Libraries

Collection Development Policy, University of Alberta Libraries

September, 2012

The University of Alberta Libraries exist primarily to support the University’s teaching and research functions, and to provide information resources for the University community as well as the general public. As the repository of one of the major Canadian research collections, the Libraries also serve the needs of regional, national and international communities. This policy acknowledges the need to rely on cooperative resource-sharing activities to extend the breadth and depth of our collections.

Our policy for collection development is that we acquire appropriate materials for both current and future research or teaching needs at the University of Alberta. We will consider acquiring information in any format needed to support the University’s academic programs. We endeavour to acquire quality materials that are appropriate in meeting the needs of the wide range of subject areas taught and researched at the University of Alberta. We also endeavour to preserve the materials we acquire, in order to meet the needs of future researchers.

Collection management at the University of Alberta Libraries is the responsibility of professional librarians. This function is carried out in consultation with faculty, students, and other users of our collections. To contact the librarian responsible for collections in your subject area, please visit our Liaison Librarians page

The University of Alberta Libraries subscribes to the professional codes and standards adopted by the Canadian Library Association, including the Statement on Intellectual Freedom.

We are committed to the principles of open access, as outlined in the IFLA Statement on Open Access to Scholarly Literature and Research Documentation. In addition to providing open access materials in our collection and supporting OA publishing efforts of faculty members, we also offer digital repository and publishing services via the Libraries (Education and Research Archive, Journal Hosting).

Donations and free materials will be considered for inclusion in the collection according to the same principles as are noted in this document.

The collection policies of the individual subject libraries describe the scope of the collections under their administration:

• Augustana Campus Library
• Bibliothèque Saint-Jean
• Bruce Peel Special Collections Library
• Cameron Science and Technology Library
• Canadian Circumpolar Collection
• Data Library
• Herbert T. Coutts Education and Physical Education Library
• John A. Weir Memorial Law Library
• John W. Scott Health Sciences Library
• Music Library
• Rutherford Humanities and Social Sciences Library
• William C. Wonders Map Collection
• Winspear Business Reference Library

The collection policy for web archiving describes the scope of these collections: Web Archiving Policy.