Abstract: Mary F. Casserly, "Collection Management as Risk Management," Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services 28 (2004): 79-92.

This paper identifies some of the risks to library values, as well as to scholarly communication and the information marketplace that those in collection development must interact with. Casserly identifies two main sources of challenges to library primacy:

1. changing constituent needs and expectations: evidence that a change has occurred, but unclear if any patterns have emerged in the information seeking patterns of researchers; and
   
2. competition from emerging information services: external products and information services, internal competition from Blackboard and other course management software that can manage course reserve materials, but most important competition coming from the World Wide Web, which not only responds to information needs, but has literally reached into every aspect of life in the 21st century.

To help better understand the changing needs of students and faculty, the author identifies some steps that can be taken. These include:

• Talk to faculty about materials for teaching needs
• Identify user needs using assessment tools like LibQUAL+
• Do environmental scanning of external and internal forces acting upon collection development practices, budgets, etc.
• Make sure to market library services to users
• Enhance collections by improving access channels to them
• Hire employees that are adaptable to change, and focus professional development on the changing educational environment.

Another way to understand the risks of collection development is to understand the market for information resources:

• Actual collection use
• publisher and vendor mergers limiting access to purchasing avenues
• vagaries of intellectual property and copyright laws
• subscription-for-access resource changes, unplanned additions and deletions
• growth of library system and consortial acquisitions taking purchasing power away from individual collection managers.

It is clear that Casserly has identified a number of possible risks involved in the world of library collection developments. But more importantly, she tries to propose some solutions for these risks. Perhaps it would be interesting to read more about how following some of these recommendations is affecting collections management in libraries.