Introduction

Libraries exist to collect and preserve information resources for the user groups that they serve. As discussed in Chapter 6, different types of resource present their own challenges to librarians.

While Chapter 6 focused on individual types of resource, collections as a whole need to be managed appropriately, and a library should have a collection development policy in place to ensure staff and users understand how that is to be done. This chapter will discuss collection management and collection development as a whole, rather than focusing on specific types of collection. It will deal with some of the macro and micro issues related to how the librarian acquires and maximizes the best use of the collection.

Collection management

Collection management is a term that defines the totality of processes and procedures involved in maintaining a library collection. Dixon suggests that collection management ‘includes all the processes, from selection to conservation of library materials, to meet the needs of users within budgetary and resource constraints’ (Dixon, 2002, 87). Thus the term includes selection, purchasing, processing, development and weeding of library collections, all of which will be discussed below.

Acquisition of library materials is done on behalf of a user group, and collection management starts at the point material is being selected for the library to purchase. The librarian chooses stock carefully based on the aims of the library itself and the needs of the user group the library serves. Material selected and provided must be appropriate for the audience that will make use of it.

Print materials

Every book published has a unique identifier known as an International Standard Book Number, or ISBN. This system allows each book to be identified clearly, and consists of a string of numbers that identify the book in question. Until 1 January 2007 allocated ISBNs were 10 digits long. For instance, the 10-digit ISBN of the present book can be broken down as follows:

1-85604-617-6

The code number 1 represents the country the book is published in, in this case the UK; 85604 is the unique publisher code for Facet Publishing; 617 is the unique title number for this specific book; and 6 is a check number used for administrative purposes.