Building an Electronic Resource Collection: A Practical Guide

Citation

Parry, F. (2002), "Building an Electronic Resource Collection: A Practical Guide", The Electronic Library, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 428-428. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2002.20.5.428.1

The last decade has seen an unmistakable shift in emphasis from print to electronic resources in libraries. Stuart Lee begins his review of electronic resources with a comparison of print and electronic collection management issues. He maintains that the two are inextricably linked and that lessons learned in printed material should not be forgotten in electronic. It soon becomes apparent, however, that the burgeoning and exciting world of electronic information brings with it many different unique and complex problems.

Lee’s preliminary chapter on the definition of electronic datasets and the general principles of collection development is a little insubstantial – a fact he acknowledges with a rather startling admission that “some areas [of collection development] have had to be dealt with in a cursory manner and certain areas omitted altogether”. The second chapter, a scene setter on the electronic resources landscape, is altogether much better. Lee writes with considerable insight and expertise on topics such as user interfaces, remote v. local access, authentication, push/pull technology, archival concerns and the types of content on offer. The overview of the electronic landscape is continued in the next chapter with an extended review of the purchase and use of e‐books and e‐journals and the means by which readers can use them.

The final two chapters concentrate on assessing, acquiring and delivering datasets. It is here that the book finally comes into its own and delivers on the promise of the subtitle, “a practical guide”. Much of what is written will be instantly recognisable to anyone dealing with a volatile electronic information market in an age of shrinking budgets and expanding expectations. It is a clearly written plan of action, from a practitioner’s perspective, detailing the route from initial appraisal through acquisition, budgeting, installation, marketing and evaluation. I found the acquisition flowcharts, evaluation check‐list and final six‐point summary, an electronic collection development by numbers, to be particularly useful. It is well annotated with suitably abundant references to online articles and resources.

The book is intended for the information professional, though I suspect many library and information science students will also find it helpful.