Librarians are inherently disadvantaged in collecting for professional programs as they often approach this responsibility as an outsider. Standard selection tools (Resources for College Libraries, Books in Print, Choice, Ulrich’s) largely ignore materials that support these programs, such as technical reports, digital image databases, government documents, sacred literature, conference proceedings, theses and dissertations, and textbooks. Furthermore, library materials for professional programs include both core titles in the discipline as well as very current materials for certification or testing requirements. Recent collection management texts cover many of the issues contained herein (conspectus method, deselection, collection development policies), but tend to be light on selection tools for the librarian charged with building in these areas. Acquisitions Librarian (now Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship) published a series of subject-specific collection development articles in 2004, which were incorporated into the monograph, Selecting Materials for Library Collections (Haworth Information, 2004). Although the theoretical content holds and selection tools are still used, some descriptions in this book are outdated. The chapter on nursing refers to the Brandon-Hill lists and E-streams for nursing, neither of which is being maintained. The ALCTS Sudden Selector’s guides are limited in subject coverage, to date addressing biology, chemistry, business, and communications. Library Collection Development for Professional Programs, therefore, is a welcome guide for students of library and information science, new librarians, or those with new selection responsibilities for professional programs.

The disciplines profiled include both undergraduate and postgraduate programs: business, design, teacher education, engineering, nursing and allied health, law, library science, theology, and veterinary medicine. The chapter on bioinformatics outlines the process of developing collection guidelines for an evolving discipline, and can be applied to any emerging area of study. Interdisciplinary studies is included, as these programs have proliferated in recent years and are now “career-oriented and … structured similarly to professional programs” (164).

A book of contributed chapters can be uneven in content and suffer from repetition, especially in discussion of the common themes of budgets, marketing, deselection, and collection development policies. While there is some necessary overlap, these fundamental topics are covered in various depths and address needs specific to the discipline. Several touch on the importance of deselection as part of collection development, and the text also includes two chapters of case studies on weeding projects that are applicable to any discipline. The meat of each chapter, however, are the selection tools. Most chapters provide lists of core books, journals, and databases in the discipline, as well as resources for identifying additional titles from accrediting agencies, professional societies, discipline-specific publishers, review services, and electronic discussion lists. Some chapter authors provide lists of relevant Library of Congress call number ranges to assist collectors in identifying related materials in cross-disciplinary topics. Free and open access sources are included.

All chapters are written by practicing librarians, and chapters progress from the broad to the specific. With the premise that “good collection management is transferrable from position to position” (xviii), chapter 1 is “Five Steps to Efficient, Economical Collection Development”; the following chapter covers approval plans with content provided by Ingram. The final eight chapters of the book focus on case studies, projects, and surveys from university libraries. The book includes “bird’s eye views” of several disciplines and collecting for professional subfields. Each chapter is in article format, beginning with an abstract, introduction, and background of the discipline, and concluding with future directions in acquisitions for the discipline, a conclusion, and references. Some chapters also include further reading, which can help librarians build their selection acumen as well as provide reference sources relevant to the discipline.

Readers will find some content of limited value. “Developing a Juvenile Literature Collection in an Academic Library,” for example, recommends the Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites as two free selection sites, with appropriate cautions regarding reviews. While perhaps intending to allay concerns over using these popular sites, a short list of the salient children’s literature websites would have been more useful; there are many such sites that vary in usability, mission, and content, and readers would benefit from the recommendation of an experienced user. The nursing chapter devotes a section to the definition of a collection development policy. It also identifies basic collection development texts, but unfortunately excludes current editions.

Some editing decisions detract from the content. Each chapter includes a list of key terms and definitions, which is helpful but quirky, as these short lists include both general library terms and terms relevant to the professional program covered. The glossary for allied health programs, for example, includes H1N1, point of care tool, MSRA, Carnegie Classification, and embargo. While the definitions are helpful, it would make more sense to have a single compiled glossary at the back of the text, as is done with the references from each chapter. Additionally, the index is inconsistent and incomplete; some, but not all, of the terms included in chapter glossaries are indexed. For instance, gifts are mentioned in three chapters (one at length), but this subject is not indexed as gifts, donations, or material donations. Some terms are incompletely indexed: patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) has several index entries, but inexplicably omits the PDA discussion in chapter 9. Another weakness concerns the graphics. Many screenshots are difficult to read, containing blurred or small print, which renders them nearly illegible.

These shortcomings make the text slightly more difficult to use, but do not make it any less valuable. Content is current as evidenced by chapter citations and relatively recent publishing events (EBSCO’s purchase of H.W. Wilson, for example). Aspects of technical subjects are clearly explained and assume no prior knowledge of the discipline. Importantly, librarians with selection responsibilities for other academic and professional programs will be able to extrapolate much of the information to their own areas. This is a welcome and much-needed text for academic librarians with collection responsibilities for professional programs.