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The article discusses the results of the Academic Library Collection Development Survey, conducted by "Library Journal's" research department and sponsored by EBSCO, among academic librarians in the U.S. Findings include the percentage of academic library materials budgets that go to database subscriptions and electronic reference materials, the preference of academic librarians for electronic books (ebooks) over print for books, and the single biggest challenge for collection development.

The article focuses on the future of academic libraries. Particular attention is given to the assertion that libraries' collection size and staff will decrease and funding will be redirected from libraries to more important areas of the university. Article topics include challenges for research institutions and the importance of the library as society moves towards more individualized forms of instruction. INSET: Survey Findings.

The article discusses academic libraries' use of altmetrics to aid in decision making regarding collection development. Topics discussed include researchers' use of altmetrics to assess the importance of individual papers in the academic publishing landscape, workshops being offered by the Scholarly Commons at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's (UIUC) library about altmetrics and other bibliometrics, and the launch of platforms to support the analysis of altmetric data.

This article focuses on the concept of bionic libraries. The growing distance between the quantity of literature produced and the capability of academic libraries to acquire it affirms that the battle for collection comprehensiveness has already been lost. To some scholars, the concept of an electronic library is paradigm at hand; to others, it is absolutely frightening. During the past 15 years, information resources have been illuminated by our networked utilities so that access to millions of titles is rapidly available to our information nets. But this access is chiefly biographic, not textual. Technology offers not only improved access but new means of delivery and presentation. Using the simple commands of a Hyperfile transfer protocol system, one can bring image and full-text files over the Internet to one's desktop. Information flow is becoming increasingly complex, the process consists of the creation of information by authors, publishers, sponsors, composers, artists, and a host of others. The dynamics of information flow and its technology may be of less significance in solving the information crisis than its economics. It is important to identify the agencies involved, identify the currency of exchange and most importantly identify the exchange points where resource transactions are made to propel information through the flow. Appropriate consideration must be given to intellectual property rights, not only to compensate the rights holder and protect the integrity of work, but to promote scholarship and knowledge. The foundations of copyright and the publishing process are at issue here.

The article focuses on the professional achievements of Bonnie Tijerina, a digital collections services librarian at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Library.

The article reports that Tulane University and its vendor Library Associates Company (LAC) celebrated the return of materials to the Howard Tilton Memorial Library shelves. The shelves were restored by the Tulane Libraries Recovery Center (TLRC), which was a project team established to recover collections damaged after Hurricane Katrina.

The article presents the decision of the University Library and the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to join the Open Content Alliance. University librarian Sarah C. Michalak discusses the potential to digitalize manuscript materials focusing on southern history.

Reports on the fund-raising efforts of Trinity College in San Antonio, Texas to double its book collections to more than 600,000 volumes by the end of the 1980s. Grant provided by the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities to the college; Subject areas for which books have to be purchased; Number of volumes in the college's library as of May 1983; Historical background of the college and its library.

The article reports on a temporary collections budget cut at the University of Wyoming (UW) Libraries, Laramie, Wyoming. The 50 percent budget cut means that the library is only buying books critical for teaching and research. Commentary from dean of libraries Maggie Farrell on the $4.3 million cuts is included.

The article announces the collaboration on collection development between two academic libraries, Columbia University in New York, New York, and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation donated $385,000 to the collaboration, called 2CUL. Cornell's university librarian Anne Kenney talks about the aims of the program.

The article reports that "Resources for College Libraries: Career Resources," a collection development tool, has been launched by Choice and R. R. Bowker. The product is available in print and online. The collection contains core titles from 57 different career-related subjects including engineering and graphic arts.

This article discusses the Library Express system from LexisNexis Group, a subsidiary of Reed Elsevier PLC, to provide a public library user centered platform for newspaper and business content. Library Express includes Company Dossier, a product designed for entrepreneurs and other business users of public libraries. The announcement of a product called Statistical DataSets, which provides students and academics access to combined statistical data presented numerically and visually is noted.

The article reports that Springer Science+Business Media is supplying members of Canada's Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) with a complete Springer eBook Collection 2005-2008. Springer indicated that the deal will result in over 12,000 titles available for students and faculty. The digital collection consists of textbooks, monographs, reference works, handbooks, and encyclopedias.

Reports that because the economy is in a slump, colleges and universities in the U.S. face fiscal uncertainty and library directors are bracing for the worst. Budget cuts that Virginia Governor Mark Warner announced; Effects of the Virginia budget cuts at the University of Virginia library; Remarks from librarians about the fiscal crisis; Effects of budget cuts at the libraries at the University of Missouri-Kansas City; Decline in college and university endowments; Budget reductions at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire; Worries that college and university librarians have about long-term effects, including on collections, digitization efforts, and interlibrary loans; Comparison of libraries with other state agencies.

Tells that a collection of the works of the late author James Michener was dedicated at the library of the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) at Greeley in September 1998. What the collection is comprised of, such maps and notebooks he assembled for each novel; The donation Michener made to the school just prior to his death in October, 1997; His history at UNC.

Editorial. Discusses the difficulties and problems related to the selection of scholarly journals for academic libraries. Immediate and long-term needs serve by scholarly collections; Support to the results of the study concerning book selection; Importance of stringent selection of books in maintaining the quality of collections in academic libraries.

Reports on a move by the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, to increase its budget for book and serial buying by more than 50 percent. Creation of a salary pool to improve the salaries of USC librarians; Increase in the budget for student support staff; Library technologies that the university is in the process of acquiring.