Scholarly Collection guidelines
Introduction and purpose
Collection Development is the process of building useful, balanced collections over time within a set budget based on assessed, ongoing information needs of the Library’s users.
The scholarly collection is developed to support Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland in meeting its goals to enable education that is research-informed, transdisciplinary, relevant and with impact for the world. Collection development is undertaken with consideration of the current courses and research needs of the University community.
Our practices are designed to achieve long-term operational sustainability and resilience through careful stewardship and planning.
The guidelines support library staff to meet collection goals, guiding the allocation of collection spend. They inform the Waipapa Taumata Rau community about the principles by which resources are selected.
These guidelines complement the following University and Student and Scholarly Services guidelines:
Resource selection and retention
Resource selection and retention are guided by the following considerations:
- The collection represents the University’s mission and values, reflecting the unique place of the University and Aotearoa New Zealand in the Pacific.
- The current curricular and research needs of the University.
- Multi-disciplinary relevance, ensuring equitable access to all students and staff.
- Availability of accessing the resource through Interlibrary Loan.
- Usage and value for money, with careful consideration of budget constraints and financial sustainability.
Resources that meet the following criteria will not be considered for acquisition by the library:
- Primarily support a special topic or research project with limited relevance or value to the wider University community.
- Resources that require the purchase of an organisational or individual membership as a condition of access will not be considered for acquisition by the library.
- Present barriers to access, such as requiring specialised technology, offering limited physical access points, lacking authenticated access, or not providing COUNTER-compliant usage statistics.
- Are self-published or require acquisition directly from the author.
- Are hosted on platforms that present security risks to the University.
Resource formats
The collection has a digital-first focus to maximise the availability of resources through enabling seamless and device-agnostic access. Digital resources provide the most flexible option for supporting the university’s mixed modes of delivery.
Factors such as availability, cost, demand, platform options, user numbers, and licensing restrictions will influence the preference for electronic formats.
While the library aims to acquire electronic materials over print, exceptions may occur. Examples of such exceptions include:
- Prescribed textbooks, which may require a print copy for the Short Loan Collection.
- Where print is preferred for quality, usability or content reasons by the requesting academic.
- Special Collections that might require an archival print copy (in addition to an eBook) for titles within the University Collection.
- eBooks that are only available as part of a collection or subscription are not purchased by the library.
- Please note that digital rights for e-books available to libraries often differ from those for individual use, including restrictions on concurrency, downloading, offline reading, and printing.
- The library does not lease or subscribe to e-books. This includes not being able to provide access to textbooks via platforms such as VitalSource or RedShelf.
- Publications with a significant Māori, Aotearoa New Zealand and Pacific content may be duplicated in print and electronically.
Open Access
Open Access resources that meet the Resource Selection and Retention considerations can be added to the catalogue.
Donations
Thank you for considering donating to the library. The following guidelines are provided for your assistance:
- The library does not usually accept print donations to the general collection. Items that meet the collection guidelines for Cultural Collections may be reviewed for potential inclusion into the Cultural Collections repository.
- Accepted donated materials become the property of the library, and we reserve the right to dispose of donations that are no longer required.
- Monetary endowments and bequests are always welcomed by the library. Collection Development and Access will work closely with the Director, Student and Scholarly Services, and the Director, Alumni Relations and Development, as soon as any bequest or endowment is offered to provide any advice required. The Director, Alumni Relations and Development can also assist with wording for wills or associated statements of intention.
Ongoing collection evaluation
Resource evaluation is conducted on an ongoing basis in accordance with the collection development guidelines. Titles are evaluated according to three factors: content, past and projected use, and access or physical condition. The collection is regularly reviewed to ensure:
- High use resources are available online or within campus libraries
- Lower use, catalogued, physical resources are available on request
- Resources no longer meeting collection development criteria are deaccessioned
- Duplication of copies and format is minimised
Deaccessioning and disposal
Ongoing collection evaluation is undertaken prior to any disposal action. Any physical resources, determined for deaccession, will be removed from the library catalogue and the disposal of the items will be undertaken with consideration of the resource and the environmental impact of its disposal. Means of disposal may include:
- Transfer (gifting) of the property to other relevant organisations or individuals
- Recycling
- Secure destruction
The sale of the resource will rarely be undertaken. Any proceeds of such a sale will be utilised to build/maintain the library collection.
Access
On Demand Collection
Materials not housed at campus libraries are stored in the On Demand Collection (ODC). Items are placed in the ODC for various reasons, such as age, condition, or low usage.
Items in this collection can be accessed by request.
Course Readings
Course Readings are designed to provide shared access to essential library materials that support the instructional needs of courses offered at the University.
The number of copies purchased is determined based on factors such as class size, item cost, and usage statistics.
Textbooks
Students are expected to acquire their own copies of course textbooks/required readings (either print or electronic) as needed.
The University Library does not provide class sets, personal or individual copies of designated textbooks for students. When notified, Collection Development and Access will purchase at least one copy of each course textbook to ensure that students have access to the material when needed. More information about purchasing requests for course materials can be found on the Talis Canvas pages.
Past Exam Papers
The Library provides electronic access to past exam papers from the last five years. These are selected and supplied by the Examinations Office and are available exclusively to current staff and students.
Theses
Each successfully completed PhD or Master's thesis (with a minimum of 90 points) is deposited as a digital copy in the University’s repository for public access, unless it has been embargoed. The Library now preserves theses in digital format only, although print copies submitted in the past remain part of the library collection. The inclusion of a thesis in the library collection is dependent upon its submission by the author.