“How Do You Do That?” Theological & Religious Studies Collection Development

Abstract

The conversation group session was grounded in research conducted in December 2019 and January 2020 which investigated collection development trends of theological and religious studies librarians responsible for purchasing materials for their libraries located in the United States and Canada. After briefly introducing the details of how the research was conducted and key findings, the presenters facilitated guided discussion among attendees. Prior to the conference session, the presenters pre-populated a Padlet (an online, editable platform) with  questions to which small groups of conference attendees could respond. These questions centered on collection development practices and the platform created a space for attendee responses to “live” in perpetuity, functioning also as a snapshot of the collection development trends that conference attendees embody.