Documentary Policies and Collection Policies: Reason and Passion

To reduce the library to a solely documentary function, to make of the librarian a passive mediator for a conservatory whose contents he is indifferent to : these will be the dire consequences of an invasion of the library by the expedient of only furnishing documentary supply and be to the detriment of its functions for heritage, education and culture. From some theoretical reflections on the notion of the « collection », it is possible to redefine the missions of libraries and librarians in an environment in the midst of evolution, and to imagine a balance between documentary policies and collection policies.
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