Testing Conspectus in university libraries

Round table confronting four experiences of collection development plans. The actions taken consisted, in three cases, of evaluation tests and implementing a plan in collaboration with a specialized institute. The problems raised concerned, first, the structure of Conspectus, which did not suit the French needs, above all in the case of law and geography, and then the lack of international reference bibliographies. The methodology of the collection development plans is interesting above all for acquisition evaluation. Their logic calls for a new acquisition policy, especially for the CADIST who aim to comprehensiveness. Meeting the demand could either be a priority, or modulated. Assessing a collection induces taking the retrospective dimension and the foreign languages cover rate into account. Conspectus looks like a good means of communication at the national and international levels. It must lie within a dynamic document policy held at a national scale. Locally, implementing a collection development plan has led to a real dialogue with the researchers and to a more valuable image of the library.
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