Public Library Collection Development in the Information Age (Acquisitions Librarian Monographs) - Hardcover

Stephens, Annabel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 078900528X ISBN 13: 9780789005281

Publisher: CRC Press, 1998

Synopsis

Public Library Collection Development in the Information Age discusses the increasing amounts of information that are used in collection development. Case studies, interviews, and research are the basis for this book's suggestions to improve your collection methods without straining your library's budget. It will help you acquire the most useful materials while sharing information with collaborating libraries to offer patrons the latest and largest variety of resources.

Discussing a topic that is scarcely addressed in collection literature, this book explores ways in which one informational mediumthe Internetimpacts materials budgets, selection tools, and alternative sources of information during the selection process.

Offering methods that apply to libraries of different sizes and financial capability, Public Library Collection Development in the Information Age provides you with ideas and suggestions for the improvement of collection development methods, including:

• examining how libraries use information to plan and budget for collection development
• developing a budget method that takes several factors into consideration, such as population impact, property tax revenues, circulation, reference needs, and client needs
• centralizing selections in order to allocate additional staff time and to choose resources patrons want without sacrificing the utility of local collections
• building public library collections with the assistance of vendors and the five levels of vendor participation
• using the conspectus method to assess and organize the collections of small libraries for easier access
• researching three public libraries in the United Kingdom to determine how varying levels of automation affect patron resources and services

To help you integrate the appropriate electronic resources into collection development policies and procedures, Public Library Collection Development in the Information Age discusses which formats, access methods, pricing schemes, and differences in scope will best meet your selection needs. Containing proven strategies that will target your collection priorities and criteria to evaluate the use and effectiveness of electronic resources, this book will help revise your collection development methods to satisfy the informational needs of patrons.

About this title

About the Author

Annabel Stephens

Reviews

In the so-called information age, both the number of resources librarians need to evaluate for their collections and the variety of library materials to evaluate have increased. The papers in this reprinting of an issue of The Acquisitions Librarian cover ways to make evaluation easier. Several address the value of community studies for evaluating, planning in the public library, and budgeting. Others take up such selection options as centralized selection, vendor-assisted collection development, and using the WLN Conspectus in public libraries. Still others are devoted to electronic resources, including the Internet, and to the collection of specific types of materials, such as catalogs (as a small-library resource), gay and lesbian materials, and children's materials. The last two papers are on education for collection development and on continuing staff education. Edward Swanson

Edition details

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 078900528X
• ISBN 13: 9780789005281
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 220