Acquisitions & Collections

This course provides an overview of how various types of libraries build and maintain their collections and acquire material. In the first part of the course, students are introduced to collection development, including collection development policies and plans, issues relating to collection development and selection, selection tools, weeding, evaluation of library collections and current awareness. Students create a collection development plan for a type of library of their choice, select materials using various selection aids and criteria discussed in class, and create current awareness materials to promote the new resources to users. In the second half of the course, students learn the basics of acquisitions, including setting up funds, placing orders, receiving and paying for material, and maintaining records. The course covers the types of material typically acquired by libraries (print, audiovisual, and electronic) and the use of both manual and computerized systems. The course also includes practice in deriving cataloguing records and in creating brief cataloguing records in the context of acquisitions work.