Crash Course in Collection Development
Disher, a seasoned practitioner and part-time instructor in San Jose State University’s School of Library and Information Science, speaks primarily to public library staff with little, if any, experience in collection development. Short on theory but long on practicality, the book provides the reader with basic definitions and step-by-step outlines. Chapters describe how a library might analyze its community as well as assess and evaluate its collection. Other chapters address collection development policies, statistics, budget, selection, acquisition, reviewing sources, the publishing industry, collection maintenance, mending and preserving, and promotion and marketing. The final chapter discusses complaints, challenges, and intellectual-freedom issues. There is no bibliography, but several helpful Web sites are mentioned in the text. Recommended for all public library collections. --Carolyn Mulac