Book excerpt: If the heart of the library is its collection, this textbook provides the keys to the heart of your library. Alongside standards of basic principles and processes, you'll find practical guidance on everything from acquisitions to preservation. Managing collections in today's libraries is more complicated and challenging than ever. Electronic formats, new options for collaboration and sharing, and the drive to use data for evaluation purposes are just a few of the changes now driving collection management. This updated edition of a classic text addresses changes in the field and provides a thorough overview of what collection development specialists now need to know to effectively and efficiently manage processes that range from selection and assessment to sharing resources, handling challenges, weeding, and preservation. Readers will find increased coverage of technical services, intellectual freedom and censorship, and collection policy development, as well as budget development and tracking, joint purchasing, and negotiating with vendors. Updates on e-resources, user needs assessment (including data visualization), and disaster management, along with suggestions for further reading, are also included. Engagingly written and easy to understand, this is a valuable text for students preparing for careers in public, academic, school, and special libraries. It will additionally serve as a training resource and professional refresher for practitioners.