The University Libraries, Virginia Tech prefer online journals where possible to increase accessibility to library resources and to save money and shelf space. Print journal subscriptions are generally maintained only if certain criteria are met.

The University Libraries have a strong documents collection including long runs of agency annual reports, complete sets of agricultural series, and strong collections in education, health, business, transportation, military history, and census. In addition, the libraries have purchased microform backup sets of the United States Congressional Serial Set, Congressional publications, Census records, and statistical publications. The libraries purchase the necessary commercial indexes, including an online version of the Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications and other electronic indexes to provide access to our collections.

We ask that donors work with us to ensure in advance that we accept only needed items. Please contact Ed Lener, Assistant Director of Collection Management (540-231-9249) as much in advance of your intended donation as possible. We may ask that you compile an inventory of the proposed gifts or allow a subject specialist from the Libraries to visit and select items.

The University Libraries at Virginia Tech acquire only a small percentage of the world’s annual output of publications. In selecting materials for inclusion in our collections, we endeavor first to identify those resources which relate to university programs and support the university’s goals in research, teaching, and service. While disciplines and languages not taught at the university are represented selectively, the entire range of human cultural practice, scientific endeavor, and religious, political, ethnic, and social expression is welcome in our collections, insofar as representative materials may be acquired with available resources.

After acquiring library materials, our primary concern is with the accessibility of these materials. We are strongly committed to the principles of intellectual freedom expressed in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights and supporting documents in the ALA Policy Manual. This includes the rejection of practices that deny or restrict access to materials, or that involve the prejudicial labeling or rating of library materials. In accordance with intellectual freedom principles, University Libraries have chosen to protect selected items from theft and mutilation by placing on Reserve materials deemed to be most at risk. Here, these resources may be kept accessible, yet protected from theft and damage.

Approved Nov. 18, 2010

In addition to the many books that are selected individually by subject librarians, the University Libraries maintains a set of approval plans with Yankee Book Peddlers (YPB) and select other vendors. These agreements provide for the automatic receipt of new materials matching the Libraries' predetermined specifications, which consist of publisher lists, subject profiles, and other terms governing such parameters as academic level, edition, language and price. Our publisher lists include all US and British university presses, along with numerous trade publishers and scholarly and scientific societies.

The University Libraries, Virginia Tech is dedicated to the ideals of Title 44 USC to provide free use to federal government publications, regardless of format, to the general public.

De-selection of library materials is the process of removing items from the collection and is essential for the maintenance of an active, academically useful library collection. Subject specialists are responsible for conducting an ongoing de-selection effort in their designated disciplines and for maintaining the quality of the collection.

Benefits to be gained through de-selection include an increase in the availability of space for collections and services, and a higher proportion of relevant materials on the shelves for the use of the University community.

De-selection decisions are made using flexible guidelines in conjunction with perceptive judgment.  The following factors should be considered on a discipline by discipline basis:

• Relevancy to the University’s programs
• Timeliness and currency of the information
• Value for historical research
• Last copy with archival value 
• Superseded editions/volumes
• Redundancy or multiple copies
• Usage data
• Physical condition
• Obsolete technologies or format

Approved Nov. 18, 2010