What Do Librarians Do? They Buy Books!

Discusses the professional responsibilities of librarians in acquiring books for library collections. Thoughts on how the decisions of some librarians may be affected by the opinions of library users; Challenges facing academic librarians who may be pressured by faculty to purchase certain publications; The impact of Phil Donahue and Oprah Winfrey on library acquisitions decisions; Reflection on the expertise of librarians in purchasing books in public and academic libraries; Argument that librarians must be able to define and explain the purpose of the library in order to build a collection for it.