This excellent volume provides comprehensive coverage of almost any topic related to collection development, management and evaluation. The book begins with an overview of how to manage information resources that includes a model illustrating how library systems and services work together to meet user information needs. A strength of this chapter, and the entire book, is its recognition and discussion of the role of libraries in dealing with electronic resources. Subsequent chapters discuss co‐operative collection development, collection development policies, the acquisitions process, budget management, collection evaluation, and preservation and weeding. Each chapter has focus questions that assist the reader in understanding the chapter material, and many chapters include real‐life case studies that further illustrate the content by linking theory and practice. A final chapter is devoted to the literature of collection management. Divided by topics, this extensive resource list is extremely helpful for any reader who wishes to know more about a specific subject.
Practicing librarians will find this book to be a useful resource for their work in collection management. One chapter thoroughly explains the use of Conspectus, while the chapter on collection evaluation gives specific examples of how one can assess a collection. In addition, this volume would serve as the perfect text for library school courses that deal with collection management and evaluation, giving students a thorough understanding of these subjects. I highly recommend Managing Information Resources in Libraries as one of the best books that I have seen on this topic. It should definitely be a first purchase for librarians interested in collection management or evaluation.
