Toward a theory of collection development: an activities and attributes approach

摘要

This paper presents results of a study of corporate library selection activity performed to support four global corporations. The firms examined are involved in providing communication, knowledge in its different forms, and computing. Using these results, this paper synthesizes literature on selection and collection development to present an approach to developing an eventual theory of collection development. Using this approach, such a theory would predict the performance of selection activity; the operation of its attributes, such as its cost, centralization, and formalization; and the operation of other collection development activities. Concurrently, it would explain these predictions using dynamics such as the need to include specified ideas within selected content, the need to cope with selector's abilities to choose vast amounts of content, the need to contain selection cost, and the need to gather material together so as to support browsing and its resulting impromptu development of ideas.