This invaluable new book contains timely information about the assessment of academic library collections and the relationship of collection assessment to acquisition budgets. The rising cost of information significantly influences academic libraries’abilities to acquire the necessary materials for students and faculty, and public libraries’abilities to acquire material for their clientele. Collection Assessment and Acquisitions Budgets examines different aspects of the relationship between the assessment of academic library collections and the management of library acquisition budgets. Librarians, researchers, and representatives from major library vendors present studies and opinions on collection assessment and acquisition budgets. Collection Assessment and Acquisitions Budgets explores the issues and tools related to collection assessment and also presents insight into the relationships between libraries and vendors. Some of the topics covered by this volume include: current factors influencing libraries’abilities to acquire information an examination of trends affecting libraries and information vendors use studies and collection development management of acquisition funds criteria to evaluate information vendors relationships between libraries and vendors These informative chapters discuss current issues and present the latest research findings relating to collection assessment and acquisition budgets. Practicing librarians, students in the field, and librarians involved in administration and especially acquisitions and collection development will gain a better understanding of the complexities of collection and the factors affecting acquisitions budgets. Librarians will find practical information, including product reviews and opportunities to use automated tools in the assessment process, the benefits and problems of serial review projects, types of assistance vendors can provide libraries in the collection assessment process, the importance of collection assessment in the competition for funding, and ideas for the use of circulation data in the collection assessment process.

A welcome companion for any librarian seeking to determine both the general condition of their collection and specific areas in need of improvement.

If the heart of the library is its collection, this textbook provides the keys to the heart of your library. Alongside standards of basic principles and processes, you'll find practical guidance on everything from acquisitions to preservation. Managing collections in today's libraries is more complicated and challenging than ever. Electronic formats, new options for collaboration and sharing, and the drive to use data for evaluation purposes are just a few of the changes now driving collection management. This updated edition of a classic text addresses changes in the field and provides a thorough overview of what collection development specialists now need to know to effectively and efficiently manage processes that range from selection and assessment to sharing resources, handling challenges, weeding, and preservation. Readers will find increased coverage of technical services, intellectual freedom and censorship, and collection policy development, as well as budget development and tracking, joint purchasing, and negotiating with vendors. Updates on e-resources, user needs assessment (including data visualization), and disaster management, along with suggestions for further reading, are also included. Engagingly written and easy to understand, this is a valuable text for students preparing for careers in public, academic, school, and special libraries. It will additionally serve as a training resource and professional refresher for practitioners.

Includes reports of the heads of the various municipal departments.

This manual offers guidance on co-operative collection management (CCM). The first section describes the philosophical basis for CCM; the second focuses on selected assessment methods (RGL, WLN); and the third offers case studies illustrating the entire CCM project.