Transforming Acquisitions and Collection Services: Perspectives on Collaboration Within and Across Libraries. Michelle Flinchbaugh, Chuck Thomas, Rob Tench, Vicki Sipe, Robin Barnard Moskal, Lynda L. Aldana, and Erica A. Owusu, eds. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2019. 442p. $49.99 (ISBN 978-1-55753-845-1).

Abstract

The Charleston Library Conference is one of the most venerable annual gatherings in librarianship, and one of just a handful whose focus is primarily on issues revolving around collection development. This specific monograph, which is also available electronically in an open access format, is one of at least nine titles that comprise the series Charleston Insights in Library, Archival, and Information Sciences. This volume, as indicated by the title, focuses broadly on change within two areas—Acquisitions and Collection Services—about whose inner workings many public services librarians know little. Not surprisingly, the introduction to the text states explicitly that the primary audience of the text as “library directors, technical services managers, and managers handling acquisitions and collections” (xiii). While it is true that this work relies to some extent upon the reader’s a posteriori knowledge of the world often referred to collectively as Technical Services, and that it is also true that there are variations in quality from chapter to chapter, these case studies offer useful insights to both their intended audience and all those impacted by the critical work done there.