Growing concern on behalf of the Cornell Libraries administration about the lack of a central plan for library collection development at Cornell resulted in a study of the collection development function at Cornell, and the product of that study is this comprehensive proposal for a university-wide library collection and information resource planning program. The role and mission of the university's library system, the evolution of that system, and the function of the library system as part of the university information resource network are discussed in detail, the objectives of a collection development plan are outlined, and collection development responsibilities are defined. An organizational structure for collection development at Cornell is proposed, and among the adminstrative and budgetary aspects of the plan presented are the budget process, accounting and fund control, and book fund allocations. The relationship of collection management to collection development is also addressed. Accompanying and illustrating the text are three charts, eight tables, and one figure. The appendices include a list of definitions, a 37-item bibliography on the allocation of book funds in academic libraries, and a list of data collected during the Cornell Collection Management and Development Project. (JL)