Collection development and management in the twenty‐first century with special reference to academic libraries: an overview

Every library collection should be established for a definite purpose. In an academic library setting, the collection may be developed primarily for research and instructional support. In recent years traditional formats for information, such as books and microfilm, have increasingly been supplemented by information which is accessible electronically through the use of computer technology. This means then that the existing collection development policy for an academic library must include selection criteria and collection parameters covering these new media formats. This paper examines some of the concepts and problems which an academic library must consider in order to align its collection development activities with the changing environment of digital librarianship in the twenty‐first century.