Collection Development and the Historical Record: Are We Forgetting Monographs as Primary Sources?

摘要

Contemporary academic libraries' collection development practices are influenced by limited space, complicated access models, and shrinking budgets that are competing for interests in print and electronic, and other outside forces. Librarians responsible for collections make tough decisions that unintentionally threaten to change how academic libraries build and curate collections for longevity. Much of today's discussion deals with immediate problems and offers few considerations about how these collection decisions will affect the availability and potentially the existence of historical evidence. Among the issues highlighted in this commentary are definitions of primary sources, researchers-used historical materials, and solutions for the identified problems.