A school librarian and book reviewer argues that buyers, reviewers, editors, and publishers need to look more carefully at series books. Discusses series and reviewing tools and ways reviewers can help colleagues make the best choices for students. Recommends two social studies series, and suggests questions to ask when buying series books. (PEN)

A case study based on theories of loose coupling and loosely coupled systems focuses on the relationship between librarians and faculty who share collection development responsibilities. Data indicates that areas of collaboration at a public comprehensive university library center more on procedures of collection development than on substantive…

Presents a 1992 study which discovered and investigated collection development bias in academic and public libraries in California. The investigation was carried out in five stages: (1) selected a controversial topic; (2) identified representative works; (3) ranked works by qualified judges; (4) measured holdings via library online computer…

The primary objective of this guide is to help librarians select adult services reference tools which cover many different topics, with special emphasis on recent social and technological changes. Arrangement is topical, with particular attention given to the following topics: AIDS, abortion, the environment, economic problems, the crisis in…

Discusses selecting for a reference collection, creative budgeting, cutting a deal, collection awareness (strengths/needs), Web site reviews, R-Net (reviews from diverse areas and institutions), and print vs. electronic reference products. Reference librarian adhere to high standards for reference book and Web sites, teach assessment techniques,…