Electronic Collections Development

This page collects links to policy documents regarding the development of collections in an environment increasingly marked by the challenge of electronic resources. It does not pretend to be comprehensive, and the author of this page welcomes suggestions of additional useful documents for inclusion here.

Acqweb's Library and Information Science Resources
Collection Development Sites
: A list of sites providing tools, reference materials, and other documents on collection development.

: Reviews strategic and practical considerations to be considered before signing licensing agreements.
: Discusses the selection and maintenance of material in electronic formats including electronic full-text sources (including online journals), electronic indexes, Internet tools, CD's and software.

Collection Development Policy. Electronic, Audio-visual, and Multimedia Materials
: Provides brief selection guidelines for electronic databases and electronic journals.

Criteria for Selecting Electronic Resources
: A succint, eighteen-point set of selection criteria. Sections are on basic guidelines, format, and vendor and licensing.

Electronic Resources Group (ERG) Mission Statement
(Revised May 15, 2001)
: "The Electronic Resources Group administers the process of selecting, acquiring, licensing, announcing, and evaluating all electronic resources (whether purchased or free) offered by the Brandeis University Libraries to its patrons within the parameters of the Libraries' collection development policies and budget." The primary areas of responsibility of the ERG are acquisition, communication, and evaluation.

Developing and Managing the Brown University Library Collections
: This is a brief listing of issues for library selectors to consider in the selection of electronic resources.

: The EAR Committee was formed in 1990 to explore ways in which the resources of the CSU libraries could be maximized through shared acquisition of databases and information. The documents on this site are provided as a guide to the libraries of the California State University in developing and reviewing proposals and in negotiating contracts with providers of information in electronic formats. Many of the issues in the emerging electronic age will require discussion, experimentation, and collaboration on an on-going basis.

: "The Collection Development Policy for Electronic Resources provides guidelines for the selection and provision of information in electronic formats and is intended to help bibliographers answer questions that may arise pertaining to electronic resources. This policy deals with the decision making process, factors governing selection decisions, information content considerations, the variety and appropriateness of various formats, and access issues."



: This document describes Columbia University’s Electronic Data Service (EDS), a joint project of Columbia University libraries and the university’s Academic Information Systems. EDS was created to support research and instruction at Columbia that require the use of numeric data available only in machine readable form. Included are a set of general selection guidelines and a list of specific delimitations.

: The Electronic Text Service (ETS) is devoted exclusively to the collection and use of full-text materials in electronic (i.e., machine-readable) format focusing on the humanities and history. ETS’s emphasis is on the acquisition and delivery of full-text resources designed for research and analysis. Included are a set of general selection guidelines and a list of specific delimitations.


: "This draft web site has been designed to facilitate the tracking of consortial agreements being addressed by the CIC Center for Library Initiatives. It will serve as a central repository for information regarding the status of pending and existing agreements and will be accessible to all CIC libraries. At this point its use as a request and/or polling mechanism for potential agreements is being considered." Also contains guidelines for consortial acquistion of electronic resources and standardized agreement language.


: This brief policy outlines general measures for evaluating databases considered for library purchase. Areas covered include projected use by library patrons, cost, database quality, degree of user-friendliness, technical considerations, and ease of communication with vendors.


: The purpose of this policy is to outline the decision-making process, factors influencing the selection decision, the range of available formats and access options in Dartmouth's information environment. This policy is a response to the growing need among bibliographers for guidelines to assist them in answering questions raised in selecting, processing and making accessible information in electronic format. This is a format-related guide intended as a collection management resource for bibliographers. It describes the subject's scope, Dartmouth's information environment, the types of electronic information considered. Finally, it presents a detailed outline of considerations in the decision-making process.


Electronic Resources
: A set of parameters for collection of electronic resources. Sections in this document address definition of electronic resources; selection procedures; general and specific selection criteria; responsibility for implementation; networking, duplicate copies and copies in multiple formats; replacements; gifts; preservation; deselection; and policy review.; Chastek Library Collection Development Policy Part I – General Considerations



: The purpose of this site is to collect and communicate information to the Harvard Library community regarding E-Resource Management & Licensing at Harvard.

: "The policy is to move towards networked electronic resources wherever this is practicable. This includes supplementing the existing printed materials with electronic versions for loan, use in the library or via the network. Subscriptions to journals will as far as possible be to the electronic form with a CD-ROM or printed archive maintained for important titles."





: Including scope, criteria, specific guidelines, and retention statement.




: "This policy provides criteria and guidelines for acquiring and providing access to electronic titles. The purpose of acquiring these resources is the same as that for more traditional library resources: to support the teaching, research and service missions of the University." The LSU policy contains a detailed section on delivery mechanisms and three evaluation checklists: a selection criteria checklist, a financial/status summary, and a delivery mechanism checklist.

: "The Library will give first priority to collecting those electronic products that will have a demonstrable impact on McMaster's credibility as a leading educational research institution. It follows that those electronic products will be collected that support the subject areas and disciplines where the University maintains graduate level research... or where other academic strength has been identified as, for example, in the creation of a 'Centre of Excellence' or a major educational programme."


: The Ejournals Team prioritizes, allocates, and tracks ejournals-related acquisitions work in Vera and Commitments. The team plans how best to carry out ejournal record-management projects, including both new acquisitions and ongoing maintenance.

: This document aims to articulate MIT's commitment to delivering electronic resources that support the University's programs and users. The Library identifies the realities and constraints of provision of e-resources.



: A set of policies and selection criteria for software, CD-ROMs, on-line databases, Internet sites, and machine readable datafiles.

: "This policy supplements the Collection Development Policy of the National Agricultural Library. It is shaped by the National Agricultural Library's dual responsibility as a national library and as USDA's departmental library…. NAL will provide access to electronic resources in subjects it collects, with special emphasis on electronic resources published by USDA."

: These guidelines have been developed under the first of four main initiatives taken by the National Library during 1996 in relation to managing long term access to online Australian publications.


: "This policy is intended to set forth protocol for the selection and acquisition of electronic resources, here defined as all electronic serial publications (with or without paper equivalents), all monographic electronic resources more than $500 in price, and all publicly accessible electronic resources acquired for trial. Electronic resources costing less than $500 will be assigned to the appropriate subject-specific budget line, in consultation with the Library Systems office and the subject specialist for the discipline involved."

Collection Development Policy Statement. Electronic Texts. Note: this document is a PDF file.
: A brief policy statement on collection of full-text electronic texts for literary or linguistic research.


Collection Development Philosophy
: The section within this document that addresses electronic resources states: "The library's basic approach has been to substitute electronic for print version only in instances where the electronic format provides equivalent or superior access to the print version."

: This document presents the collection development policy for all collections at the Prior Health Sciences Library. The section dealing with electronic resources comprises the last section of this document.

: This extensive site contains a number of documents for managing electronic resources at Old Dominion University library. These include documents on general principles and policies, a checklist for selecting electronic resources, a list of criteria for evaluating license, guidelines for selecting electronic resources, and a detailed set of procedures for selecting electronic resources at this university library.

: These guidelines were prepared by the Management Committee of the Machine-Assisted Reference Section, Reference and User Services Association, American Library Association. The guidelines address planning, policy, and procedure; staff education; user education/ instruction; publicity; and assessment and evaluation.

: A concise policy for collection and support of fulltext electronic resources.



: This document defines electronic content resources for the purposes of Tufts University, then outlines the resource review process, the licensing process, and an implementation plan. The policy is applicable only for resources whose annual licensing fees exceed $5000. Librarians provide a licensing consulting service to other university units considering licensing resources whose annual fees reach or exceed this level.


(November 1997)
: A fairly brief policy that lists the types of electronic materials covered and list of general selection criteria.

(April 26, 2000)
: Outlines policy for selection, acquisition, cataloguing and access for electronic journals.

: This well-constructed policy begins by stating clearly that “[w]hen possible, the Library will give priority to the acquisition of electronic resources that offer significant added-value such as uniqueness of information, ease of use, wider accessibility, timely updates and cost-effectiveness.” The policy addresses format and access, and it provides a list of selection criteria. Other policy sections address multiple formats and copies, licensing, and responsibility and library departmental coordination.

: This policy addresses the issues of scope, access, selection criteria, and duplication for each of three resource types: electronic journals, electronic books, and other electronic resources.


: This list of principles is provided to guide the University and its employees (at both campus and systemwide levels) in developing and reviewing proposals to/from, and in negotiating contracts with, providers of information in digital formats. UC librarians recognize that many of the issues addressed in this document are not yet fully defined or understood in the emerging digital age. Accordingly, UC offers this position as a starting point in a process that will require much discussion, experimentation and collaboration before it is complete.

: "The Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE collects at the research level in the areas of digital library development and information technology. In other subject areas, the resources and projects we select are reviewed by the appropriate selector for that discipline and gauged against our existing collecting levels for print publications in that area." The Digital Library SunSITE has four levels of collecting, as listed below. Each level has its own review criteria for assignment of that level to a given resource; these criteria can be viewed on the linked page for each given collecting level.

&. Collection Development Policy (Modified September 19, 2001)
: This rather concise document addresses collection development policy, support for electronic resources, and library acquisition and processing procedures.



: This "Policy for Electronic Resources Management" provides context and guidelines for the University Libraries in the selection, acquisition, provision of access to, and maintenance of electronic resources. It does not address specific procedural issues such as where a particular resource will be located or funding options. These are discussed in related University Libraries documents such as the "Information Arcade Selection Criteria" document produced by the Database Task Force and the "Expensive Purchase Recommendation" guidelines.


: This extensive policy statement consists of a number of separate Web pages, all accessed from this statement homepage. The introduction presents a summary of issues, a definition of the term "electronic publication," and an introduction to the selection guidelines. Guideline issues addressed are content, pricing, use and functionality, archiving, access, duplication and substitution, and licensing terms and conditions. Addition help is presented in the form of an evaluation checklist, contacts and FAQs, pages presenting special considerations for E-journals and E-books, and a page addressing approaches to financing E-publications.
: "This policy describes in detail the Library's goal of providing access to digital information resources that will support the instructional, research, and clinical goals of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, including the Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work, the Graduate School, and the University of Maryland Medical Center." The types of resources applicable to this policy are e-books, aggregated resources, CD-ROMs and diskettes (both acquired only if they can be networked), databases, and Web sites. Selection criteria addressed are content, functionality, licensing issues, archiving, publisher/vendor services, technical requirements, and training issues. Also addressed are retention and renewal, responsibility and library departmental coordination, and implementation and review.

: This document begins by stating that the University of Melbourne Library "is moving towards electronic access, away from the earlier model of physical availability of resources." The policy procedes to address resource selection, budgeting, technological concerns (the Library is currently shifting from an emphasis on CD-ROM platforms to Web-based delivery), staff and user training, licenses, authentication, cataloging, metadata, use of a Web spider for keeping resources current, relegation (review and assessment), preservation, and archiving.

Checklist for Acquisition of E-Resources
: This checklist addresses the following: options for accessing content, communities of interest, license issues, funding issues, training issues, and access issues.

: This handbook is intended to be a "work in progress"-- that is, we'd like feedback about what information is needed, what frequency of update for various data would be useful, etc. It is intended that some aspects --e.g., the draft database of current electronic resources--may become online resources themselves, but input from the selector and collection manager communities is needed to inform these decisions.

Collection Development Policy for Electronic Resources
: This document presents collection development policy separately for Internet Resources (both free and subscription-based resources) and for materials on CD-ROMs. Policy sections for Internet Resources address resource selection, provision of access, and deselection). Sections for CD-ROM materials address networked and stand-alone access, selection of network and stand-alone CD-ROMs, duplication, provision of access, deselection, funding, licensing, and policy review.

: This straightforward policy statement first presents an overview of the criteria on which depends the acquisition of electronic materials and addresses the issue of departmental allocation of funds for purchase of given materials. It then addresses selection criteria in greater detail, including user needs, subject coverage, duplication of resources, cost, ease of use, technical considerations, archiving, licensing, and evaluation.

: In this relatively concise policy, "electronic resources" are defined as resources accessed with the use of a computer. Addressed are selection criteria, methods of evaluation, selection procedure, patron access and use, and review of electronic resources.




: Collection development policy for electronic resources in this library is addressed within a document outlining collection development policy for all library resources. Electronic resources are to be acquired within the regular selection process for materials in their respective fields. A collection development committee is responsible for approving purchase of e-resources.

Collection Development Public Policies
: Links to the following documents are available from this Web site:
: Collection Development Policy for Internet Resources; (Updated September 14, 2000); Includes sections on purpose, scope; access and location; general selection principles (including selection responsibility, funding, adherence to other collection development guidelines, specific format criteria, and selection tools); copyright; licensing; provision of access; duplication; deselection; and policy review.
: Collection Development Policy for Electronic Journals; (Updated April 30, 2000); Includes sections on purpose; scope; principal access point and provision of access; general selection principles (including selection responsibility, funding, adherence to other collection development guidelines, and specific format criteria); licensing; duplicates; and policy review.
: Collection Development Policy for Offline Electronic Resources; (Updated October 26, 2000); Includes sections on purpose; scope; location; electronic resources accompanying other formats; and general selection principles (including selection responsibility, funding, adherence to other collection development guidelines, specific format criteria, and selection tools); copyright; licensing; provision of access; gifts; replacements; conversion of outmoded offline electronic resources; duplicates; and policy review.

: "The purpose of this policy statement is to broadly describe the guidelines for the provision of information in electronic formats in the University Library, including the decision-making process, factors governing selection decisions, information content considerations, the variety and appropriateness of various formats, and the multiplicity of access mode issues."


: Electronic collections policy for the University of Queensland Library is addressed within a Collection Development Policy for all library resources. Regarding electronic versions of paper journals, the library's policy is, all things being equal, to subscribe to both. "Free" electronic journals are to be selected with care. Additional paragraphs are included on licenses, access, duplication, usage, electronic books.

Electronic Resources Collection Development Policy



: Includes excellent sections about digital content selection, production, resource management, and associated processes.




: This selection policy applies both to purchased resources and to resources available free on the Internet. It includes a set of licensing principles.

: A concise set of selection guidelines. Of particular interest are a set of points discussing various format preferences.

: This site, currently under early development, is an aggregation of Yale University Library policies and procedures related to electronic resources. These documents have been created, variously, by: CoDGeR (the Committee on Digital General Resources), the Collections Development Council, the e-cataloging committee, the Medical Library, Kimberly Parker (Electronic Collections Librarian), and others. This page is a product of CoDGeR's deliberations and is maintained by its chair, Kimberly Parker (kimberly.parker@yale.edu)

Yale University Library Web
Last modified: October 13, 2007
Contact: Ann.Okerson@yale.edu

Visits to this page since May 2, 1999