Collection development and management in the twenty‐first century with special reference to academic libraries: an overview
| Date | 01 October 2000 |
| Pages | 365-372 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120010372551 |
| Published date | 01 October 2000 |
| Author | Kebede Gessesse |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Collection development
and management in the
twenty-first century
with special reference
to academic libraries:
an overview
Kebede Gessesse
Background
Effective planning for the future of our
academic libraries requires that we
understand the complex relationship among
the competing yet complementary resources
that comprise our libraries. As at the present
time, even as we enter the twenty-first century
we will be working with more than one
information system: at least one print and one
electronic, and our job is to make these two
systems work together. Information is
increasingly computer-based and electronic,
alongside the hard copy on the shelves. Thus,
there is the need to keep current with
developments in the library and information
profession and the need to pursue
professional activities outside of the
institution. The need to learn new computer
systems, software packages, and new formats
of media will increase over time. Issues related
to how to integrate electronic resources with
print resources, on a finite budget, without
reducing service are facing all libraries. Again,
electronic journals and networked provision
to other libraries bring new demands on
librarians. This means that many librarians
need to be computer technologists as well as
information specialists.
Collection development, as a library
activity, is designed with the specific purpose
to provide the library with an information
resource that meets the appropriate needs of
its client population. In order to reach this
goal, each segment of the collection must be
developed with an application of resources
consistent with its relative importance to the
mission of the library and the needs of its
patrons. In terms of its functional aspect,
collection development comprises planning,
goal-setting, decision making, budgeting, and
acquiring materials and evaluating them, one
of the most difficult and most important
activities undertaken by academic libraries.
The following five elements represent the
specific activities involved in the process of
collection development: collection
development policies, budgeting, type of
materials for collection, selection and
acquisition, and collection evaluation.
1. Collection development policy
In many institutions collection development
policies exist in order to provide guidance and
The author
Kebede Gessesse is Professor and Head of Public
Services, Rodgers Library for Science and Engineering,
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, USA.
Keywords
Academic libraries,
Collection management, Hybrid systems
Abstract
Every library collection should be established for a definite
purpose. In an academic library setting, the collection may
be developed primarily for research and instructional
support. In recent years traditional formats for
information, such as books and microfilm, have
increasingly been supplemented by information which is
accessible electronically through the use of computer
technology. This means then that the existing collection
development policy for an academic library must include
selection criteria and collection parameters covering these
new media formats. This paper examines some of the
concepts and problems which an academic library must
consider in order to align its collection development
activities with the changing environment of digital
librarianship in the twenty-first century.
Electronic access
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365
Library Management
Volume 21 .Number 7 .2000 .pp. 365±372
#MCB University Press .ISSN 0143-5124
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