Collection Development and Management

Defining collection development and management

Understanding the concepts between collection development and management is not easy and both terms are used interchangeably. However, reading further I have begun to see there is a difference.

Collection

In general, a collection is the process of both physical and electronic resources that are available to use in school environments and the community and involve collecting all formats and genres (Johnson, 2018). Therefore, to be able to maintain library collections, it is important to consider how the collection development and management of these resources are contained and the responsibilities of the librarian to provide the materials needed for its users.

Collection development

According to Johnson (2018) the library has a specific activity and that is to provide information appropriate for the needs of the community. This may involve planning, decision making, funding, and acquiring of material. She further adds there are five elements in the process of collection development:

  • Collection development policies
  • Budgeting
  • The type of material for the collection
  • Selection and the acquisition of that material, and,
  • Collection evaluation.

Collection development is a crucial function of building the collection which can be complex as consideration must be taken into the usefulness of the material and the type of library it is (National Library of New Zealand, n.d). A school library will have different requirements than a public library but the act of developing the resources remains the same. Subsequently, collection evaluation is an integral part of collection development to determine if the collection is adequate and fulfilling the objectives of the library.

Collection management

Collection management is the process of making decisions about the material that is part of the collection (Johnson, 2018). Managing a library’s collection and how it will meet the schools’ needs will need to be planned well to initiate success in student learning, especially as digital content is impacting largely on collection management.

One specific task of the collection management process is weeding or de-selection of material. There are several reasons why weeding of particular material may be necessary:

  • Worn or poor condition
  • Factually incorrect (this may be due to more updated information).
  • Irrelevant to the schools’ needs.
  • A more suitable format is available.
  • Limited space to store all material.

 

Challenges and opportunities

Although, many challenges and opportunities in address collection development and management may be present, it is an exciting time to be able to address the mass amount of literature available. Updating material to support, communicate, engagement and promote the community to preserve libraries and the role they play in the preservation of information and adaptation of new technologies, information, and programs to assist teachers and student success.

Reference

Johnson, P. (2018). Fundamentals of collection development and management (4th ed.). American Library Association.

National Library of New Zealand. (n.d). Collections and Collection Management. Services to Schools.  https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/school-libraries/collections-and-resources/collections-and-collection-management

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