Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management

Citation

Kat Davies (2015), "Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management", Library Management, Vol. 36 No. 6/7, pp. 535-536. https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-06-2015-0036

The Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management, Third Edition, written by Peggy Johnson is a coherent and comprehensive text which forms a solid foundation for all librarians and students. While the title suggests that the piece is aimed at those with a particular interest in the topic areas of collection development and collection management, the well-researched and informative nature of the book does not take a micro approach, instead a very well rounded and macro view has been adopted. The addition of sections including: “skills and competencies” which lists “core competencies” in a checklist, is suitable for prospective or trainee Librarians and the breakdown of “types of library” which provides information on specialist, public, academic, etc., libraries helps to establish the text as comprehensive guide for its readers.

The book has successfully met its objectives in covering the “fundamentals” of this topic by using a multi-faceted approach in its form to achieve this. A combination of main chapters, sub chapters and activities are used to explore and address both complex and broad topics such as “Developing Collections” and “Collection Analysis” in a detailed and manageable way. Each chapter is well supported with a generous reference and notes list, suggested reading, activities and a variety of case studies. Some notable examples of this include: activities on “dealing with vendors” and case studies on difficult and laborious tasks such as: budget planning and book weeding projects. In addition to this, Johnson’s well defined structure has allowed her to explore and write succinctly about often large, complicated and sometimes controversial current topics such as; co-operative purchasing, ownership vs electronic access, Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), censorship and copyright. Despite being a large volume of (approximately 554pp. including references and indexes), Johnson manages to approach each topic with equal care and consideration expanding on each element with great detail whilst making it relevant to the reader. This has been achieved through her use of a clear and accessible writing style which takes care to explain acronyms and avoid too much jargon.

It must be remembered that there is some cultural bias within the monograph as it is written with American libraries in mind (although “references to practices and initiatives in Canada” (p. IX) are made). While Johnson clearly specifies that this is her focus within the preface, the background history of American libraries in the introductory chapter is well placed for readers who are not familiar with American libraries as it offers a good background context for some of Johnson’s later examples. Librarians not belonging to the ALA may find this off-putting, yet, it does give the reader an opportunity to use examples pertaining to American libraries as a method of comparison and contrast to what they might already know.

Despite how clear and well written the examples are, students or librarians who are using the text as a “first look” at collection development and collection management may wish to consult other material published about the nuances of their libraries and differences in legislation in their own respective countries.

Overall, I would recommend that this as a learning tool for students, as Johnson states in her preface: the supplemental reading lists “contain no sources published before 2008” and that the “[r]eading lists from the first two editions can be accessed as a supplemental” (p. X) resource online. These resources not only help to keep the topic current, they are also easy to access online via the given URL and are a good learning tool. I would also suggest that this is a good companion for anyone working within the library field or considering it as it covers more areas than the title would initially suggests.