It is not a skill that can be acquired overnight. New selectors should work with a trainer appointed by the Collection Development Coordinator. The trainer, an experienced selector, should be familiar with both the subject area and publishing patterns in that discipline. The appointed trainer is not necessarily the section head or cluster leader. The responsibility of the trainer is to provide the new selector with the basic foundations of collection development.
Collection development is a complex process.
The selector must have knowledge of faculty interests, budget cycles, publishing, etc. The best way to learn how to be a selector is by doing, with feedback. Collection Development encompasses a number of activities related to the development of the library collection, including the selection of materials, determination and coordination of selection policy, assessment of potential users and their needs, collection use studies, collection evaluation, identification of collection needs, planning for resource sharing, and weeding. Collection Maintenance covers all activities performed by a library to preserve the materials in its collections, including binding, mending, repairing, materials conversion, etc. At the same time, selectors should work towards developing collections cooperatively with the other libraries of the CIC , i.e. the Big Ten.