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Vickery, Making a Statement
23 Jan 07
Vickery, Jim. “Making a Statement: Reviewing the Case for Written Collection Development Policies.” Library Management 25.8/9 (2004): 337-342.
Vickery’s article is a nice overview of the arguments for and against collection development policies. The “for” section is brief and canonical, with its arguments grouped under four broad headings: selection, planning, PR, and “the wider context” (referring generally to consortial and collaborative approaches).
The “against” section is, naturally, richer. He covers much of the same ground as Snow, but has surveyed the literature perhaps a little more broadly. Rather than cover that ground again, here are some tantalizing excerpts from Vickery’s conclusion:
What is required is not merely a traditionally detailed written document, but a broad statement of purpose and a flexible, continually-revised description of the library’s aims. (341)
Sounds good, but I’m a little concerned that a traditionally detailed written document still seems to be required as a baseline. He finishes with this:
A clear, broad statement of purpose, flexibly interpreted, would allow selectors to adjust to changing technology and evolving user needs. Experience shows that the traditional written policy is no longer a self-evident necessity, and work is needed to develop new models. (341)
But isn’t that just a mission statement? Or if not, what is it?
Posted by pzed on January 23, 2007 at 8.05pm
Categories: collection policies, libraries
