Customer-Based Collection Development : An Overview

This essential guide to customer-based/patron-driven collection development will allow librarians to navigate the rapid changes in what users expect of libraries.

The traditional "top down" approach to collection development definitely has its drawbacks: even after spending a good deal of time, energy, and resources, librarians are sometimes frustrated to find that their library's collection is not being used as they anticipated. But there's another strategy that's gaining momentum. This book gathers together the best practitioners in the emerging field of customer-based collection development to find out what library users need and want and provide strategies to allow librarians to manage collections accordingly.

Drawing on the experiences of professionals from a variety of academic and public libraries, Customer-based Collection Development:

Offers strategies for planning and implementing a customer-based collection program

Summarizes its potential impact on a library's budget

Discusses cataloguing implications, and other day-to-day operational issues

Presents guidelines for evaluating and marketing.

Customer-based Collection Development

is one way for libraries to navigate the rapid changes in what users expect of libraries, and this new anthology is an important guide to this approach.

Karl Bridges