INFORMATION RESOURCES - SELECTION PRINCIPLES:

Selection of materials for a library requires sagacity, adroitness and attention to people's needs for everything from books and periodicals to films  and recordings. The type of library is a major factor that influences selection. As a good selection you should have a substantial  tolerance and flexible attitude to enable you to the varied needs of the users. You must be capable of telling dispassionately what is the best, and why, and for whom. At the same time, you should also be aware about  your resources - budget, manpower, space, etc. - and the constraints they would bring in. Selection of reading materials A both an art and a science. The principles of selection are important and should be given due aright, but the needs of the users served must be catered to. Public libraries are known for their diversity as each one of them is to serve its own community.  Selection priorities, therefore, do differ from library to library. Nevertheless a public library should cater to such material as provides information on social and cultural matters and on the daily needs of life. Academic libraries have an advantage over public libraries. Their clientele is homogeneous. They exist to support and promote the educational programmes of the institution with which each one of them is attached. The selection should cater to the curricular, cocurricular, and research needs of the respective institutions. Special libraries are for specialised users, having collections of specialised material to support the research  prograrnmes of their parent organisations. They usually buildup a collection of current literature comprising periodicals, government publications, reports, standards, patents, reviews, advances, handbooks, manuals, data books, etc. Therefore, different selection principles  have been  enunciated by librarians and/or information professionals. Some of these are discussed in the succeeding subsections.