Selection and Collection Development

[Jul,Erik]

Millard Johnson intruduces an elegant phrase,

> library quality subset,

to refer to those Internet resources that have been selected by libraries 
according to collection development policies and practices.

Resource selection and collection development are among an array of skills 
that libraries and librarians bring to information management.  Typically, 
these skills are manifest in the materials purchased for inclusion in a 
collection.  "Purchased" is a key word.  With limited financial resources, 
libraries must select from a smorgasbord of offerings, many of which are not 
selected because of financial constraints.

The Internet changes this equation.

It's probably fair to say that most information on the Internet today is 
informally published and made available for free.  This removes the 
financial limitation, which is one of several factors that motivate library 
selection policies.  Because cost is no longer an issue, it may seem that 
the Internet has brought the library a bonanza of free resources, access to 
which would substantially augment almost any local collection. "Because it's 
free," some might be tempted to say, "we no longer need to select; our 
financial resources are not impacted."

But cost is only one factor associated with library selection, and, I would 
venture to day, it is not the chief factor.  So, does eliminating cost mean 
that we have also eliminated the need for the other benefits of library 
selection and collection development?  Or does the mere fact that a resource 
is available via the Internet automatically exempt it from further scrutiny 
and selection as though its "Internet-ness" has rendered some special 
imprimatur?

As a counterpoint to my own argument, it is fair to say that it would be 
nice (some would say it more strongly) if *any* Internet resource were 
easier to find, and that efforts to improve general Internet resource 
discovery and retrieval are essential in the name of both knowledge and 
practical applications.  I would agree.

Nevertheless, it may be equally fair to say that the world of electronic 
information, just like the world of information in other media, is very 
uneven: now junk and gem are both just a click away.

One thing that libraries can do is to extend collection development 
expertise more vigorously to include Internet resources.  The library 
community is able and, in some senses, more able than others (because of 
library standards, systems, and practices and decades of experience) to add 
value to the Internet by creating, sharing, and providing ready access to 
"library quality subset[s]."

 --Erik

Erik Jul
jul at oclc.org