ABSTRACT
The use of collection development policy statements has long been a standard practice in all types of libraries. The American Library Association (ALA) defines collection policy statements as documents that define the scope of a library’s existing collections, plan for the further development of resources, identify the strengths of collections, and describe the institution’s selection philosophy, goals, and criteria.1 The Collection Development Policies Committee of the Collection Development and Evaluation Section of the Reference and Adult Services Division (now the Reference and User Services Association) of ALA describes collection statements as “essential requisites to effective access and quality in collections developed and managed to support libraries’ mission.”2
