ANU Library

Collection Acquisition & Development

Selection Responsibility

  • Collection development in an academic setting depends upon cooperation between the librarians, faculty and students. Librarians work with faculty and students to identify materials that support the curriculum.
  • Materials can be suggested via email or through the Suggest a Resource form (https://an.libwizard.com/f/suggest) on the library’s website.

Acquisitions

Approved acquisitions for purchase are handled by the Director of Library Services in consultation with University administrators.

Collection Development

Selection Criteria

  1. General Criteria – Materials must meet these criteria to be included in the collection
    • Related to University programs or courses
    • Academic focus
    • High quality (authoritative, current, accurate)
    • Appropriate comprehension level
  2. Additional Criteria – Periodicals
    • The library provides access to periodicals through full-text subscription databases or online periodical subscriptions. It does not generally collect print magazines, journals, or newspapers for local collections.
  3. Additional Criteria – Audio Visual Materials
    • Audiovisual materials are selected to support both programmatic needs and specific courses.
  4. Additional Criteria – Electronic books, journals, online services
    • Interface
      1. Usability
      2. Feature-rich
      3. Customizable
      4. Integrative
    • Content
      1. Program-specific
      2. Uniqueness