Introduction

Collection development is an essential function of all information organizations.The collection development individual or team makes decisions on what information is purchased/housed and available to its patrons and how policies are written about this service. Collection development decisions require: strategic planning, innovation, trend forecasting and community analysis with the ultimate goal of satisfying end user needs (Disher, 2018). The rapid pace at which society and technology evolve, quickens the pace at which libraries will need to pivot and adapt their collections for long term accessibility and usability. Therefore, I must know and understand the importance of selecting, evaluating, organizing and preserving collections based on the mission and values of my institution with the ultimate goal of meeting the information needs of my target audience.   

Statement of Competency 

Collection development is a complex topic that I explored in depth with my National Park Golden Gate Museum Archive program where weekly lectures went into details about best practices on storage, display, selection, evaluation and preservation of multiple collections evaluated against the scope of the institution. In INFO 234 I did a resource selection assignment where I had to consider two selection and two reconsideration policies of libraries, along with analyzing the language, scope and its message to patrons. As Dr. Loertscher’s student assistant I facilitated his INFO 266 class in editing and updating his Virtual Library Guide, working on what to select for each collection and how to organize this information for an end user. In INFO 210 I evaluated the effectiveness of a collection - an external database focusing on how collections must be accessible and organized in order to meet its intended goals. So regardless of what role I play in an information organization, having a deep understanding of the complex strategies and intentionality behind collection management is now something I can apply to future work. 

Theory

Selection & Evaluation 

With the cost of materials skyrocketing in academic libraries across America, cost cutting measures are continually in effect and highlight the importance of intentional selection and evaluation of collections (Gilman, 2018, p 89). Many universities are having to select resources based on user data, prioritizing electronic formats, and partnering with all state universities to negotiate with publishers and databases as the cost of electronic resources continues to climb.  With long term preservation and access at the heart of collection development the realities of limited or shrinking budgets and the lack of ownership of digital materials and databases makes the selection process even more precarious. To that end the  selection and evaluation process is one of extreme strategic planning in order to evaluate internal strengths and weaknesses while predicting external variables and new emerging technologies (Disher, 2018). All these elements must be taken into account when creating collection development policies, and the ALA has created many tools, templates and resources for collection development across different information institutions using intellectual freedom principles as guiding criteria (ALA, 2010). As Disher says, “Libraries need to continually evaluate their collection development policies to ensure that current trends and practices are utilized in the planning of what the collection should include (2018. p291).”  Ultimately when selecting and evaluating collections I have to ask, does this collection serve the mission and vision of my institution and more importantly does it serve the community and is it relevant in our changing world? 

Organization & Preservation

We have collections so that our communities can access them to fulfill their information needs, thus after selecting and evaluating collections the collections must be organized appropriately and preserved for future use. Skinner says, “Preservation is about much more than memory; it is about reliable access. Information managers of all types- librarians, archivists, technologists and curators - preserve content so that people living today and in the future can use it (2018. p 158).” Collections are housed in many different varieties from one physical location that patrons may or may not have access to, to multiple digital platforms that have endless ways of locating content, however the methods of locating content  might not be designed with the end user in mind. There will always be an ongoing conversation of digital vs paper collections to preserve the content most effectively for long term access and usability. In the National Parks Golden Gate Program we learned how digital preservation software could become outdated or fall quickly out of use and lead to lost collections, i.e. collections stored on floppy disks that need extinct software to be accessed. We learned how certain collections like newspapers had to be digitized because even with the best of care, in perfect conditions, newsprint fades quickly and is lost over time. We learned how digital preservation offers great opportunities to not just save the material, but increase outreach and education. These lessons show the necessity of strategic planning and forecasting technology trends to best preserve and organize content. Proper collection development “ensures abiding access,” protects history, and serves the community it was created for (Skinner, 2018). 

Conclusion

Just as technology is an ever changing landscape, so is collection management.  Librarians must embrace and continually adapt to this landscape for collection development of both physical and virtual collections with ongoing strategizing, intentional selection and evaluation with the end user’s needs in mind. Librarians must possess a deep understanding of organization and preservation principles. I must recognize that libraries will need to continue to pivot and adapt to new changes in the information world.  

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