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This paper aims to argue regarding the evolution of the collection management as a gradual process where internal and external factors interact to transform the collection and its management activities. In this progress, cooperation is used as a necessary strategy for assuming its roles and to fit the new goals, mission and context of the library. Libraries are living organisms in continuous change to adapt to the context where they exist and which is the cause of their progress. It is formed by “vital elements” such as the collection – which is its basic element and the nucleus of its activity.

This argumentative paper establishes a logical reasoning of the evolution process of the “collection management”, with the application of Kuhn’s structure of scientific revolutions.

The library collection has had great changes, such as its origin, composition, ownership, volume and diversity, different life cycle from paper to digital formats and evaluation process. These changes have affected the principles and practices of collection management in three key areas: expansion and change of traditional activities in collection management; enlargement and modification of agents involved; and fundamental mission of giving access to all information resources needed by actual or potential remote users. The “cooperation” becomes an essential element and the main engine of great part of the collection management.

In this paper, Kuhn’s structure of scientific revolutions theory is used to establish the evolution of the collection management, to become a revolution, with a new paradigm “cooperative collection management”.

The definition of the collection employed in this essay accounts for it as an assemblage of information sources made accessible systematically in any format by the library or information center for the purposes of the community that is to intended to serve.

Collaborative efforts in academic library collection management and development are frequent topics in library literature. This paper aims to analyse the nature of collaborative projects among Hong Kong academic libraries, with a view to whether further synchronisation of collection management is likely or not.

By comparing collaboration, as defined in the academic library literature from the 1970s to the present, to the status of current collaboration in academic libraries in Hong Kong, the local outlook for collaborative collection decisions among an eight-member library consortium was analysed. The ramification of local weeding projects and collection management decisions without a joint storage facility and its associated communication benefits regarding collection management decisions are detailed.

Hong Kong academic libraries will all need to communicate clearly to one another and agree on local strategies before they can expect to build up to see any benefits from collaboration in collection management and development.

Although many of the themes have been touched upon before, in an Asian context it is useful to emphasize that success in collaboration is not dependent on budgets and resources alone.

The purpose of this paper is to find out the similarities and differences in collection management practices of the main libraries of the University of Cape Coast and the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana.

The study adopted a qualitative approach in considering the research problem and also used the case study to collect data. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the respondents.

Some of the results highlighted are: both libraries had sections responsible for collection management practices, the collection management practices carried out by both libraries were almost similar, lack of adequate professional staff, lack of adequate funds and unavailability of Collection Management Policy were some of the challenges.

The study focussed on the activities performed by the various sections directly involved in the collection management practices and excludes administrative practices.

In order to make any library functional, collection management should be a shared responsibility of all the sections of the library and that enough money is required to link the staff and the information resources in the library together.

All stakeholders of libraries must play their role to make academic libraries functional.

The study provides insight into the collection development activities undertaken by the libraries of the only public academic institutions purposely build by the Government of Ghana to train graduate teachers for Basic and Second-Cycle institutions in Ghana.

The literature on collection development largely discusses all kinds of managerial and practical issues. However, there appear to be gaps in LIS literature regarding tracing the semantic developments of the subject. The paper attempts to explore the relationship between the use of varying collection‐related terminologies and ever‐emerging forms of scholarly publishing in libraries.

An extensive review of the available literature was made to illustrate the impact of the developments in both production and formats of information sources on libraries' collection related patterns and expressions since the last quarter of the twentieth century.

It was found that the related emerging terminology has been expanding rapidly because of the direct impact of the never‐ending developments, though with different pace in different countries. The varying use pattern reflects the expansion in the aims and ways of functioning of a modern library.

The paper falls in the category of “literature review” and provides an overview of the connection between developments in theory and practice of collection managing aspects.

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the current practices related to e-resource collection development in management libraries of India with special reference to the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi with some constructive suggestions for improvement in this area.

A well-structured questionnaire was administered to the librarians of the nine management libraries under study.

The management libraries are actively involved in building e-resource collection. The budget allocation for purchase of e-resources has increased progressively over the years in majority of the libraries. The factors that, to a great extent, affect selection of e-resources include quality, subject coverage, license agreements and vendor support. The study found that libraries associated with management institutions such as ABS, DMS-IITD, FMS, BIMECH and FSM need to add more management-related databases.

The paper restricts the study exclusively to e-resources as the type of material and the librarians of nine major management institutions of NCR of Delhi as the respondents in its scope of discussion.

The study is of great importance to information professionals of similar management institutions in India. The recommendations made could also help solve some of the challenges that are being faced.

Very little is known about the electronic resource collection development practices followed in management institutes’ libraries of India owing to lack of significant research undertaken on the topic. This study is, therefore, significant because its findings fill up the existing knowledge gap in this area.

In its most basic aspects, the process of identifying and selecting materials for a library's collection has not seen substantial change in a century. Fundamentally, selection involves the informed judgment of an individual being applied to the available universe of “published” knowledge, in order to build a coherent collection of materials that will serve the needs of a discrete clientele. While this may seem deceptively simple in concept, its perfection in practice has consumed many distinguished careers.

The academic library’s physical capacity and its service obligations to local users structured the traditional print collection. Largely freed of these constraints, the digital collection manager enjoys unprecedented freedoms but now contends with a collection susceptible to resource sprawl and scope ambiguity. This exploratory study aims to consider the possibility that intra-field social processes help to structure and routinize digital collection practice.

Lacking the constraints to which print collections are subject, electronic resource and digital library collections are more likely to reflect idiosyncratic institutional interests and therefore, to demonstrate significant variation. Evidence of homogeneity may suggest the influence of heretofore underexplored social structures. To determine the extent of such homogeneity, the author performed exploratory/descriptive content analyses on ten electronic resource collection development policies and six digital library collection development policies.

The data reveal among both the electronic resource and digital library collection policies significant uniformity. Content analyses demonstrate consistent themes (e.g. media, audience, selection priorities, etc.) and rhetoric. These findings lend support to the study’s central hypothesis regarding latent social structures. Analyses also reveal a set of unanticipated constraints unique to digital collection management.

Despite the breadth and maturity of literature addressing the Digital Turn in academic librarianship, relatively little attention has been paid to the social dimensions of collection management. This work represents an important corrective and suggests new theoretical approaches to the study of digital collection practice.

Special collections, because of their very nature, need special consideration by library management. Discusses one part of special collection management which needs particular consideration, namely printed ephemera. This will perhaps be the greatest problem for local studies departments of public libraries; special libraries, because of their identification with their parent body, and its aims and objectives, do not have quite the same problems. However, all libraries concerned with acquiring printed ephemera need to consider certain aspects of the management of this material. Outlines some of these problems and issues, and briefly suggests possible courses of action which can be taken, based on current research into developing a collection policy for printed Welsh ephemera, carried out at the Department of Information and Library Studies at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth in conjunction with the National Library of Wales.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight collection development activity in UK higher education libraries and to place it within both a conceptual and strategic context.

This paper uses a theoretical approach to collection development and content strategy derived from literary theory to contextualise debates. It uses current examples from collection management within UK academic libraries.

This paper suggests that collection development is not exclusively a library practitioner activity but needs to be considered within a wider context that takes account of multiple strands of collection selection and management. Collection development cannot be considered in isolation but alongside collection management and in relation to content strategy.

This paper includes consideration of the topic of collection development that is influenced by other disciplines, notably literary theory. This suggests that research in library science should include input from other disciplines.

This paper includes implications for content development within academic libraries that suggest that a re-focus at the strategic level of content is required.

This paper introduces a conceptual register to collection development outside of traditional library science models and posits a move to strategy.