This examination of the past and present states of collection development in the research library covers background information, theories, and associated problems. A historical review of methods that have been and are currently being used for collection development includes discussions of the changes imposed by World War II on the practice of university faculty guiding collection development; the shifting of research patterns from traditional academic and retrospective research to use of very current information and scholarship with practical utility; problems resulting from federal funding cutbacks in the 1970s and the escalating price of library materials (especially in the heavily funded research areas of science and engineering); important factors for librarians--who are now primarily responsible for collection development--to consider in formulating a collection development policy; the development of library networks; the current question of library versus faculty-controlled selection; and possible solutions to the problems of library-controlled collection development. A 13-item bibliography is included. (THC)