Access Strategies to Alternative Press Periodicals." College & Research Libraries 61 (March 2000): 136-44

Stewart, Lou Ann. "Choosing between Print and Electronic Resources:The Selection Dilemma." Reference Librarian , no. 71 (2000): 79-97.

Walters, William H., et al. "Guidelines for Collecting Aggregationsof Web Resources." Information Technology and Libraries 17, no. 3 (Sept. 1998): 157-60. http://wilsontxt.hwwilson.com/pdfhtml/02779/1ivby/vsi.htm

Bobkoff, Miriam. "A Bookworm's Eye-View of Collection Development:Making Use of Gift Books." Public Libraries 38, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1999): 364-5+ http://wilsontxt.hwwilson.com/pdfhtml/01051/1ph48/0sm.htm

Kerby, Ramona N. "Weeding Your Collection." School Library Media Activities Monthly 18 (Feb. 2002): 22-4, 31.

Brancolini, Kristine R. "Selecting Research Collections for Digitization:Applying the Harvard Model." Library Trends 48, no. 4 (spring 2000): 783-98. http://wilsontxt.hwwilson.com/pdffull/01862/mkrz7/os1.pdf

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