Library and Information Science

It is doubtful whether adequate attention has been paid to book selection in Japanese libraries. Proper selection of materials for the development of the collection when publishers’ output is increasing at an astonishing rate occupies uncomparably important place at present. The value of a library largely depends upon the way in which the stored materials have been selected. Book selection precedes all other library procedures and activities. Without well-organized collection kept up-to-date by both acquiring necessary materials and eliminating the unnecessary, it is difficult to achieve the effective library service.

One of the most important factors to affect the book selection policy is the demand of clientele for materials, but the selection cannot be reduced to the physical supply of materials to meet the demand. The writer, therefore, tries to discuss various factors having influence upon the book selection practice. In any library the following factors may be worth due consideration: (i) the kind and purpose of the library and the community it serves; (ii) needs and desires of individuals; (iii) the size and the characteristics of the existing collection; (iv) the individual material’s potentiality to fu1則various users’ demands; (v) shelving space and the availability of the resources of nearby libraries; (vi) available funds for purchasing library materials; and (vii) the intellectual faculty and ability of those responsible for or related to the book selection.

All these factors are, of course, overlapping and not mutually exclusive. Many obstructions can be eliminated by the effective use of suitable bibliographical aids, even when the aids cannot necessarily meet each specific demand or search.

It is discussed, too, that the desirability of establishing a selection system wholly responsible for the examination and realization of selection policy based on the factors above-mentioned.