Electronic Resources: Implications for Collection Management

Shows librarians the strengths and weaknesses of electronic resources and the implications these resources have on collection management. The book then helps librarians incorporate electronic resources into their collections accordingly. Contributors in Electronic Resources provide a broad look at the ways in which electronic information affects the business of building and maintaining library collections. They examine the history of electronic resources in document collections and share with readers a thorough analysis of the gains and losses libraries can expect to experience in an increasingly digital environment. Readers also learn:

• how to budget for both traditional and emerging information sources
• the effects of electronic collections on the public services realm
• how to assess the value of journals amidst the many different access and delivery mechanisms
• how to use resource sharing as a solution to the archival problems which arise as libraries collect materials in continuously proliferating formats
• selection criteria for electronic resources
• how to assemble electronic resources into archives
• social implications of electronic collections

Academic librarians in collection management will find Electronic Resources an essential resource for finding their place in the electronic environment. Librarians will refer to this volume again and again as they adjust to increasing dependence upon electronic resources for fulfilling their patrons’ needs.