Disruption and Disintermediation

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature of collection development and management from 2009 and 2010. Themes and trends reflect the profound effect of environmental forces on libraries, including the economic recession, changes in scholarly communication, and an increasingly networked environment. Libraries reduced print collections and moved them to storage or shared repositories and assessed collections to find efficiencies and demonstrate value. Research libraries moved away from collecting everything toward mission-focused collecting, with an emphasis on unique collections. Collaboration across libraries, within institutions, and with nonlibrary partners continued as a key management strategy. Libraries shifted from a just-in-case to a just-in-time approach to collection development, and subject specialists identified new areas of responsibility, such as data curation.