Collection Development Trends in Academic Libraries

Collection Development Trends in Academic Libraries

Lopez, Liliana

Horava, T., & Levine-Clark, M. (2016). Current trends in collection development practices and policies. Collection Building, 35(4), 97-102. https://doi-org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/10.1108/CB-09-2016-0025

The article Current Trends in Collection Development Practices and Policies by Tony Horava and Michael Levine Clark delivers the results of a study on current trends and issues in academic library collections. It provides a glimpse of major current collection trends and issues within North American academic libraries. The trends and issues in this study include: the use of collection development policies, demand driven acquisition (DDA) models, big deals, use of the collections budget, rationalizing legacy print collections, stewarding local digital collections, and demonstrating value.

The findings from this study render a deeper understanding of collection development functions within academic libraries. They show evidence that academic libraries use their collections budget to fund many costs other than content —often using funds for memberships and MARC records. Some of the other findings highlight the trend of demand-driven acquisitions (DDA) and an academic library’s willingness to support open access investments. Furthermore, collaborative print rationalization projects are not an academic library’s priority but academic libraries do tend to have at least one collaborative print rationalization project within their collection development plan. Perhaps the most inspiring practices and trends are the innovative ways in which academic libraries demonstrate their value.

Evaluation:

Overall, this article provides a platform to reflect on and compare strategies for academic library collections. It enables academic libraries to share current practices and trends — to build upon them and improve their collection development plans. However, this study is only the start of the conversation, because academic libraries have to continue developing their competitive edge to continue thriving and making the most out of their funds.