Collection management Policy: Home

The mission of the Directorate is to provide effective support for learning, teaching and research, which is aligned with the academic and strategic direction of the University and responsive to shifts in pedagogic approach and technological developments, achieved by:

• enabling access to resources
• providing a variety of learning environments
• supporting and developing learning and teaching

Access to physical resources – books, journals, DVDs etc. – is available in the kimberlin and Law Libraries. Complementary to this access, our online resources – e-books, e-journals, databases, past exam papers, DORA (our institutional repository), Figshare (our data repository) and other digitised content – is available 24/7. Support in accessing our online resources is available from our Just Ask service, via email, libchat and telephone, as well as by personal visit.

As an equal opportunities service provider LLS seeks to give all students an equal chance of improving their academic performance but sometimes the publisher or supplier approach and/or format does not allow this to happen. LLS endeavours to reduce these barriers as far as possible.

To ensure our collections are supporting the institutional objectives our procurement will be viewed through the lens’ of UDL; digital (distance); accessibility; inclusiveness; decolonising DMU; UX research and design; 17 UN sustainable goals; continuous improvement; and staff and student well-being.

There will be multiple ways of accessing resources across disciplines and we endeavour to provide a broad-based collection covering all aspects of our disciplines while ensuring that we meet students’ needs through resource lists and inter-library loans where required.

1. E-first. The library operates an e-first approach. This means we will prioritise the purchase of electronic formats such as e-books, where available, to maximise access. E-first does not mean e-only, as resources are not always available in e-format and sometimes not desirable from a teaching and learning perspective or within the available budget.

2. Access. The library will normally select material based on the following access criteria where possible:
   1. Simultaneous and multiuser access
   2. Off-campus availability
   3. Free from restrictive Digital Rights Management (DRM), where possible
   4. Accessibility
   5. Easily discovered via Library Search
   6. Easily integrated into Blackboard and/or Resource Lists Online
   7. Value for money

3. Consultation. The library will work closely with academic staff to identify the best content to meet their needs and will work to identify solutions that maximise accessibility, including the purchase of e-packages that span multiple subject disciplines, subject to available funding. New programmes and new resources that are requested in year without prior notification may not always be possible to accommodate due to budget limitations but we will work with programme leaders to identify new resources required for new programmes in good time.

4. Licensing. Whenever possible and within available budgets, the library will:
   1. Negotiate with providers to obtain licences that cover use by our partner institutions.
   2. Purchase electronic material in perpetuity and on a shared library model in order to build an asset base and a financially sustainable e-collection. This includes ongoing book purchases and back files of journals or similar collections.

5. Print material and digitisation
   1. Material will continue to be sourced in print where an e-version is not available, does not meet the access criteria above, the cost is prohibitive within the available budgets or upon request from a student with a disability.
   2. Key readings may be digitised upon request under the University’s Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) licence and made accessible via Resource Lists Online where, eligible ensuring these are within legislative and publisher restrictions.
   3. Special Collections consist of material, which reflects or supports teaching and learning within the University and its predecessor institutions. Print collections of national importance will be curated to maximise their potential. New collections will be considered on merit with priority given to material, which is relevant or complementary to existing collections. 

6. Interlibrary Loans. Most scholarly material not available from the University can be sourced via interlibrary loan, subject to eligibility.

7. Resource Management
   1. Demand for study space within libraries has become acute.  With the growth in e-collections, it is now possible to rationalise print collections and provide much needed study space for students.
   2. The management of resources is based on their usage, their cost, their relevance to the current curriculum, their integration into resource lists and their value to active staff research.

8. Donations. Donated material will only be accepted if it is of significant value to the research or teaching needs of the institution. The library reserves the right to dispose of unwanted donated material.

9. As long as it is legal, no material will be excluded from selection, or withdrawn from stock solely based on an author's ethnic origin, nationality, religion, gender or opinions, nor because of partisan or doctrinal pressure.

Revised 23/01/2020 Alan Brine, Deputy Director and Head of Archives and Resource Management