The response of readers to an article on Reference Book Reviewing" by Harry Whitmore (RQ, Spring 1970) is presented. (MF)

Selection of the storage facility is only part of the larger problem of how to select books for storage and in what form to store them. (NH)

Suggests reference sources most appropriate for a desert island. In addition to "Robinson Crusoe" (Daniel Defoe) and a reference guide to the literature of travel, the list includes basic books on reference work, guides to reference sources, journals, an almanac, encyclopedias, a guide to English usage, and a book of quotations. (14 references)…

Examines in detail approach of Library of Congress (LC) to selection and review of material for microfilming. Background of Preservation Microfilming Office, mission of program, selection of brittle material, role of LC custodial divisions, stack survey and inventory, cooperative activities, review process, gaps and missing material, and copyright…

Describes three selection theories and concepts from other disciplines which are used to explain matters of selection and constitute a diverse array of approaches in rethinking problems of library selection: random selection in statistics, theory of natural selection in biology, and gatekeeper theory in field of communication. Ten sources are…

Close collaboration between library and bookstore (or a complete merger of the two) could do much to solve the immediate problems faced by many small colleges with small library collections and limited budgets. (MF)

Problems considered include: quantity of material involved, disposal of unwanted materials, requests for evaluations and appraisals of gifts, restrictions placed on bequests and gifts, interlibrary exchange programs and a few legal questions arising in the handling of gifts. (Author)

This essay focuses on self-censorship as applied to the library book selection process, highlighting librarian practices of selection, library collections, censorship and the publishing industry, and self-defense against censorship. Five controversial titles are included. (EJS)

Presents fundamental guide to legal documents for librarians servicing patrons interested in social and behavioral sciences. Basic bibliographic information for secondary level materials (finding aids, dictionaries, encyclopedias, serials, monographs) and primary legal materials (items of which law itself is composed) is provided with…

Prediction of book circulation is seen as one major factor for some libraries in the development of an efficient book buying policy. The study approaches this problem of predicting book use from the conviction that there are certain characteristics associated only with high-use books, and certain other characteristics which are associated with…

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…

Discusses "educational suitability,""pervasive vulgarity," political intent, the difference between the selection and removal of library books, and censoring books without removing them from the library (zoning through "educational suitability" and age appropriateness). (CT)

This discussion of the librarian's perspective on collection development cites professional "blind spots" in areas of responses to and misinterpretation of information, censorship, identifying and satisfying reader demand, and confusion over the role of the librarian. A 15-item bibliography is provided. (EJS)