This article takes a broad view on the evolution of collection development in public university libraries in Nigeria. The authors looked at the changing dynamics of library information resources collections from clay tablet to papyrus sheet, and to prints such as books, journals and presently, the electronic collections which serve as basis for library consortia. The article also examined some factors such as civilisation, funding, and technology which have affected the evolution of collection development in the past two decades and how these developments have affected the academic library environments in Nigeria. The article examined the ‘’change’’ in collection development in Nigeria university libraries. How inadequate funding and the advent of information technology revolutionised the practice of librarianship particularly with how collection development has gradually been evolving into collection management: a broader term covering the whole range of activities involved in managing access to information resources. Findings from the study shows there is hope for strategic management and room for excellence in collection development management through interlibrary loans and consortia, as no library could acquire all the needed information resources

Keywords: University libraries, collaboration, collection development, strategic management.