We are dedicated to building and stewarding collections that have the greatest impact on research, teaching, and learning at Columbia. Our collection choices and long-term stewardship plans are made with regard to the advancement of the mission and goals of Columbia University. Our collections are dynamic, responsive, and purposefully developed to realize the value of collections that have defined the our strengths in the past as well as resources that have been traditionally overlooked. Collections are being shaped and continually enriched in ways that advance access to heritage materials representing varied contours of knowledge and diversity of content.
Goals of Collection Development Policies & StrategiesThe policies and strategies outlined in this document, and those to which it links, provide structured principles for ensuring that (a) collections have the greatest impact on research, teaching, and learning; (b) the Libraries is fulfilling its role in the long-term stewardship of the resources in its vast and growing collections, and (c) the choices made with regard to collections acquisition and management reflect and advance the mission and goals of Columbia University and the Libraries. These overarching principles are put into context within each of the subject-specific collection development policies.
Questions about this set of policies, or any other matter relating to Columbia University Libraries' collecting practices, can be submitted to CST@library.columbia.edu.
History of the CollectionsFor an outline of Columbia University Libraries' rich history of building collections, please refer to History of the Collections.
Diversity in and of CollectionsThe properties and characteristics of all collections within the Libraries reflect the University‘s institutional mission over time, and we recognize that both general and special collections have conventionally been founded on, influenced by, and biased toward embedded cultural, societal, institutional, and educational norms.
Today, the Libraries‘ collections are dynamic, responsive, and purposefully developed to realize the value of collections that have defined the Libraries‘ strengths in the past as well as resources that have been traditionally overlooked. Collections are being shaped and continually enriched in ways that advance access to heritage materials representing varied contours of knowledge, diversity of content, diverse identities of creators, experiential diversity (including the creator's abilities and affinities), and cognitive diversity.
In order to successfully fulfill our service and stewardship mission, those who are charged with developing collections employ strategies for acquiring, describing, and managing resources that go beyond normative structures, collections types, and established canons. Our decisions are informed by new curricula developed to meet the needs of a more diverse student body, new and emerging areas of research being conducted by a broad spectrum of researchers, including graduate students and newly-hired faculty, as well as by perspectives from the diminished or entirely lost voices of historically oppressed, marginalized, and underserved populations and communities. We apply these strategies to the general library collections, to Distinctive Collections, and to disciplines and fields of practice established at Columbia University, such as web collecting and oral history, which were founded in part on these very values and principles.
Collections decisions (acquisition, location, retention, preservation, conservation, digitization, investment in open access) are evaluated against criteria that reflect the varied, evolving, and increasingly interdisciplinary curricula and research at Columbia. Decisions balance quantitative measures for assessment (cost per use; publication date; circulation and other usage data) with qualitative measures that integrate ethical and values-based considerations by librarians in order to promote preservation of and access to the widest range of cultural, scientific, and historical resources possible.
Columbia University Libraries' holdings contain some of the world's most remarkable and prominent collections of recorded knowledge. These Distinctive Collections encompass but extend far beyond traditional special collections to include resources in all formats, from objects that preserve some of the earliest forms of writing to modern archives and, increasingly, management of general collections, the values and principles represented apply as equally to building and evolving our Distinctive Collections.
Columbia's Distinctive Collections have been built over many decades; the commitment to them is enduring and marked by sustained resource investment (inclusive of investments in staff expertise, collection acquisition, processing, storage, and long-term stewardship). Primarily concentrated in Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Global Studies Division, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and C.V. Starr East Asian Library, the Libraries' Distinctive Collections acquire, preserve, and provide access to collections that significantly distinguish Columbia University from peer institutions. While critically and strategically important to Columbia's teaching and research strengths, the constituency for Distinctive Collections extends beyond campus to a global community of scholars.
In the context of Columbia University Libraries, the term "distinctive" is defined several ways:
1 A fundamental principal of archival management is the concept of respect des fonds: the original intellectual order of archival records that was imposed by its creator should be preserved because those records are the product of human activity, decisions, power structures, etc. and, as a result, the parts of an archive (e.g., individual files) are authenticated by their relationships to the larger archive. The implication is that archives are more than random assemblages of discrete items, but rather interrelated pieces of an intellectual whole.
Responsibilities of Librarians & CuratorsWith their own deep discipline and subject area expertise, Columbia University Libraries' librarians and curators build research collections in a wide array of formats in support of the work of students, faculty, and researchers. Through relationships with the University's academic departments, librarians and curators understand fields of study and teaching, research specialties, and current curricular needs of the academic departments in their subject areas, as well as broader evolving research trends at Columbia and in their respective disciplines. With curricular needs in mind, librarians and curators collect newly-published materials, historical collections, and primary source materials to fill collection gaps and/or address emerging scholarly needs. Librarians also promote awareness of these resources, in courses and to individual researchers, by providing instruction and support for their use.
In addition to building collections locally, librarians and curators foster strategic partnerships with other academic institutions to build shared collections and expand access to materials. These shared collections also inform decisions on what to acquire and maintain locally.
A key component of a librarian or curator's role is strategic fund management of the Libraries' collection budget, including collaborating with other librarians to identify ways to acquire resources across disciplines. Librarians, curators, and the Libraries' administration are expected to continually assess and ensure that fund allocations reflect the evolving needs of users and the collections themselves. This work requires consideration for the balance between funding the initial purchase investment and factors contributing to the total cost of acquisition and the Libraries' responsibility to preserve, conserve, digitize, and make accessible these materials throughout their lifecycle. These factors include, but are not limited to:
Columbia University Libraries values the close relationships that faculty have to both collections and their library liaisons. The Provost's Advisory Committee on the Libraries (PACL) is the primary faculty group through which new collections policies, major revisions to existing policies, and substantial collection management decisions are evaluated. PACL endorsed the first iteration of this set of collection development policies and strategies in April 2019, after which the Libraries has committed to reporting major proposed changes in collections policies to PACL for review and discussion in advance of implementation. Each academic year, the Libraries will also provide the PACL with a summary of the Libraries' work to continually refine and improve its collections policies and strategies, and to invite opportunities for PACL to engage in that process over time.
Collections building and management are also directly informed by faculty and students actively voicing questions, concerns, suggestions, and research priorities. All Columbia faculty and students are also invited to participate in the collection development process at any time through consultation with librarians and curators.
General Collection Development Principles, Values, CriteriaThe Libraries develops collections in support of the curricular and research programs of the University. As with the Libraries' Distinctive Collections, its general collections have been built over many decades and include an impressive variety and wealth of material. However, the Libraries does not have sufficient resources to comprehensively acquire everything published in all areas pertinent to the University's scholarly endeavors.
Librarians and curators apply the following general principles and criteria when evaluating items for acquisition or removal from the collections. Each of these criteria will represent greater or lesser significance depending on the discipline/subject area and the resources available to support the total cost of acquisition. Adhering to these principles and criteria further ensure that the Libraries' collecting decisions are made with purpose and intentionality. Please refer to subject-specific collection development policies to see how these principles and criteria are applied in context.
Immediate and enduring value. Investing in particular titles or collections is evaluated within the context of the Libraries' mission to serve the current needs of the University's programs, and as a long-term steward of cultural and scientific heritage, including such factors as:
Print/physical formats vs. electronic formats. The Libraries recognizes that the shift from print to electronic publication formats is different across disciplines and communities of practice, and is sometimes different for monographic literature than it is for serial/journal/periodical literature even within a discipline. For some areas of scholarship, print publications remains primary and critical to supporting the work of students and faculty. In many areas of the world, print is not merely the most reliable but is often the only available format. Some areas, while slower to move to electronic formats, are seeing a gradual but steady move in that direction; the Libraries carefully monitors this evolution for its impact on collecting decisions, and will be responsive over time to changing needs and preferences of students and faculty. For yet other areas of collecting, the shift to electronic has been well established by both publishers and scholars alike, and preference is given to monographic and/or serial collections in electronic format.
When electronic access becomes available in sustainable, affordable, and persistently- accessible platforms, the Libraries will weigh carefully whether or not to move to e-only access. The Libraries will generally continue to acquire the print format when there are demonstrable and substantive differences in content, when canceling the print would negatively impact scholarship and/or stewardship, or when faculty have expressed important reasons for the Libraries to continue to support acquisition and/or retention of the print (or other tangible, physical formats, including microfilm) in certain disciplines. Consideration of the constraints of space and financial resources will also be important factors in determining which formats to acquire and/or retain from existing collections over time.
Because disciplines within and across the humanities, social sciences, and the sciences can be quite different from one another, please refer to subject-specific collection development policies to see how these principles and criteria are applied in context.
Data-informed collections decisions for licensed electronic resources. The Libraries evaluates collections against data that can characterize the impact the resource might have on users. Specifically, and wherever possible, the Libraries arranges for trials of new electronic resources to gauge interest in and usage of collections in advance of possible acquisition. Turn-away statistics from vendors are also gathered, when available, to assess potential interest.
Accessibility. As our investment in electronic resources grows over time, it is incumbent on the Libraries to ensure that the information and communication technologies it acquires with Columbia resources are accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. The Libraries makes every attempt to ensure that the technology platforms we invest in, and the content provided within them, follow evolving national standards for accessibility. Vendors should adhere to the U.S. Access Board's final rule on accessibility requirements for information and communication technology, covered under Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act, and follow guidelines set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative.
Ownership vs. access. The Libraries is cognizant of its dual responsibility to use the University's funds judiciously and to serve the needs of its users over time. To these ends, the Libraries strives to acquire collections that result in perpetual ownership of those products. In some cases, perpetual ownership is either not available or not affordable, but leasing options exist. Leased access will be considered when resources are important to scholarship at Columbia. In all cases, the conditions of access (e.g., read only, ability to make copies of extracts, download of full content) will be weighed carefully by librarians in the context of the users' needs.
Comprehensive collecting. While comprehensiveness may be a characteristic of some distinctive collections, comprehensive collecting is not the aim of the general collections. The strengths or weaknesses of current holdings in each subject area—relative to the University's priorities, the available funding, the national reputation of and reliance on Columbia as a steward of collections in particular areas, and the scope/scale of collections available in the marketplace—are continually evaluated by librarians and curators. While building on established collection strengths is important, the Libraries is also cognizant of the need to evolve the collections alongside the evolving University profiles of research and teaching; in this way, collection weaknesses may be as significant a factor in acquisitions decisions as collection strengths.
Consortial holdings. The Libraries partners in programs that enable research libraries to achieve more comprehensive subject coverage across a network of libraries, in order to serve the diverse needs of users across those networks, and in ways that can only be accomplished collectively, not by one library alone – both through resource sharing (e.g., Borrow Direct; inter-library loan) and shared purchasing of collections. The holdings of libraries with which Columbia has strategic shared collections and/or cooperative borrowing agreements must be considered when making selection decisions. Consortial opportunities may override local requests for ownership when economies of scale provide compelling reasons for doing so (e.g., purchase price; storage requirements or impact; anticipated usage). See also 'Shared Collections & Collaborative Collection Building'.
Textbooks. The library does not maintain a collection of course textbooks. The Columbia FLI Partnership Library program, operated out of Butler Library, provides access to textbooks as a service to the community, but is not covered under this collection development policy.
Collections/items for individual researchers or departments. By default, the Libraries acquires collections for access and use by the entire Columbia community, and enters into all collection development activities and negotiations with this aim in mind. The Libraries does not acquire materials (via either purchase or gift) for which access or use would be restricted to specific individuals. In extremely rare cases, licensing terms for an electronic resource may limit access to specific Columbia University departments or communities when those departments are financing its acquisition.