The conference on Collection Development, Management and Evaluation, organized by the Croatian Library Association’s Commission for Library Acquisitions and Interlibrary Loan addresses a pressing issue in library acquisitions.
The event includes keynote lectures by experts in the field of librarianship related to the conference theme, professional presentations, examples of good practice, panel discussions, as well as open discussion and conclusions.
The central theme of the 6th Conference on Collection Development, Management and Evaluation in 2025 is Strategies for Library Collection Development.
Collection development is a key activity of every library, as it ensures that users have access to relevant, high-quality, and diverse materials. This process requires careful planning, an analysis of user needs, and ongoing evaluation and adaptation of the collection.
In this context, the conference will address the definition and significance of collection development—what it is and why it matters—as well as the objectives of collection development. It will cover the elements of a collection development strategy, including:
- analysis of user needs and interests,
- assessment of the existing collection,
- setting acquisition policies,
- selection and acquisition of materials,
- organization and processing of materials,
- weeding and deselection,
- collection evaluation and outcome measurement.
Further topics include:
- types of materials for library collections,
- acquisition methods,
- challenges in collection development (such as limited budgets, increasing volume and cost of materials, changes in user behavior, technological advances, copyright and licensing issues),
- new trends in collection development (digitization and open access),
- ethical issues (freedom of expression, censorship, diversity and inclusion, privacy).
This professional gathering brings together librarians, information science experts, researchers, and other relevant participants to foster discussion, knowledge-sharing, and the development of new approaches to library collection building.
Key goals include:
- Knowledge and experience sharing, education, and professional development
- Development of strategies and guidelines: The conference aims to encourage the development of strategies and guidelines that libraries can use to effectively build their collections. This includes: creating acquisition policies, standardizing procedures, and developing guidelines for building collections—with a focus on digital collections (e-books, databases, and other digital resources).
Enhancing user services: Improving library user services through better collection management. This includes understanding user needs, improving accessibility of collections for all users—including those with special needs—and enhancing overall service quality.