Collection Development: Its Organization and Services in University Libraries

The basic purpose of a library is to collect, preserve, and disseminate knowledge available in any documentary form. However, the major objective of libraries now is being transformed from preservation to providing information to the utmost satisfaction of the users. The mechanism of garnering the requisite materials, their organization, and provision for library services are known as collection development. Both the unfolding of globalization and the onslaught of information technology in tandem with the dissemination of knowledge and information has elevated the role of libraries in general and university libraries in particular. In this complex proviso, the role of the librarian is becoming more and more significant. For the dissemination of quality information, the availability of requisite resources - both print and non-print - are indispensable. Based on research in India, this book deals with the policy aspects and dimensions of collection development, its organization, and its services - from the view point of the librarians, as well as users in academic libraries, viz., faculty members, research scholars, students, and administrators.