The very rich variety of truly rare and desirable materials held by the Sam Houston State University library is quite frequently a literal embarrassment because so often there is no time, money, space or skilled personnel necessary to develop them adequately. The problem lies, in part, in the indiscriminate acceptance of too varied materials.…

An outline of the activities necessary to convert from comprehensiveness of collection to selectivity of collection in university libraries is presented. These are the development of 1) written collection policies; 2) deselection programs; 3) cooperative storage and acquisition programs; and 4) the criteria necessary to evaluate the resulting…

Library failures can be at various levels. This paper is concerned with basic stock failure--the library's inability to supply items wanted by readers. The problems of studying stock failures are reviewed. (4 references) (Author/SJ)

This report describes the collection management and development policy of, and the diverse collections housed at, Jacksonville State University's Houston Cole Library. The first part of the report consists of a detailed collection management and development policy statement, beginning with the history of the library, the physical disposition of…

Discussions of library resources, services and related activities as well as library materials selection and acquisition are provided for faculty to facilitate and enhance their use of the library. Included in the library resources section are books, periodicals, microforms, and special collections and archives. Instruction in library use,…

"An informal personal summary of a censorship episode which recently occurred in the McMurry College Library, written by the former director. (Author/JB)

Results of a study at the University of Pittsburgh library to determine the extent to which library materials are used and the full cost of such use are presented. Use and nonuse of books, cost of book use, and journal use and nonuse are described. (Author/KP)

How the Cornell University Libraries dealt with flood damage and developed plans to handle future emergencies is described. (Author/SJ)

Questionnaires and in-person visits to large academic libraries in 1971 form the basis of this report which reveals the low priority given to nonprint materials by the majority of these libraries. (Author)

Approval plan purchasing is related to library goals of comprehensiveness, pointing out the interrelated pressures of the university system which have contributed to making this method of purchasing possible and the defensive techniques used to justify it. (19 references) (Author)

Describes a systematic, disciplinary approach to setting preservation priorities at Cornell University's (New York) Mann Library. Topics covered include guiding principles; development of a national preservation plan for agricultural literature; selecting for preservation in agriculture and biology; and digital technology and preservation. A…

Presents various opinions on Daniel Gore's proposal to limit the growth of academic libraries. (PF)

The economic pressures on higher education could lead to improved college libraries. (PF)

Compares the approval-built collection with the collection which is created when traditional select and order procedures are used. The study was limited to 1974 imprints in four subject areas and utilized the services of two major vendors. (Author)