From acquisitions to collection management: mere semantics or an expanded framework for libraries? Kanwal Ameen Department of LIS, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan Abstract Purpose – The literature on collection development largely discusses all kinds of managerial and practical issues. However, there appear to be gaps in LIS literature regarding tracing the semantic developments of the subject. The paper attempts to explore the relationship between the use of varying collection-related terminologies and ever-emerging forms of scholarly publishing in libraries. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive review of the available literature was made to illustrate the impact of the developments in both production and formats of information sources on libraries’ collection related patterns and expressions since the last quarter of the twentieth century. Findings – It was found that the related emerging terminology has been expanding rapidly because of the direct impact of the never-ending developments, though with different pace in different countries. The varying use pattern reflects the expansion in the aims and ways of functioning of a modern library. Originality/value – The paper falls in the category of “literature review” and provides an overview of the connection between developments in theory and practice of collection managing aspects. Keywords Collections management, Libraries, Semantics Paper type Literature review Introduction The shape of library collections has been undergoing massive transformation for more than three decades due to the speed of developments in the fields of information and communication technologies. Collecting and accessing recorded information sources – the fundamental functions of any library – have taken various forms and become a complex task in the rising hybrid library environment. Developments in the terminology and theory of collection related issues are concurring with this phenomenon. A great deal of literature is being produced on the subject at a global level. The aim of this paper is to trace the contemporary developments in the key concepts, terminology and their application through reviewing literature. Acquisition, selection, and collection development The history of libraries has shown that written records were created, acquired, organized, housed and preserved in the libraries of ancient times. The practice of acquiring them has been a core activity of any library; it is as old as the history of collections themselves. Scribes were also hired in temple and royal libraries to make multiple copies of manuscripts in order to build up collections until the invention of printing. What is acquisition? According to Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary (1983) the term acquisition means “to acquire, to obtain, and to get hold”. It can be simply defined in the contemporary library perspective as “to acquire selected books, serials and other sources by purchase, gift and exchange”. The aim of libraries has been to acquire the material through all possible means. A review of literature illustrates that various terms such as selection, acquisition, collection building, collection development (CD), and collection management (CM) have been deployed, interchangeably, to represent the acquisition activity of recorded knowledge sources in libraries. However, since the 1970s, different opinions emerged about their use as synonyms. The reason behind this has been the tremendous advancement in the information and communication technology that caused the evolution of the digital paradigm in the libraries. The term acquisition has been commonly used as to denote selection and collection building activities until the 1960s. After the Second World War, massive funds were made available to academic libraries in the USA and Europe to purchase books, journals and foreign publications to meet ever-expanding research needs. It resulted in the unprecedented growth in their collections. Beck (1979, p. 205) identified an interesting point in this regard as follows: Library budgets soared with so much additional money that selection took a back seat to other factors in order to expend the budget each fiscal year and The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0160-4953.htm Collection Building 25/2 (2006) 56–60 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0160-4953] [DOI 10.1108/01604950610658865] Received: 20 November 2005 Reviewed: December 2005 Accepted: January 2006 56