The collection development policy is intended to communicate the library’s collection goals and policies for the collection to the library community. Policies for the archives and special collections are available separately. The Munday Library serves the students, faculty, and staff of a teaching and research university. The guiding principle of the library’s collection is the support of the academic curriculum. Collection development – providing the best, most relevant resources – is part of that mission.
Resources Collected
The primary goal of the library’s collection is to support teaching, learning, and research. Electronic resources make up the bulk of academic support through acquisition and maintenance of both perpetual and subscription based ebooks, journals, and streaming media. When possible, the library selects concurrent, multi-user licenses for ebooks. Some items may be purchased as single user ebooks due to publisher availability, cost, and currency of the content to meet curricular needs. Electronic resources make the library collection accessible to patrons both in the library and elsewhere on or off campus. Materials such as journals and encyclopedias are better suited to electronic formats, but many others are either not available electronically or are more appropriate in print formats. As such, the library continues to acquire print resources where appropriate. The materials that the library collects are complementary to the materials used for classroom instruction and are not intended to replace classroom materials. While some library electronic resources may be suitable for use in a classroom (e.g. concurrent, multi-user ebooks, journal articles), textbooks and other instructional materials are outside the scope of the library’s collection.
A secondary goal of the library’s collection is to enrich the reading lives of the St. Edward’s community. In addition to academic resources, books and audiobooks suitable for general interest and leisure reading are made available through the library’s print and electronic collections.
Selection Criteria for Monographs
General considerations for the selection of monographs include:
- Appropriateness – Should support the curricular needs of the students and faculty
- Level – Should be written primarily for an undergraduate community and additional resources written to support graduate programs
- Currency and accuracy of the information
- Scope and depth of coverage
- Availability of other resources on the subject in the library and in other area libraries
- Suitability of content to form
- Critical Reviews – Choice, Chronicle of Higher Education, Library Journal, and Books in Print among others are consulted when considering new library materials for the collection.
- Language – English will predominate within nearly all areas except where foreign language instruction is part of the curriculum. Resources in languages currently taught at the University will be considered; resources collected in these languages will be at a basic reading level.
Selection Criteria for Journals
As costs associated with journal subscriptions rise every year, all electronic journal subscriptions that are not part of aggregated databases are subject to annual review. A limited number of general interest and popular magazines and newspapers are purchased for recreational reading while in the library. All scholarly journals are provided electronically.
Factors used to determine the selection, continuation, or cancellation of journal titles include:
- Use
- Importance of the title to the discipline, as determined by metrics like the number of times a journal is cited and requirements for accreditation
- Relevance of the content to the library’s collection and university’s curriculum
- Accessibility of the content via indexing
- Cost and cost-history of a title
Journals are available electronically through aggregated databases, which is subject to change according to the terms governing the library’s access to the content licenses. Access to some individual journal titles may change depending on the contractual agreements between the publishers and aggregators, thus individual libraries do not always have control over access to some electronic publications. If a journal title becomes unavailable through an aggregated database, the library will consider purchasing online access directly from the publisher. New journal titles are considered ‘on probation’ for a period of two subscription years. At the end of that time the title will be evaluated and either continued or cancelled on the basis of use.
Evaluation Criteria for Electronic Databases
Access to databases may be leased on an individual basis by the library, received as part of state grants or funding, or arranged through a consortial agreement.
Criteria used to determine the library’s licensing, continuation, or cancellation of a database include:
- Usage based on COUNTER metrics where available
- Scope of the library’s collection
- Type and method of access to the intellectual content of the database
- Reliability and usability of the database’s functionality
- Cost to the library for access
- Availability of usage statistics for evaluation purposes
Gifts and Donations
The library may accept small gifts of up to thirty volumes if the materials meet the needs of the collection. Larger gifts must be approved by the library director. Gifts of periodicals are not accepted. Multimedia donations are generally not accepted. Exceptions must be approved by the Library Director and Collection Management Librarian.
Gifts are accepted according to the following stipulations:
- All gifts are final. By the act of donation, the donor permanently relinquishes all rights to ownership and dispensation.
- The library reserves the right to dispose of gifts to its best advantage.
Donated print books may be added to the collection if they meet the following criteria:
- Need for the book’s subject matter has been identified
- Recently published (within the last five years) or a foundational text that strengthens the overall collection
- In good condition: clean, intact pages and cover, no writing, stains, water damage, etc.
In accordance with the donor’s wishes, book plates or other labels can be affixed to selected items showing the donor’s name and, if applicable, the person or cause in whose honor or memory the gift was made.
In accordance with IRS regulations, the library cannot appraise gifts for tax purposes. As part of the donation process the donor may request documentation of the date of the gift, the number of titles, and the format(s) of the gift.
Gifts of rare or valuable materials or special collections of scholarly importance that are in keeping with the scope of the library’s special collections are welcomed. If physical items are appropriate for donation to the University Archives and Special Collections, please consult with the archivist. The archives donation policy can be found here.The acceptance of such special gifts is at the discretion of the archivist and the library director.
Gifts of money to be used for the purchase of library resources are welcomed. Donors considering such gifts should consult with the library director.
Items we do not accept include:
- Magazines
- DVDs, CDs or other outdated media
- Materials the library already owns
- Unsolicited drop-off donations
Collection Management
As a small college library, it is not part of our mission to keep resources in perpetuity. Instead, we support current curriculum and limited research needs. As part of this mission, the library staff engages in collection management. This includes the withdrawal of outdated or infrequently used resources, and the addition of additional copies or expanded licensing of highly-used resources.
General Criteria for De-Selection
Due to the limited shelf space for the print collection and in order to maintain a relevant and useful collection, materials will be reviewed annually for possible withdrawal from the collection. If an item is 20 years old or older and has not circulated in the past 5 years, it may be removed from the collection unless a compelling reason to keep it is presented. Additionally, items will be removed from the collection for one or more of the following reasons:
Titles outside the collecting scope of the library Titles no longer relevant to current curricular or research needs and therefore not within the scope of the library’s current collection development policies may be removed from the collections or (in the case of subscriptions) canceled.
Redundancy Copies or editions of titles may be deselected to minimize redundancy of holdings. Individual titles containing information found elsewhere in the collection may also be deselected for this purpose.
Physical Condition Deteriorating books are evaluated for preservation and withdrawn if necessary. Replacement copies are sought as appropriate and available.
Lost items When items are categorized as lost, the library decides to replace them as warranted.
Review Process for Items Proposed for Deaccessioning
Except for resources superseded by later editions, all items proposed for deaccessioning will be reviewed by library staff and relevant faculty members. Lists of resources identified for possible removal from the collection will be made available electronically to the faculty. Faculty and staff will be asked to comment within a set period of time on the items chosen for deselection. The Collection Management Librarian will compile the responses and the Library Director will make final decisions on the disposition of items.