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Collection Development In The Humanities And Social Sciences In A Transitional Age: Deaccession Of Print Items, David E. Woolwine

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

A literature review of user preferences, research habits and needs, and citation studies are used to argue that deaccession of print titles in the humanities and social sciences in academic libraries should occur in a conservative fashion as libraries transition to greater digital holdings. The issue of retention of translations is given special emphasis. The centrality of engaged research for undergraduate education makes the retention, at present, of both a rich print and digital collection necessary as the distinction between a collection geared toward faculty research and one for undergraduate research becomes less important.