Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Collection Building, Volume 27, Issue 4

I recently began to think about the collaborative nature of collection development. Libraries have changed considerably and this collaborative relationship with our users is a distinct change. Gone are the days when libraries selected material in isolation from their users.

Collaboration is most intense in the academic library. Here librarians collaborate with faculty, students and staff. Librarians work with academic departments and their faculty to identify materials needed to meet curriculum needs as well as supplementary materials to meet research needs. Often with limited resources this collaboration requires a great deal of give and take since only the best funded university libraries can afford to buy most of what is requested.

For public libraries collaboration is newer and still developing. Public librarians were accustomed to buying with the user in mind but not necessarily consulting the user. Users have become more vocal through the years realizing that their tax dollar funds the library, and public libraries have become more responsive to these requests. Most public libraries respond to user requests purchasing most if not all the materials requested. Public libraries have realized that they owe it to their users to buy what they want to consult or read. There is less judgment placed on the quality of the material if it is requested by local users.

Collection development collaboration also occurs in school media centers and in special libraries. In these libraries it is important for the librarian to understand the needs and interests of those using their libraries and to respond to requests for library materials.

So why do I put such emphasis on collaborative collection development? It is because I see a very definite shift in how libraries are collecting materials and developing their collections. The user is now in the driver’s seat in many libraries and if they are not, librarians should ask why not. Librarians can no longer select what they consider “good quality materials” that may in fact sit on their shelves unused. This is equally true of e-materials that must meet user needs. If we think of this new process as a collaborative one, I think it will make good sense to all of us and move us in productive directions.

Kay Ann Cassell