This definition, however waggish and jaded, reflects the current politics and vagueness of the digital library area. Perhaps the digital library is best defined by how one encounters it. And so we return to the elephant by noting some examples of outstanding digital library work . . . There is no single approach to collecting electronic resources. Every institution is evolving different policies and procedures.
Different models work better at different institutions.
No matter where your institution falls on the continuum, there are issues in common that will need to be examined and reviewed. If you have been applying selection criteria to purchase decisions for other formats, you have many of the tools you need to judge electronic resources. Issues of content, overlap with other resources, usefulness, and so forth apply in both the print and electronic worlds. Keeping these skills in mind, and realizing that they are more than half the battle, let's take a look at the issues you face that are unique to electronic media collection development. In other words, the ownership versus access issue is muddied by all the technical possibilities of a digital environment.