Managing Business Collections in Libraries

Citation

Reid, C.D. (1998), "Managing Business Collections in Libraries", Library Review, Vol. 47 No. 7, pp. 363-368. https://doi.org/10.1108/lr.1998.47.7.363.6

LCSH Business libraries ‐ United States ‐ administration

Today, more than ever before, information is being recognised as an important and valuable asset for businesses of all sizes. As a consequence, collections of business materials are to be found in many types of libraries not just in the specialist business information resource. The aim of this volume “is to provide useful and practical assistance to librarians new to managing business collections”.

Sheehy has brought together a collection of 14 essays written by information professionals who have expertise in managing business collections. The first chapter presents an historical overview of the foundations of business collections in libraries across the USA. The next three chapters deal with the administrative issues of planning, budgeting and finance, personnel and facilities. Five chapters are then devoted to developing the business collection and the specific aspects of selecting, acquiring, cataloguing and classifying the materials. Access and information services, together with the impact technology is having on the provision of such services, are covered by a further three chapters. A final essay takes a look at the future and foresees one “richer and more dynamic than anything business librarians have ever known”.

Each chapter concludes with references for follow‐up reading. In addition, a selected annotated bibliography is presented to assist those who wish to develop more expertise in managing business collections but who currently have a limited background in the area. This is presented in two sections: first, sources which can provide an introduction to business subjects, and second, management tools which may help in the managing of a collection.

Sadly, from a UK perspective, this book is very American. It has been written very much with the American librarian in mind and, although many of the practices involved in running a library are similar, the sources listed and the examples given are all American. This does rather detract from its appeal and subsequent usefulness. The UK professional looking for help and assistance will still find the, sadly now rather dated, Manual of Business Library Practice (Campbell, 1985) useful, together with Haythornthwaite’s The Business Information Maze (Haythornthwaite, 1990) and the titles published in the Aslib Know How Guide series. This having been said, the characteristics of business collections as described in 1935 are the same the world over: “information rather than print; service rather than method; analysis of printed information rather than organisation; current information and practice rather than history and theory”.

Business information is an area of growth, continuing change and enormous variety. Above all, it is an exciting and challenging field in which to work ‐ somehow this was missing from this work.