Collection Development Strategy

Collection Development Strategy

Purpose and Guiding Principles

The Central Washinton University Libraries collection reflects the breadth and diversity of the university’s curriculum, research, and community. Our approaches to acquiring and maintaining library resources continually evolve in response to emerging fields of inquiry, advances in technology, and changes in scholarly communication and publishing. In a rapidly changing information environment, we must be adaptable while grounding our work in the enduring mission and guiding principles of CWU Libraries. This document articulates those principles as they apply to the full life cycle of library materials purchased or licensed by the libraries.

The following values underly the selection and retention of all materials for the libraries.

Student Success

  • Offer collections in multiple formats, providing access to information for students across CWU campuses, centers, and online programs.
  • Collect materials that are discoverable, usable, and accessible for all users.

Academic and Scholarly Success

  • Support the current curriculum and research interests of our community.
  • Proactively engage with faculty and acquire resources to increase adoption of affordable course materials.

Engagement

  • Seek input from stakeholders, in keeping with the libraries’ mission to be a full partner with students and faculty as they achieve academic and personal success.

Belonging

  • Continually evaluate library resources with an equity lens.
  • Collect materials that focus on culturally relevant and intentionally representative materials that reflect the voices of the university’s students, faculty, and staff.
  • In keeping with the libraries’ anti-racism action plan, remove barriers to information and resources; highlight historically excluded voices in the academic record.

Stewardship

  • Continually assess the collection for currency and relevance to the curriculum.
  • Prioritize resources that provide a high return on investment.
  • Collaborate with partner libraries in the Orbis Cascade Alliance and national library networks to broaden access to materials through group purchasing, reciprocal borrowing, and shared retention plans.

Intellectual Freedom

Selection Priorities and Criteria

In order of precedence, priorities for the collection and acquisition of materials include:

  1. Resources aligned with teaching and the research needs of students, including required course texts; materials that reflect the current curriculum and support completion of course assignments; materials that generally support student academic success or professional preparation; and teaching or course preparation materials that are likely to receive ongoing use by multiple faculty or departments.
  2. Resources that support the research and scholarship needs of faculty. Materials for faculty research unrelated to the curriculum will be acquired as funds allow.
  3. Materials that provide broad or enduring subject coverage, which generally support a university education.
  4. Materials not related to curricular or research purposes that support student belonging or wellness.

Resources that meet one or more of the priorities above are evaluated for selection based on the following criteria, in order of importance:

  1. Content and alignment with curriculum
    Selectors will consider relevance to current course offerings and the uniqueness of the content within CWU Libraries and Orbis Cascade Alliance. For databases and electronic collections, the libraries will typically arrange trial access and gather faculty feedback on content quality and applicability before a final decision is made.
  2. Cost Effectiveness
    Selection balances anticipated usage against cost, using comparable library resources as benchmarks. The financial sustainability of subscriptions is assessed by considering annual price increases, licensing model, and perpetual access rights.
  3. Usability
    All electronic resources must comply with applicable regulations for the accessibility of web content. In evaluating electronic resources, usability considerations include compatibility with Single Sign On, interface design and ease of navigation, and the ability to download content without need for additional software. For physical resources, usability considerations include format stability and ease of handling. Materials in obsolete formats or formats that are difficult to preserve (e.g. loose-leaf publications) are considered less appropriate for the circulating collection.
  4. Administrative Considerations
    All library materials, including one-time purchases, subscriptions, and perpetual access resources, represent ongoing costs in the form of storage, maintenance, access management, and staff support. Factors that may reduce these costs include the availability of high-quality metadata, compatibility with library and financial management systems, clear licensing terms, and responsive customer support.

Formats and Access Models

As noted above, library collection strategies must respond to a continually and rapidly changing environment. Adaptability requires consideration of all formats and access models for inclusion in the collection.

Electronic Preferred

The libraries acquire materials in a variety of formats, taking into account curricular need, academic discipline, cost, and user preference. Because CWU Libraries serves multiple online programs and eight locations across Washington, electronic formats are usually preferred for books, journals, and media.

Print Collections

The libraries maintain a selective print collection through targeted acquisitions in designated subject areas and in response to user requests. Print materials of broad interest or current cultural relevance are also acquired to sustain the physical library as a welcoming space of discovery, browsing, and serendipitous learning. The Friends of the Brooks Library provide support for a leisure reading collection of popular fiction, non-fiction, and young adult titles.

Textbooks

The libraries’ Affordable Course Materials initiative identifies and acquires library-licensed versions of required course texts. When available at a reasonable cost, the libraries will acquire e-books that permit unlimited simultaneous users. Print copies for course reserves will be considered by faculty request.

Open Access

Recognizing the benefits of open access publishing for readers, authors, and the advancement of research and scholarship, the libraries support open access projects that meet the current collection development criteria and budget. Read and publish agreements, subscribe to open, and other funding models will be evaluated using the criteria above. For open access resources, cost effectiveness is assessed according to the benefits to CWU readers and authors, and the sustainability of the project.

Collection Evaluation

To maintain a curriculum-aligned and cost-effective collection, the libraries will routinely evaluate both physical and electronic collections. Retention decisions use the same criteria as initial selection: content and alignment with curriculum, cost effectiveness, usability, and administrative considerations.

Subscription resources are evaluated on a regular schedule and reviewed by subject areas to provide a holistic view of disciplinary needs. The Collection Development Team assesses resources using quantitative data and qualitative feedback, including faculty input gathered through surveys. Following the review, the Associate Dean of Libraries will endeavor to meet with department faculty and share findings before making a final retention decision.

Evaluation of physical collections includes gap analyses for new courses and academic programs. Materials may be deaccessioned if they are superseded, obsolete, damaged, or no longer relevant to the curriculum.

Roles and Responsibilities

Responsibility for collection development and management is shared across multiple units within the libraries.

Dean of Libraries

The Dean of Libraries has final authority over the collections budget and related business decisions.

Associate Dean of Libraries

The Associate Dean of Libraries: Collection and Technology Strategies is responsible for developing, implementing, and communicating a vision for the collection that aligns with university and libraries priorities. These responsibilities include monitoring developments in the field, overseeing the collections budget, ensuring equitable support for academic departments, engaging with university faculty regarding collections decisions, and coordinating assessment. The Associate Dean also reviews proposals for new academic programs to ensure sufficient resources.

Collection Development Team

Chaired by the Associate Dean, the Collection Development Team includes all library faculty and members of the collections unit. The Team advises on overall collection strategy, large investments in acquisitions, and retention decisions. The group also acts as a communication channel between the libraries and academic departments. Members may select resources for one-time purchase.

Collections Unit

The collections unit selects, acquires, describes, and preserves library content; ensures the discoverability and accessibility of resources; performs ongoing assessment; and manages collections funds.

Related Policies

Archives and Special Collections Collection Development Policy

Gift Policy

Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials

This document will be reviewed annually and updated as needed.

Last update: June 2026

This document includes language adapted with permission from Smith College Library’s Collection Development Strategy.

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