The University of Michigan library (UM) and the Eastern Michigan University Library may have some obvious similarities and differences with regards to their collection development policies particularly in the organizational set up and the strategic implementation of those policies.
Aside from being fully computerized, both libraries employed segregated strategic policies such as the campus wide access to the information resources and making affiliations with different digital library associations, which are designed to effectively implement collection policies and procedures. These provide a more convenient means for reviewing, sustaining, and obtaining digital information resources needed by the educational programs offered by both schools.
Both Universities however, have also differences particularly in their approaches to the collection development strategy. While the first priority of Eastern University of Michigan library is the acquirement of resources that will shore up the University’s curriculum especially the undergraduate programs and the high enrolment graduate program (Eastern Michigan University), the University of Michigan focuses on expanding its alliance with other digital libraries through its inter library loan facilities (Collection development Over view, U.M.). Furthermore, the UM library appear to have an organized structure that facilitates collection development activity, compared to the Easter Michigan library.
In view of this comparison, the contrast between these two libraries is minimal as both are concern on providing better services. Their collection development activities are geared towards these objectives. The contrast lies in the facilitation of the collection development policy in which the UM library employed a highly structural organization to facilitate its collection development policy which its counterpart, do not seemed to have.
Reference
Eastern Michigan University Library (2008) Collection Development Policy Essential
http://www.emich.edu/halle/collection_devleopment_policy_essentials.html
M Library University of Michigan (2007) Collection Development Overview
http://www.lib.umich.edu/collections/devp.html
