Discusses new ways of selecting information for digital libraries. Topics include increasing the quantity of information acquired versus item by item selection that is more costly than the value it adds; library-publisher relationships; netLibrary; electronic journals; and the SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition)…

Discusses issues related to managing electronic resources in academic libraries from a vendor's perspective. Topics include collection development policies; format and content; decisions to buy, borrow, or link to online resources; ethics and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition); service, cost, and value; vendors'…

Interlibrary loan and document delivery services have the potential to provide a wealth of information for collection development librarians. Insights into book and serial needs, departmental emphases, instructional opportunities and distant learning are available from interlibrary loan and document delivery databases, provided librarians are…

Discusses the need for cooperative collection development among libraries on a worldwide scale. Considers the relationship between knowledge and power; information needs and telecommunications technologies; economic and political issues; digital libraries; publishing industry; and laws of intellectual property. (LRW)

Examines activities of academic librarians and library educators regarding issues of affirmative action recruiting to increase diversity within the profession. Highlights include a description of multicultural organizations; the significance of leadership; efforts of the Association of Research Libraries; examples of diversity programs at academic…

Discusses serials cancellations; reviews library collection assessment policies and reasons for assessment studies; describes a survey of academic health sciences libraries that examined serials cancellation projects, including the decision-making process, regional or national cooperation, and the methodology used; and explains a generic serials…

This theme issue contains eight papers that were originally presented at a conference sponsored by the University of Oklahoma Libraries on library acquisitions. Highlights include budgeting problems in academic libraries; maintaining research library collections; monograph collections in scientific libraries; vendors' perspectives; electronic…

Discusses the use of library management data, particularly circulation data, in making selection decisions for library collection development based on experiences at Louisiana State University. Development of a collection based on actual use rather than perceived research needs is considered, and the decision-making process for serials…

Describes a survey of academic libraries that explored serials collection assessment. Highlights include serials budget allocations; serials cancellation projects; changes in ratio of allocation by subject area; use of computers for serials collection assessment; use of vendors, especially for statistics; and future plans for collection…

Describes problems facing academic libraries today concerning the amount of literature and information available, costs, copyright issues affecting ownership, and technological changes. Strategies for dealing with diminishing funds and increasing information resources are suggested, and activities at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)…

Describes measures of cost effectiveness that are useful for academic library collections, based on experiences at the Louisiana State University libraries. Highlights include circulation analysis of newly cataloged books; current periodical use compared to cost; faculty ranking of journals; and circulation patterns (i.e., use versus cost and…

Presents the Brown University Library experiences in purchasing electronic services to serve as a model for issues of budgeting for electronic materials in academic libraries. Topics include politics of budgeting; education of users; availability issues; access issues; consortia issues; ownership issues; tracking electronic product prices; and…

Discussion of research libraries focuses on resource sharing, information partnerships, collaborative collection building, and the relational library that relates to a user's needs and interests. Suggests the development of a global relational research library and discusses commercial Web-based relational services, electronic book sharing, and…

Addresses the topic of digital libraries from a planning perspective and examines policy issues. Discusses developing collections by providing access to remote files and/or creating a local collection; funding; considering what to digitize; copyright issues; storage costs; converting paper-based collections and catalogs; and reasons why to…

Examines the role of commercial document delivery. Discusses interlibrary loan (ILL); access versus ownership decision making; degree of use and patron use of commercial document delivery; and use of library materials funds. Concludes that document delivery will not totally replace ownership or ILL, but that it is becoming more important because…