A Collection development policy for Avance International University Library

Abstract

The project aim was to design a Collection Development Policy for Avance International University Library to ease their collection development activities and hence help the library to overcome the challenge of inadequate information resources. The project objectives were to; examine the current collection development procedures at AIU library, find out challenges affecting collection development, establish the need for a collection development policy at AIU library and to design a collection development policy for AIU Library. The project was purely qualitative and targeted a population of 53 respondents from which 36 individuals were chosen to provide information during data collection. The 36 respondents comprised of 3 library staff and 33 library users at AIU Library. The library staff was directly engaged through interviews. The library users on the other hand, were selected randomly and engaged using questionnaires. The study also used document review and observation methods to establish other deeper facts about the study. The project found out that Avance International University Library managed a vast collection of information resources which included; text books, manuals, guides, year books, directories, dictionaries, newspapers, magazines, databases, e-books, and e-journals. The project also found out that these were acquired through purchase, gifts or donations. Collection development in Avance International University Library involves selection, acquisition and evaluation of library resources. The library holds information materials that are both in print and non-print format. The study findings show that the challenges of collection development at Avance International University Library are mainly caused by; limited space, limited library budget and lack of a Collection Development Policy. The project concluded that the Avance International University Library lacked a functioning collection development policy that could be followed during the selection and acquisition of information resources and thus recommended the implementation of the designed CDP for AIU library. The project further recommended that AIU Library should also be expanded in order to create more room for information materials, circulation activities as well as provide enough reading space for Library users.