Collections Development Policy 2018
Summary Document
Purpose
The Collection Development Policy enables the Library to:
- Work actively and closely with academic departments and research centres to ensure that their current and future interest areas are known and taken into account
- Provide development and support funding to areas which have been accepted as institutional priorities
- Manage effectively the considerations and constraints of available space, and the need for access to resources, through alternative means of provision
The Policy will be reviewed regularly to respond to changes in institutional priorities and circumstances.
Overall Policy
The Library aims to support taught courses from within its own resources and support research through a mixture of holdings and alternative methods of enabling access to resources, such as document supply.
Acquisition of material and management of the Library's collections are guided by and prioritised according to current and known future teaching and research interests that have been specified by Departments and Centres in their Development Plans and supported by the University’s mission statement and overall development priorities.
Seminal works in other areas may be acquired, but the Library does not aim to build a balanced collection covering all areas of knowledge.
Selection and Management of the Collections
The Library is responsible for the development and management of the collections. Academic Support Librarians and other staff work with Departments to determine priorities in line with this Collection Development Policy. They decide which material should be acquired, the most suitable methods of delivery, number of copies purchased, and movement between locations and categories. The degree of involvement of individual Departments in actual selection of stock is determined by the Department and the Academic Support Librarian and varies between Departments. Ordering criteria developed by the Academic Support Librarians and the use of reading lists is core to the selection of stock.
The Library will, in consultation with users and in accordance with the policies and guidelines set out in this document, determine the optimum method of access to information resources. This will depend on availability, cost and relevance.
The Library has a finite amount of space for materials, study places and facilities. To continue to acquire material in support of user requirements and keep in-demand works easily accessible, the Library will assign stock to, and move it between, appropriate locations and categories of availability. It will also work according to agreed mechanisms and guidelines whereby unused works - e.g., those without scholarly or intrinsic value - can be withdrawn, and works no longer relevant to this University but of use to others can suitably be dealt with.
Intellectual Freedom and Censorship
The Library acquires materials to facilitate teaching learning and research at the University. In doing so it supports the principles of universal access to information and intellectual freedom. The Library does not exclude materials because of the ideas or opinions expressed within the content. The presence of any particular material within the Library's collections does not imply its endorsement of the ideas or opinions expressed within the content.