Building an Electronic Resource Collection

Despite increasing library expenditure on large electronic resources or datasets, very little help is available to those involved in acquiring them. Information and library professionals involved with collection development must confront the challenge of how to make informed decisions in the face of the bewildering array of electronic resources available. This practical book addresses the situation by guiding the information professional step-by-step through building and managing an electronic resource collection. It outlines the range of electronic products available in abstracting and indexing, bibliographic and other services - such as OCLC products, Web of Science and e-journals - and then describes how to effectively select, evaluate and purchase them. Insights are given into e-collection planning and budgeting implications, and a system is proposed for coping with this increasingly important area. The case studies and models used are fully international in their application.