The Acquisition of Scientific and Technological Material

of a library to its users is the result almost entirely of the acquisition policies, past and present, which have determined the nature and extent of its holdings. The development of a library acquisitions pro-gram which will insure a collection of materials in the field of science and technology adequate to meet the demands placed upon a library depends basically on the answer to such questions as: Who will use the collection? What materials are necessary to provide good service to these users? How can the materials be made available? Who will use the collection? No two library communities are so similar that a collection adjusted to the needs of one group will neces-sarily meet the demands of any other community. Each library bases its acquisitions program for scientific and technological literature on a rather thorough background knowledge about the particular people which it serves. An analysis of library clientele discloses the fact that users of scien-tific material may be grouped into at least five types: 1) intelligent laymen, individuals who attempt to keep abreast of current develop-ments which affect society; 2) amateurs, the untrained individuals who have made a hobby of certain phases of the field of science; 3) students, learners at various levels from elementary school to post-doctorate level; 4) applied scientists, the specialists who are inter-ested in using their knowledge of science and technology for a prac-tical purpose; 5) research workers, the individuals interested in scholarly research in pure or applied science. The relative proportion of each of these types of users in the community of a specific library will depend on such factors as type of library, location, size, and ade-quacy of collection. What scientific and technological material is necessary to provid