Developing Library Collections for Today's Young Adults

Chase, Matthew
Fall 2016

Citation:

Pattee, A. S. (2014). Developing library collections for today’s young adults. Lanham: Scarecrow Press.

Summary:

This book addresses the complexities and issues surrounding collection development that specifically targets youth populations. The author highlights the many steps and procedures to an effective development, ranging from needs assessment to evaluation to selection and expansion to even the weeding and removal of collection materials. She balances the book by approaching the development of print materials as well as the digital, to reflect the diversifying and ever-evolving process to youth collections.

Evaluation:

I really appreciated the approach of the author to the topic, as she reflected on collection development as a cyclical process and she developed guidelines around that principle as a result. It allows librarians to adopt a more open-minded framework in their development of collections. For youth services in particular, this principle continues to grow in importance given the ever-changing trends in technology and the diverse needs of youth. Being advocates for youth then, as she explained, it is important that we as librarians also stipulate collection development policies to explain the mission and goals of the collection as to successfully navigate the concerns of adult stakeholders (e.g., parents) and still meet the needs of youth.