Collection Development

This policy statement is intended to provide librarians and the academic community of UW-Superior guidelines for the procurement, development, and management of its information resources.

• Equitably support the teaching and research needs of students, faculty, instructors, and staff at UW-Superior across all disciplines.
• Flexibly evolve in alignment with campus strategic goals, curricula and research needs.
• Make sustainable financial decisions that support critical and creative thinkers and compound the value of its collections.
• Value collaboration and cooperation with CUWL and other regional institutions.

• Select print, electronic, and audiovisual material systematically and efficiently.
• Provide access to information through purchase, licensing, or donations-in-kind, and through cooperative purchase and resource sharing agreements.
• Develop collections that are timely and adequate to subject areas taught at UW-Superior.
• Maintain the collections through appropriate preservation and refreshment methods.
• Assess the value, relevance, and use of the collection in order to make evidence-based decisions.
• Collect and share perspectives of diverse experiences, subjects, and backgrounds.

Jim Dan Hill Library provides access to resources in formats useful to teaching, learning, and research at UW-Superior. The library applies the following criteria to selection and deselection of all formats:

• Curricular need/relevance
• Budgetary considerations
• Comparative cost and value
• Compatibility with equipment provided by the University (as verified with campus Technology Services)
• Currency of content
• Level and scope of material
• Unmet subject areas relevant to the curriculum
• Cooperative purchasing opportunities
• Anticipated level of use
• Accessibility
• Evidence-based using reviews and award or subject lists from library approved sources

• Technical feasibility
• Functionality and reliability
• Vendor support
• Models available for access or purchase
• Licensing terms
• Usage data for renewals

Jim Dan Hill Library understands that traditional publishing and review sources don’t capture the full breadth of the diverse experience.  To continue our commitment towards providing access to information of EDI Resources, the library will actively seek out and evaluate reviews, lists, and small alternative presses promoting subjects and creators of marginalized backgrounds.

Deselection is a critical aspect of collection development. It enables a collection to retain relevance and usefulness and allows space for growth in new content areas. Deselection of materials is informed by Jim Dan Hill Library’s selection criteria. The following factors influence any decision to retain materials:

• Academic Library best practices.
• Disciplinary expertise and professional judgment of selectors.
• Guidelines from appropriate accrediting bodies and professional associations.
• The unique needs of University programs and disciplines.
• Availability in other formats.
• Number of copies in UW-System Libraries. 
• Ongoing changes in space needs.
• Physical condition of materials.
• Outdated materials (to be replaced with more current materials)

For the complete Jim Dan Hill Library Collection Policy please click the downloadable pdf link.