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Collection development is a key function of the university library, and is a collaborative effort. The purpose of this paper is to show how the Cape Peninsula University of Technology divides the budget between departments in such a way that it is seen as supporting key university initiatives and strategies.

The paper outlines the development of a formula to be used to divide the budget equitably as well as changes done.

The factors needed to develop this formula were those seen as mutually important by both parties, and even changes in university strategy could be reflected by adjusting the statistics and divisions within the formula.

This study was restricted to only one institution.

The value lies in showing how what is usually seen as a purely administrative or operational tool, the book collection budget, can also be used as a tool to show support for key institutional strategies and prove library support for wider institutional changes and initiatives.

Small branch libraries are found in many academic institutions. The purpose of this study was to look at specific aspects of management of these branches and in particular the librarians in these branches from an organizational perspective. The organizational structure and support for branches and librarians was looked at in two institutions, Lund University in Sweden, and Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa. An analysis was made through observation, documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with affected staff at both institutions, and the input compared to determine commonalities as well as differences. The small branch academic librarian is a vital part of the organizational landscape. Although needing strong support from the central organization in terms of mentoring and staff development, they provide a unique contribution to the profession as a whole as they fill the role of specialist generalist – a breed of librarian capable of working with the specialist in their own field, but at the same time covering all the specialized fields that users would expect in an academic library. Although a lot has been written about centralization and decentralization and the subsequent place of small branch libraries, the actual role of the librarians as a unique one within academic institutions has not been highlighted in the literature. This study aims to highlight this and assist libraries in assessing and improving the working relationship between the central organization and the small branch librarians.