All information and library professionals involved with collection development are currently confronting the challenge of how to make informed decisions in the face of the bewildering array of electronic resources available. This practical book addresses this situation by guiding the information professional step-by-step through building and managing an electronic resource collection. It outlines the range of electronic products currently available in abstracting and indexing, bibliographic, and other services and then describes how to effectively select, evaluate and purchase them.

Electronic Resources: Implications for Collection Management shows librarians the strengths and weaknesses of electronic resources and the implications these resources have on collection management. The book then helps librarians incorporate electronic resources into their collections accordingly. Contributors in Electronic Resources provide a broad look at the ways in which electronic information affects the business of building and maintaining library collections. They examine the history of electronic resources in document collections and share with readers a thorough analysis of the gains and losses libraries can expect to experience in an increasingly digital environment. Readers also learn: how to budget for both traditional and emerging information sources the effects of electronic collections on the public services realm how to assess the value of journals amidst the many different access and delivery mechanisms how to use resource sharing as a solution to the archival problems which arise as libraries collect materials in continuously proliferating formats selection criteria for electronic resources how to assemble electronic resources into archives social implications of electronic collections Academic librarians in collection management will find Electronic Resources an essential resource for finding their place in the electronic environment. Librarians will refer to this volume again and again as they adjust to increasing dependence upon electronic resources for fulfilling their patrons’needs.

This book, first published in 2002, examines how the transition to electronic resources in academic libraries has impacted traditional collection development policies and practices. Nine acclaimed librarians present their perspectives on the growing trend toward digital materials acquisition that is tipping the scales in favour of ‘access’ in the ‘ownership vs. access’ debate. The book provides insights on the use of electronic resources in major research libraries from data collection by JSTOR, a leading provider of digital resources to academic libraries. A rich and diverse collection of theory, opinion, and observation, it offers a unique understanding of how libraries are meeting the challenge of reshaping their collection development programs with electronic resources—a process that is quickly gaining momentum. Contributors are divided in their beliefs on whether a balance is still possible between print materials and electronic resources in academic libraries.

This topical edited collection is cross-sectoral and international in scope, drawing together the perspectives of practitioners and academics at the forefront of modern collection development. They explore how practitioners can take an active role influencing strategy in this new environment, draw on case studies that illustrate the key changes in context, and consider how collection development might evolve in the future. The collection is divided into four sections looking at the key themes: • The conceptual framework including a review of the literature • Trends in library supply such as outsourcing and managing suppliers • Trends in electronic resources including the open access movement and e-books • Making and keeping your collection effectively including engaging with the user-community and developing commercial skills. Readership: LIS students and all practitioners involved in collection development and management in academic, school, public, commercial and other special libraries.

Packed with discussion questions, activities, suggested additional references, selected readings, and many other features that speak directly to students and library professionals, Gregory’s Collection Development and Management for 21st Century Library Collections is a comprehensive handbook that also shares myriad insightful ideas and approaches valuable to experienced practitioners. This new second edition brings an already stellar text fully up to date, presenting top-to-bottom coverage of the impact of new technologies and developments on the discipline, including discussion of e-books, open access, globalization, self-publishing, and other trends; needs assessment, policies, and selection sources and processes; budgeting and fiscal management; collection assessment and evaluation; weeding, with special attention paid to electronic materials; collaborative collection development and resource sharing; marketing and outreach; self-censorship as a component of intellectual freedom, professional ethics, and other legal issues; diversity and ADA issues; preservation; and the future of the field. Additional features include updated vendor lists, samples of a needs assessment report, a collection development policy, an approval plan, and an electronic materials license.