University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Collection Growth in Postwar America: A Critique of Policy and Practice

Jones, David E.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/46044

Description

Title
Collection Growth in Postwar America: A Critique of Policy and Practice
Author(s)
Jones, David E.
Issue Date
2013
Keyword(s)
  • Collection development
  • Association of Research Libraries
Abstract
The accumulation of large collections by members of the American Association of Research Libraries is seen by them as fundamental to their research support role. This article outlines collection development and management practice and policy of the association members between 1945 and 1979. The study is a critical history where narrative is accompanied by analysis and context. Collecting policy and practice is reviewed with a focus on the strategies adopted to cope with the consequences of growth which led to pressure on capacity. A critique of collections policy reviews three significant causal factors: institutional competition, the conception of the role of librarian as a “bookman” as opposed to manager, and the belief that collections would be of longer-term value to the university in that they transcended immediate needs. The advent of usage studies is examined, and the implications of the study for current policy concerning printed collections are discussed.
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ISSN
0024-2594
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/46044
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2013 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Owning Collections

Library Trends 61 (3) Winter 2013: Research into Practice PRIMARY
Library Trends 61 (3) Winter 2013: Research into Practice. Edited by Sheila Corrall and Barbara Sen