This document examines the impact of new information technologies on the various roles of national libraries. Seventy-two national libraries responded to a questionnaire designed to assist in determining how such institutions worldwide are responding to recent technological innovations. The first of six chapters identifies three basic…

Examines the nature of corporate change and its impact on academic business libraries' corporate documents collections. Approaches librarians may use to monitor and manage change are discussed, and several relevant printed and online sources are noted. (five references) (MES)

Describes a prototype reference collection management system that uses a relational database management program to automate traditional library processes such as library inventory and shelf-reading. Examines reference collection management criteria and system considerations, and reviews the database's characteristics and its benefits to libraries.…

Approval plans challenge library boundaries, require consensus on collection development priorities, cooperation among library departments, and a close partnership with the vendor. Few concrete performance standards exist, and effectiveness is difficult to measure. Vendors will play an active role in the evolution of approval plans, though…

Virginia Commonwealth University reduced its ready reference collection by integrating the majority into the general reference collection. The project was a success and advantages for staff included more time and focus on users; expanded knowledge of collection; and reduced stress. (JMV)

As costs of subscriptions to scholarly journals rise, libraries struggle to house their collections. Journal Storage (JSTOR) is building a reliable and comprehensive archive of important literature, filling the gaps in existing collections of backfiles, fostering preservation, increasing access, finding ways to reduce storage and care costs, and…

The Collection Analysis Project (CAP) was undertaken in response to one of the major recommendations of the University at Stony Brook Libraries' strategic plan. It is the first step in promoting the necessary change to bring collection management and development into conformity with accepted professional practice, and make it more responsive to…

The practicum sought to identify areas of relative strength and weakness in support for the Saint Leo College (Florida) Library Acquisitions Project, a project to improve library support to the Military Education Program administered by Saint Leo College on military installations throughout the Southeast. Using the Interactive Forces Theory of…

Collection development policies as traditionally conceived are of little practical utility. Research librarians will better serve themselves and their users by devising flexible guides to information associated with particular fields of study. Resource maps using electronic technology could accommodate different kinds of inquiries. (Author/AEF)

Selection of electronic resources--CD-ROMs, dial access databases, electronic journals, and World Wide Web products--requires a more extensive set of criteria than do print resources. Discusses two factors influencing collection development of electronic products: technology options and licensing issues, and outlines how traditional selection…

Presents a collection development model appropriate for libraries whose primary purpose is to support undergraduate education, in which collection development initiatives are taken by the library with the advice of teaching faculty. The organizational prerequisites for client centered collection development are discussed and a step by step…

This essay suggests that conversation, crucial for human life in society and intrinsic to nature of libraries, may be the appropriate model for providing guidance, means, and context for change in academic librarianship. The business model, missions and goals, collection development, bibliographic instruction, and organizational considerations are…

Argues that library skills and methods used for organization of information are needed to organize Internet information resources. Four aspects of information organization are discussed: recording existence and identity of information bearing entities; acquiring these entities; providing name, title, subject, and other access information; and…

Discusses changes in academic library collection development due to societal attitudes toward higher education; budget and service pressures; copyright, licensing, and intellectual property issues; and preservation considerations. Recommends cooperative collection management, made more possible through network technology, as a means to effectively…

Passage of library bonds in November 1988 provided momentum to create a new library system for San Francisco. To be successful, this endeavor demanded that the entire library program be evaluated and reassessed, and renovations to the branch libraries had to be made on a systemwide basis. Funding from the library bonds could be used only for…