Collection development is one of those library tasks that takes place behind the scenes, infrequently noticed by faculty and rarely noticed by students at all. Hidden or not, collection development is essential to an academic or health sciences library. In this well-written book, Kendall (Michigan State Univ. Libraries) has assembled contributions from 20 librarians experienced in collection development. Chapters cover everything a librarian should know about the process, including general management, budget, policy development, collaborative and consortium purchases, assessment, weeding, and more. Of special interest are the real-life scenarios written by librarians from a variety of institutions who are actively involved with collection development. The projects undertaken by these libraries include developing a medical library from the ground up, major weeding projects, creating a hospital library consortium for online journal purchases, and several other topics. This text would be an excellent resource for a new health sciences librarian tasked with collection development, and would also provide a refresher for a seasoned veteran looking at best practices.Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and professionals.