The discussion of collection development of course begins with that which collections are developed for: The library. Libraries are an ancient institution that have been around for thousands of years. They have held a variety of information media, from clay tablets to scrolls to books and now to various digital resources. Libraries not only house information resources, but also actively work to preserve these resources and organize them in an easily accessible manner.
While the library is an ancient concept, the idea of of specifically curating the collection of the library based on the needs of its patrons is a relatively more recent one. This idea is known as collection management. Collection management's relative newness in comparison to that of the library may be due to the simple fact that - compared to ancient times - there are simply more information resources available in the present and libraries must pick and choose what they need. This process of picking and choosing what to add to a collection is known as collection development, and is the main focus of this learning diary.
Collection development involves all activities that have to do with building a library's collection. This ranges from gathering data on the information needs and wants of the library's patrons to finding out where to get the corresponding information resources and making a budget to do both of these activities. Often collection development is affected by fiscal and ethical constraints, and the library staff often must balance the needs of their patrons with the resources and restraints pressed on them by their managing organization or the organizations they are funded by. Other issues faced by collections development staff are those of the changing information landscape brought about by the rise of digital media. The most prevalent of these is an effective method of distribution of eBooks that will suit both the patrons of the library and the publishers of said eBooks.
In the context of our country, collection development has a certain focus on creating Filipiniana collections. During World War II precious little of the original collections of our major libraries escaped the conflict. The Scientific Library was completely destroyed, and the National Library saved only 36,600 of its previous 733,000 volume collection. Of the library of the University of the Philippines 3,000 of 147,000 volumes escaped unscathed (Hernández, 2001). The result of this loss has been an increased focus on the preservation of Filipino history and culture through the development of dedicated Filipiniana collections.
Overall, collection development seems to be a difficult job. Having to find out what your patrons want, finding out where it can be found and finding the budget to acquire it is stressful in and of itself. Having to keep in mind the demands of a changing digital landscape add even more layers of stress. There is also the possibility of ethical dilemmas arising from the collection developers moral standards differing from those of the organization they work for. An example of this type of dilemma is found in school libraries, where based on the principles of the school they might see the need to exclude certain things from the curriculum. Some faith-based schools are guilty of this, failing to teach their students about sex education and scientific concepts that go against their religion. In these cases it can be difficult and draining for the collection developer to fight against the system that provides them with funding.
The difficulties of balancing the wants and needs of so many may seem like a hassle, but collection development is ultimately what keeps a library relevant to it's patrons. Any amount of hassle is worth it, considering that sometimes it leads to the right information falling into the hands that need it the most and resulting in someone's life changing for the better.
References
Hernández, V. S. (2001). Trends in philippine library history. Libraries & Culture, 36(2), 329–344. https://doi.org/10.1353/lac.2001.0034
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