Abstract

Where do we go from here? Achieving goals of sustainable resource collections through a thorough collection assessment is evermore challenged by fallout and unknowns lurking ubiquitously. There is an ever‐increasing competition for both physical space and economic space. We’re at an important crossroads for collection development, collection assessment, and libraries themselves. Change and assessment must be sustainable. To be effective, change must create its own momentum. Three years into our collection assessment project, momentum has been steady and efforts continue. However, we’ve encountered fallout and unknowns which we hadn’t planned on, and these are of an institutional and political nature.

Share

COinS
 

A Crossroads for Collection Development and Assessment, Its Fallout, and Unknowns: Where Do We Go From Here?

Where do we go from here? Achieving goals of sustainable resource collections through a thorough collection assessment is evermore challenged by fallout and unknowns lurking ubiquitously. There is an ever‐increasing competition for both physical space and economic space. We’re at an important crossroads for collection development, collection assessment, and libraries themselves. Change and assessment must be sustainable. To be effective, change must create its own momentum. Three years into our collection assessment project, momentum has been steady and efforts continue. However, we’ve encountered fallout and unknowns which we hadn’t planned on, and these are of an institutional and political nature.