2.1 Purpose of the Collection Development Policy

The Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information's (CISTI) Collection Development Policy:

• Defines the framework for developing and managing the collection, thus assisting in determining priorities;
• Ensures that collection development is planned and occurs within the context of NRC-CISTI's mandate, vision, mission and strategic plan;
• Addresses the long-term needs of Canadians for scientific, technical and medical (STM) information, while supporting the short-term strategic priorities of NRC-CISTI and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC);
• Preserves the stability and continuity of the collection, thereby allowing NRC-CISTI to fulfill its mandate;
• Explains the nature and scope of the collection, and the principles upon which the collection is developed; and
• Serves as an information tool to plan for wider cooperation and resource sharing through partnerships, collaborations, alliances and consortia.

2.2 Definitions

The following terms are used in this Policy and are defined below.

2.2.1 Collection Development

"The process of planning and building a useful and balanced collection of library materials over a period of years, based on an ongoing assessment of the information needs of the library's clientele, analysis of usage statistics, and demographic projections, normally constrained by budgetary limitations. Collection development includes the formulation of selection criteria, planning for resource sharing, and replacement of lost and damaged items, as well as routine selection and deselection decisions." ODLIS - Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science (by following this link you will be leaving the NRC-CISTI web site).

2.2.2 Collection Maintenance

"Measures taken on a routine basis or as needed to preserve the materials in a library collection in usable condition, including mending, repairing, binding, rebinding, and reformatting." ODLIS - Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science (by following this link you will be leaving the NRC-CISTI web site).