The self-sufficient library collection: A test of assumptions

✍ Scribed by Exon, F.C.A. ;Punch, Keith F.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 58 KB
• Volume: 48
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0002-8231
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4571(199701)48:1<11::aid-asi3>3.0.co;2-4

✦ Synopsis

Modern academic libraries are experiencing a paradigm anship, particularly amongst those librarians managing shift from attempting to build self-sufficient collections older, larger collections. This group is subject to two to providing electronic access to information stored opposing pressures. While some of their academic clients elsewhere. This shift challenges long-held assumptions still demand comprehensive collections, the university about collection self-sufficiency. This assumption was cannot provide the necessary funding. In any case, rising tested by replicating the correlational analyses conducted by Paustian (1981) on data for Australian librar-prices within the publishing industry place their ability ies. Inter-library borrowing statistics were correlated to build comprehensive collections even further beyond with collection size. A stronger positive correlation was their reach. observed in the later Australian data than Paustian had Impracticable as the comprehensive collection might observed in the earlier American data. It is concluded seem, clients' demands for it do not disappear. For examthat the concept of collection self-sufficiency is a fallacy, but that the information access paradigm is likely to co-ple, Gore (1976), who was convinced that the notion exist with collection building for some time.

of the self-sufficient (''Alexandrine'') library was dead, quoted two academic clients as saying: