Cambridge University Library
Collection Development Policy framework
1. Scope
This policy is intended as a framework to guide collection development in
Cambridge University Library and its affiliated libraries. Wherever the term
“University Library” or “the Library” is used it should be taken to mean both the
main Cambridge University Library and the Affiliated libraries.
Collection development takes place in a collaborative environment at both
University and national levels, particularly with respect to the electronic library.
The document reflects the tripartite structure of library provision in the university
and sets out to describe the relationship between collection development in the
University Library and that of the faculty, department and college libraries with
which it works in partnership, taking into account its evolving nature.
With the exception of Special Collections, the policy is neutral with respect to
format, whether print or digital. However, it recognises that information
provision to support research, teaching and learning is increasingly – and in
some disciplines primarily - digital and that there is an expectation amongst
users that access to collections will be available at any time and in any place. It
addresses the challenges involved in making collection development decisions
in an environment in which large-scale, often multi-disciplinary, electronic
collections – ejournals, ebooks, databases, and multimedia content - will be
available for acquisition by the Library, requiring prioritisation in the light of
budget constraints.
Electronic publications offer immense opportunities for collaboration between
the libraries of the university to provide excellent collections through the
avoidance of duplication and optimising the use of budgets. The highly
distributed nature of the University and access expectations make acquisition in
electronic format a strategic priority for the Library. The acquisition of digital
content is an important contributory factor in maximising the use of available
storage in libraries.
The policy is also neutral with respect to the language of publication. However,
it recognises that there is a significant concentration within the University Library
of expertise and experience in collection development in non-English
publications, particularly those emanating from, or relating to, Western Europe,
the Near and Middle East, and East Asia, and South and Southeast Asia, where
staff work closely with the relevant faculties to co-ordinate acquisition.
2. Strategic drivers
Amongst the priorities set out in the University Library’s mission statement is its
aim of “leading information provision and discovery for Cambridge and the
global academic community”. In its strategy for 2013-15 the Library identifies
its collections as an essential, strategic component to the success of the
University, delivering value by anticipating and responding to the changing
needs of our users.
At the same time, it recognises its wider responsibility as a library of
international importance by stating that it will continue its cultural heritage role
as a National Research Library and will safeguard and grow its world class
special collections.
Supporting scholarly communications, particularly through developing and
connecting to Open Access publications and other research content, is an
important strand in the Library’s approach to collection development.
This policy aims to move forward the implementation of the General Board’s
Report on Teaching and Learning Support Services (July 2008), which urged
increased co-operation between libraries providing material to support teaching
and learning, by offering a model for a coherent approach to developing
collections, harnessing the subject expertise available in the Affiliated, faculty
and department libraries, and through the use of collection profiles, ensuring
optimum fit between teaching and learning needs and the resources provided
by libraries across the university.
3. Legal deposit
Cambridge University Library is one of the six libraries entitled under the Legal
Deposit Libraries Act of 2003 to receive material published for sale in the United
Kingdom and Ireland, the others being the British Library, the Bodleian Library in
Oxford, the national libraries of Scotland and Wales, and Trinity College Library
Dublin. The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations 2013
extended the scope of legal deposit to include electronic publications.
Under the above legislation the Legal Deposit Libraries are entitled to a copy of
either the print or the electronic publication, but not both, the format to be
deposited being agreed between the libraries and the publisher. In practice
almost all eligible publications are claimed by the Agency for the Legal Deposit
Libraries or collected electronically by the British Library on behalf of the Library.
Print deposit remains the default but the transition from print to electronic
deposit began immediately following the 2013 Regulations and is expected to be
largely complete over the next ten years. Collection development for electronic
legal deposit is a collaboration between the six Legal Deposit Libraries, guided
by the Collection Development and Acquisitions Sub-Group on which each of
the six libraries is represented. The LDLs agree on prioritisation principles and
on the individual publishers which will make the transition to electronic deposit
and when. This transition, which will significantly reduce the number of
borrowable print titles of UK publications, particularly monographs, available to
users of the UL, represents a major challenge for collection development. It
underlines the need to focus on user requirements and to explore new ways of
selecting content such as patron-driven and evidence-based acquisition.
The extent and breadth of publications received under Legal Deposit has had a
significant impact on the scope of collection development to support research in
particular. Under Library Syndicate regulation 6(c), four of the Affiliated
Libraries – the Medical, Squire Law, Central Sciences and Moore Libraries - are
entitled to receive print legal deposit publications, which include significant
research titles, through transfer from the University Library. In addition to
access within the main UL building, all Affiliated Libraries are entitled to provide
access on their premises to electronic legal deposit material.
4. Collection profiles
The diverse and extensive nature of University collections makes it essential for
the profile of individual collections, wherever they are held, to be described in
sufficient detail for a complete picture of collecting priorities and holdings, both
for research and teaching to be drawn up to ensure that:
• The requirements of the discipline are being met on a university-wide basis
• Responsibilities for collecting are made clear and are understood by librarians
and the communities they serve
• Duplication in collecting is avoided with the important exception of heavily-used
teaching material or textbooks if no electronic versions are available
• Collaboration between libraries is supported
• Interdisciplinary subjects do not suffer from having no specific collecting library
Such profiles will provide a basis for co-operation between the libraries of the
University and, when made public, will also serve to guide users to the appropriate
collections. The Affiliated libraries will take the lead in developing profiles for their
collections and will contribute to the profiles for their subject area in the main
University Library, where appropriate. They will ensure that collections are relevant
to current areas of research and teaching, and that this profile is reviewed and
maintained.
Staff in the main UL will work with the non-affiliated faculty and department libraries
to develop research collection profiles for all remaining subject areas, including
inter-disciplinary subjects. Faculty and department libraries are strongly encouraged
to adopt the same approach for collections.
Profiles should set out the scope of the collections, a breakdown of the subjects
they include, the level of material collected, relationship to other collections of the
university and significant collections elsewhere, and arrangements for reviewing
and maintaining them. They should outline the main teaching and research
interests of each discipline they serve.
5. Research collections
The University Library is the principal research library of the University although
important research collections are held and continue to be developed in a number
of faculty and department libraries. Publications are acquired to:
• Support current University research requirements
• Respond to emerging research requirements and to support new areas of
research
• Build on existing collection strengths
• Support the Library’s role as a national research library
Collection development for English-language material is co-ordinated by the
English Collections department in the main University Library. Subject expertise
and knowledge of the requirements of current and emerging areas of research is
strongest in the Affiliated, faculty and department libraries serving the relevant
disciplines.
The Affiliated libraries have responsibility for directing English language
research collection development in their disciplines and, for liaising with the
appropriate language specialists in the UL to guide the collection of Non-English
language material. Funds will be allocated to the Affilliated libraries for
expenditure on research monographs, both print and electronic, in their
disciplines on monographs. The Affiiated Librarians may also be asked to take
responsibility for expenditure against UL trust funds with a specific disciplinary
focus of interest to their faculty or department, e.g. the Kaplanoff Fund for
American history. Where a title is acquired in print the normal expectation is
that it will be placed in the main UL but where an Affiliated Library already
maintains a research collection and it fits the collection profile, the Affiliated
Librarian may decide to place it there.
The English Collections department in the main UL is responsible for:
• Administrative support. Setting up mechanisms, e.g. Coutts OASIS to
allow Affiliated Librarians to spend the research allocation in their subject
and supporting them in their use of it.
• Overall budgetary control of expenditure on English language material
• Acquisition of English language ebook collections to support research in
consultation with the Affiliated Libraries
• Acquisition of English language print and ebook research monographs
and continuations in disciplines not covered by the Affiliated Libraries
which match the collection profile. In doing so it will take into account
recommendations by other faculty and department libraries, and will
respond to individual recommendations.
The School Librarian, or in the case of the Affiliated science libraries, the Head
of Medical and Science Libraries, has a co-ordinating role, meeting the Affiliated
Librarians in the School regularly, providing guidance, and ensuring agreement
on the acquisition of inter-disciplinary subjects from more than one budget.
6. Foreign language collecting
Collection development responsibility for print and ebook acquisition in
languages other than English lies principally with the appropriate language
specialists in the UL European Collections and Cataloguing department and
Special Collections division. An important part of their role is to liaise with
Affiliated, faculty and department libraries to ensure a close fit between
collecting priorities and the research needs in their discipline.
Research level publications in the main European languages, those of the Near
and Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia, will be acquired where they
fulfil one or more of the following criteria:
• They relate to the culture of the language area concerned
• They are works by an acknowledged expert in the field
• The author is making an important and original contribution to the subject
• When coverage in English is generally perceived to be inadequate
• When the main UL’s coverage approaches comprehensiveness
7. Teaching and learning collections
The development and maintenance of Library collections to support students on
taught courses, both undergraduate and postgraduate, is the primary
responsibility of the Affiliated Libraries in the UL, in line with their collection
profiles. Librarians in the Affiliated Libraries play a key role in liaising closely
with teaching staff to ensure that texts on reading lists are acquired, collections
to support existing courses are maintained and developed, and that provision of
library material is taken into account in planning support for new courses or to
meet future teaching and learning requirements.
Selection of library material to support teaching and learning is carried out
through a number of routes:
• Individual titles are selected by collection development staff of the relevant
Affiliated library. If published in print they are acquired by the library.
• If published electronically and costing less than £500 for outright purchase,
they are put forward for acquisition through one of the models offered by the
ebooks@cambridge service which agrees on the purchase of titles to
support teaching and learning from a budget contributed by college, faculty,
department, and Affiliated libraries. Libraries either contribute an agreed
amount for the academic year, or contribute as and when they wish the
service to purchase specific ebook titles or collections, or they order ebooks
directly from a licensed supplier, using their own budget plus an allocated
college amount for the subject.
• Print titles or ebooks outside the scope of the ebooks@cambridge service
and ebook collections are put forward by Affiliated libraries for acquisition by
the main UL against a budget which is allocated at library subject level. A
collaborative approach is maintained by using publisher systems, e.g. Coutts
OASIS, to share information on recommendations and publications on order,
and to facilitate rapid supply of titles. The decision on purchasing against the
UL budget for individual titles to support teaching and learning is the
responsibility of the Affiliated librarians. Collection development staff in the
main UL have a co-ordinating role, as outlined above under Research
collections.
• Titles and collections over the £2,000 threshold require approval by the UL
Accessions Committee which takes into account the case put forward by the
relevant Affiliated librarians and teaching staff.
• The UL acquires through purchase or subscription major ebook collections in
consultation with ebooks@cambridge and the relevant subject specialists,
where appropriate.
Preference is given, where an electronic version has been published, to the
acquisition of the electronic, subject to the usability of the available versions.
Multiple copies are acquired where texts are heavily in demand and unavailable
electronically.
Legal Deposit has played a significant role in past in providing single copies of
books to support teaching and learning, particularly where the material is
suitable for borrowing. Where works are not received in print under Legal
Deposit, either because the publisher fails to deposit, or only electronically, and
are required to support teaching, they may be acquired by the University Library.
Under Library Syndicate regulation 6(c), the Medical, Squire Law, Central
Sciences and Moore Libraries are entitled to receive print legal deposit
publications, which include titles required to support teaching and learning,
through transfer from the University Library.
8. Journals
Collection development for journals, except for those acquired through legal
deposit, is co-ordinated on a university-wide basis through the Journals Co-
ordination Scheme. Ejournals are acquired collaboratively by the main
University Library, Affiliated, faculty, department and college libraries,
electronically and in print. Budgets are set at School level, where decisions on
new titles and cancellations are taken by academic-led committees with library
support, ensuring as close a match as possible to research requirements.
ejournal backfiles are acquired as far as possible to complete coverage of a
ejournal holdings. Electronic backfiles support potential de-duplication of
holdings and optimise use of shelf space. The Journals Co-ordination Scheme
advises the UL on prioritisation of ejournal backfiles for acquisition but the cost
is met from a number of funding sources, including the UL materials budget, the
JCS, faculty or department contributions, grant or donor funding, and capital
funds through the planning round
Under Library Syndicate regulation 6(c), the Medical, Squire Law, Central
Sciences and Moore Libraries are entitled to receive print legal deposit journal
titles through transfer from the University Library.
9. Online databases
Full-text and abstracting indexing databases are acquired by the main University
Library to support research and teaching in consultation with the faculty,
department and college libraries. Major electronic reference and full-text works
are treated as databases for selection purposes. Selection is made by the UL
Accessions Committee on the basis of the case put forward by the subject
specialists in the appropriate libraries and research and teaching staff. In
addition to cost, factors considered include matching the requirements of a
specific course or research group, benchmarking against peer group institutions,
balance of expenditure across subjects, and overlap with existing resources.
10. Special collections
Manuscripts
The main UL contains very extensive collections of manuscripts and archives
which have been accumulating since the thirteenth century. High priority is
attached to adding manuscripts and archives of research interest to the
collections. The manuscripts and archives which are acquired normally fall into
one or both of the following categories:
• Material concerning the University of Cambridge and its members
• Material which enhances or complements the existing manuscript holdings
Rare Books
The Rare Books department purchases books and pamphlets in European
languages printed before 1900. This range covers periodical publications, often
in collected editions, but including, for example, individual early newsbooks and
runs of periodical issues. The general principle for book selection is that of
building on the existing strengths of the collections, thus increasing their already
rich research potential. Purchases are concentrated on works of substantial
interest. Categories of special importance include incunables, post-incunables,
books of special relevance to Cambridge, and special author collections such as
Goethe, Montaigne, and Swift. Care is taken to avoid purchasing books of
which there is a copy in another Cambridge library.
Other Special collections
Further special collections, notably maps and music, are acquired, building on
existing collection strengths. Detailed profiles of these collections are made
available alongside subject profiles. Important Special collections are held in a
number of Affiliated Libraries, for example the Whipple Library, and are
enhanced to support research.
11. Reference works
Reference collections are particularly well served by electronic publications.
Most general reference works, bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias
subject handbooks and guides, are available electronically. They support rapid
and widespread consultation and reduce the number of copies required across
the University.
• Reference works are acquired only in electronic formats unless otherwise
unavailable.
• Subject-specific reference works are selected for acquisition on the basis
of recommendation as set out below.
The main UL is responsible for acquiring electronic reference works, general,
inter-disciplinary, and subject-specific, which are treated as databases for the
purposes of selection and acquisition. A recommendation and selection scheme
is used whereby individuals, faculties, departments and research groups may
put forward titles or collections of reference resources for acquisition.
12. Multimedia collections
The Library will respond to the rapid growth in demand for sound and moving
image collections by
• Selecting and acquiring subscription and/or licensed multimedia
collections to support teaching and research in consultation with the
faculties, departments, and research groups, through the mechanisms
established to consult on online database acquisition.
• Providing access to nationally-funded and other freely available
multimedia resources through discovery systems and catalogue links.
In implementing the above it will take into account emerging areas in research
and teaching within disciplines, e.g. African studies, drama, in which multimedia
is of particular importance, and those areas which cross disciplinary boundaries
such as film studies.
13. Open access
The Library promotes and supports the use of Open Access publications,
ejournals, ebooks, and data by managing them as collections alongside
purchased material.
• facilitating their discovery in library catalogues through loading MARC
catalogue records
• ensuring that metadata for OA publications is harvested by library
discovery systems
• linking to OA publications in A-Z listings and web sites
14. Digitised content
The Library seeks to share its outstanding collections through the Cambridge
Digital Library and to enhance its digital collections by aligning them with the
scholarly research interests of the university and its collaborators. Its goal is to
make content from the Digital Library freely available for use within teaching and
research. Library material is selected for digitisation by the Special Collections
division, in collaboration with Digital Services, the academic community, funding
organisations and donors. The first phase of work on the Cambridge Digital
Library, the Foundations Project, focused on the Foundations of Faith and the
Foundations of Science. Further details can be found at
http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/about/
15. Retention and disposal
A policy on retention and disposal will developed and maintained by the
University Library and Affiliated Libraries.
Roles and Main University Affiliated JCS
responsibilities Library Libraries
Collection profiling ✔ Research ✔ Teaching and
collections; learning collections;
Non-English Research where
language appropriate
Research collection ✔ ✔
development
(English language)
Research collection ✔
development (Non-
English language)
Teaching collection ✔
development
Academic liaison ✔ Non-English ✔ English language
language Non-English
language
Reading list ✔
material
Journal selection & ✔
cancellation
Electronic ✔ Selection, ✔ Selection
reference works acquisition, and
administration
Online databases ✔ Selection, ✔ Selection
acquisition, and
administration
Special Collections ✔ Selection,
acquisition, and
administration
Version Status Updated Updated by
0.1 Original draft 4.7.2013 Patricia Killiard
0.2 Amended post-SMT Consultation 27.8.2013 Patricia Killiard
0.3 Amended following comments by 18.11.2013 Patricia Killiard
Linda Washington and Gotthelf
Wiedermann
0.4 Amended following comments by 24.04.2014 Patricia Killiard
Stuart Stone, Criminology Librarian
