Skillfully acquisitions and collection development plays a key role in creating exceptional libraries. This blueprint for a collection-development training program can be easily adapted to meet the collection management goals and organizational structures found in libraries of all types and sizes. Outlines for training are given in these areas, among many others: collection and development policies; selection and review processes; weeding and deselection; and navigating electronic networks. The guide divides training into three skill levels, supplies a curriculum framework matched to collection duties, and identifies competencies achievable after training.

pt. I: Introduction. Purpose of the guide ; Audience for the guide ; Collection development assumptions ; Adult training assumptions ; Organization of the guide -- pt. II: Training modules. Ethical, legal, and cultural considerations ; Planning ; Collection development policies ; Selection and review process ; Approval profiles ; Budget process ; Library department operations ; Marketing, outreach, and communications with constituencies ; Selector's knowledge base ; Navigating the network or electronic resources for collection management and development ; Overview of collection assessments and evaluations ; Deselection/weeding ; Conservation/preservation ; Fund-raising and donor relations -- Appendixes. Planning worksheet ; Checklist for collection management and development training ; Selector's knowledge base: an assessment ; Faculty profile ; Public library profile.