collection development anxiety

As I had mentioned in my last post, I am in the Collection Development and Management course. For this class, we were given the assignment to pick materials for an already existing collection with a budget of "$1,000."

When I first heard this was our job, it sounded simple enough: pick books that would best fit the libraries users. Little did I know that there is so much more than that to be aware of. I've been stressed out about picking the right books for this project. But I keep trying to remember this: there is no right or wrong book to pick. If you are choosing a book, there must be a reason as to why YOU chose it. If you can give a creative and thoughtful reasoning to a book, then it is "right." But this is probably the first time I've been able to do something like this where I am the one making the "rules." I feel that even though I'm worried about my choices and ideas not being fully developed, I am learning a lot about myself and how I work. I find myself having an easier time completing this project by doing a few things

1. Look at other collections
I have looked through other collections that are similar to the one I'm trying to build up. Now, after being told never to copy your colleges work, it did feel a little wrong at first to look at other collections. But that is what is beautiful about the Library World! We are all working together as librarians to be able to make the best resources and information available to library users. That is probably what I love most about the field. You can always have someone to turn to for advice and knowledge.

2. Book Reviews
This may seem like the obvious thing to do when trying to find a good book, but there is more to it than you think. With book review databases like Books in Print, you get to compare books through their reviews (or lack there of) and their content. Sometimes the best books that I've found are the ones without reviews, making the book choice that much more personal to me :)

3. You! The Librarian!
Yes, you! You are a librarian for a reason, you have some sort of eye for books and the content in them. Now is the time that you can apply that. Explore books that YOU feel are right. That is what you'll be hired for so why not start now?!

Well, after reading this, I feel that much more motivated to create a collection that I am proud of. That I will be able to put my name on and know that I made what I feel are the best additions to a collection.