Analysis of Collection Development Policies for Electronic Resources at Selected Academic Libraries in Ghana

Collection development policies have long been a cornerstone of library management, guiding the acquisition and maintenance of information resources. With the rise of electronic resources, libraries must adapt their collection development policies to effectively support the management of electronic resources. This study analyzed the collection development policies (CDPs) at selected public and private academic libraries in Ghana to determine the extent to which these policies addressed the electronic resources of the library. The findings revealed that all the CDPs analyzed did not adequately address e-collection development. Content was the most common criterion addressed in the CDPs of case libraries. However, evaluation criteria including access provision, cost-related factors, licensing matters, assessment, consortia, and responsible parties were not given the due recognition in the CDPs, which pointed to the fact that these CDPs lacked vital components necessary for effective electronic resource management.