Wasted Words? Current Trends in Collection Development Policies/Guidelines

Are collection development policies viable today? In order to answer that question, librarians at the University of South Florida, Tampa Library sent out a survey to all academic ARL Libraries to obtain a holistic picture of academic collection development policies, how they are changing due to the abundance of electronic resources and new methods of data-driven acquisition. The transition to electronic resources and the changing role of the collection development librarian are having a tremendous impact on the manner by which libraries select and acquire new materials. The goal of this research project further elucidates the current trends of collection development policies in academic libraries as well as gauge current use and efficacy. The survey and the analysis of the results will be revealed.In contrast, the Ottenheimer Library at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock is rewriting, revising, and expanding its collection development policy. One impetus to begin the revision emerged from recommendations made by a team of library staff who conducted the Association for Research Library’s (ARL) Collection Analysis Project (CAP) from 2009 to 2011. The Library is still in the initial stages of the revision project and is committed to completing it. This presentation will outline the reasons for the commitment and the benefits anticipated or already realized by participating in this process