International Yearbook of Library and Information Management: 2000‐2001: Collection Management

Citation

Fourie, I. (2001), "International Yearbook of Library and Information Management: 2000‐2001: Collection Management", The Electronic Library, Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 261-265. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2001.19.4.261.3

The International Yearbook of Library and Information Management (IYLIM) is a thematic annual publication that covers the field of library and information management on an international scale. Each volume includes chapters by international experts on current trends, emerging debates, models of best practice and likely future developments. The volume for 2000‐2001 offers an extensive coverage of collection management. The contributors include researchers, academics and practitioners from the UK, USA, China, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam.

The book is appropriately divided into four main sections, namely Part 1 (people, principles and problems), Part 2 (electronic publications, access and acquisitions), Part 3 (cooperative management and storage facilities), Part 4 (evaluating and weeding) and Part 5 (preservation and archives). It consists of an introduction and 19 chapters. These chapters cover a wide variety of topics including the following: the impact of digital information on collection management; the link between policy, power, people and collection policy; economics and collection management; information technology and diversity and the impact of censorship in the twenty‐first century; electronic publications; serials management in developing countries; access to journals in the electronic era; acquisitions; library purchasing consortia; new operating principles for collecting government documents; collection management initiatives in the UK; managing national distributed collections; library storage facilities and services; changing evaluation methods and criteria for changing collections; weeding of library collections; preservation management; rare book collections and records acquisitions and appraisal in the electronic age.

The value of International Yearbook … lies in the fact that it caters for a variety of LIS circumstances, ranging from highly developed electronic environments to developing countries battling with meagre budgets. Although there is a strong emphasis on the digital era, it is also stressed that “effective collection management means catering to the needs of people on both sides of the Digital Divide. Collection managers need to be more wary. They must work together to ensure that libraries have choices and retain the ability freely to offer their materials to library users no matter what the medium or format so that books of today will last as long as the books of the sixteenth century have lasted” (p. 4). The other side of the digital divide is depicted by Van So Vu, who deals with the realities of developing countries: a struggle to survive within very traditional infrastructures. The coverage of evaluation and weeding issues, as well as preservation management and the management of rare book collections also offers an interesting slant to discussions on digital collections.

The discussions also range from holistic views on collection policies to the finer detail of case‐specific situations such as serials management in developing countries. The more holistic discussions focus on the changing issues confronting collection managers. The boundaries between publishers, authors and libraries, for example, are changing. Collection managers also have to deal with organizational politics, which, according to Fred Friend, can have a strong impact on collection development. Stephen Roberts adds an economic dimension to the discussions. According to him, economics will be the ruling force in the digital environment. In this digital era the issue of censorship also features much more strongly than before. We now also have to deal with the added dimension and complexity of international cultures – an issue which most often is not well understood.

The overall message of International Yearbook … is that collection management has seen drastic changes, and is also marked by many uncertainties and unsolved issues: “… professionals involved in collection management must learn to live on the edge, a place of excitement and experimentation, but also of some danger. No more the fusty back room, where everything happens according to some pre‐ordained plan, but much more a life spent reaping the whirlwind” (p. 2). Extensive reading is one way practitioners can prepare themselves for this new era. Although there are no exact guidelines to prepare collection managers for the future, International Yearbook … offers sufficient food for thought, and stimulation to address the problematic issues that may arise in the future. It is aimed at ongoing reflection on such problematic issues. There are not always answers, but it at least helps to be alert to changing issues and luring problems.

I was especially impressed with the excellent introduction which puts each chapter in context. It concludes with a refreshing personal touch concerning the contributors and those who helped with the final product.

Most chapters are well‐researched, and some even offer extensive bibliographies. There is only one chapter with no bibliography; it is, however, based on substantial practical experience, which is acceptable in a book addressing both the theory and the practice of collection management.

International Yearbook … is a well‐bound hard cover publication. It is excellently edited, and includes a very detailed 20‐page index.

International Yearbook … is highly recommended for anybody interested in keeping up with developments in the field of collection management. It certainly succeeds in reaching its target audience, namely, reflecting practitioners. It should also be recommended reading for LIS courses in collection development.