Develop Collections as a Panacea to Promote Effective Use of Library Resources in Academic Libraries

Abstract

Collection development is often employed to serve as an umbrella term covering activities like selection, acquisition and deselection. The article contains a literature review of papers discussing the collection development curriculum in library and information science programs, expected skills required of collection development offices, and library training programs for new librarians. The study also discusses collection development as a panacea for promoting efficient use of library resources in academic libraries. Many factors have to be taken into consideration while developing the quality suite for the benefit of the users. These factors include societal analysis, policy, and acquisition of options, stock evaluation, and disposal of unrelated resources. It is important to evaluate to see how well the materials meet current needs and how likely they are to continue to meet the needs of current and future users. Authors conclude that librarians need to exercise the utmost care in developing a balanced collection that enhances the quality of academic libraries effective use of resources by the client.