Modern academic libraries are experiencing a paradigm shift from attempting to build self-sufficient collections to providing electronic access to information stored elsewhere. This shift challenges long-held assumptions about collection self-sufficiency. This assumption was tested by replicating the correlational analyses conducted by Paustian (1981) on data for Australian libraries. Inter-library borrowing statistics were correlated with collection size. A stronger positive correlation was observed in the later Australian data than Paustian had observed in the earlier American data. It is concluded that the concept of collection self-sufficiency is a fallacy, but that the information access paradigm is likely to co-exist with collection building for some time.
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