General Collection Development Policy: Collections Maintenance

Collection management is a series of activities that guides the stewardship of our general print and physical media collections. These procedures ensure that physical collections in our libraries are meeting the evolving needs of our patrons, that we maintain enough space to add new materials, that our on-site collections are optimized for use, that fragile and/or valuable materials are protected, and all materials are well cared for. It comprises a set of regular tasks that are necessary to keep the library's materials organized, ensuring efficient access for both internal and external users. These tasks apply to all ULS general collections, across all ULS locations.

Library collections will be transferred to storage to:

  • Maintain adequate shelf capacity to allow for growth and shifting across entire collection, and within LC classes.
  • Ensure enhanced security for rare or valuable materials.
  • Meet preservation needs of individual items.

Materials considered for storage transfer will be identified using the following general criteria:

  • Physical condition of the item (see damaged materials policy and workflow document). ULS Staff access only

  • Need for additional security, for rare or valuable items.
  • Publication and/or acquisition date.
  • Total circulation count and most recent circulation date.
  • Availability of space (based on the previous year’s growth and physical inspection of shelving).
  • Other local conditions and considerations.

If an identical item is already available at another ULS location, it will not be eligible for transfer and should be considered for re-housing.

Generally, a transfer of physical collections to offsite storage facility will take place annually. Individual items, e.g., damaged or requiring additional protection can be transferred at any time. Any routine requests for transfer can be suspended if larger or urgent transfer projects emerge.

Associated documentation: ULS Staff access only

  1. Transferring General Collections to LCSU.
  2. Transferring Rare Books to LCSU.

In some cases, materials can be restored from off-site storage to locations on campus. These can happen when:

  • Materials are frequently requested (based on usage reports).
  • Materials are needed to support a new class or program.
  • Materials are needed for use at short notice.

Associated documentation: ULS Staff access only

  1. Restoring Materials Stored at LCSU to Stacks.

All deaccessioning decisions must balance the needs of our community, the sharing agreements with our partners, and space and other considerations that the ULS may have. De-accessioning may take place when there is:

  • Redundancy:
    • Multiple copies of the same item,
    • Duplication between physical and (perpetual access) digital collections, or between the ULS holdings and those of organizations where we have reciprocal borrowing agreements, if any.
  • Poor physical condition:
    • Damage that cannot be repaired without expensive and time-intensive conservation treatments or cannot be repaired, e.g., mold, vandalism that renders the content unusable, and
    • Large sections of missing pages.
  • Certain outdated or inaccurate content (as exemplified by older textbook editions that are no longer considered accurate by a consensus in the field), unless the material contributes to a research collection.
  • In exceptional circumstances, by request: see Returning or Withdrawing General Collections Materials policy.

Damaged Materials

Damaged materials from the general collections that are defined as those that cannot be easily mended by access services staff are transferred to LCSU for additional assessment and disposition. Each item is reviewed for duplication at ULS, total and recent circulation activity, any retention obligations, and overall physical condition. Depending on the factors described above, an item can be:/p>

  • Ingested to LCSU with a note about the extent of damage.
  • Replaced by a new copy and de-accessioned.
  • De-accessioned.

Note: in certain circumstances, material may be sent for conservation.

Associated documentation: ULS Staff access only

  1. Damaged and Minor Book Repair at holding libraries.
  2. Triaging Damaged Books Process.

Lost and Missing Materials

Lost items are identified as on loan and not returned within 28 days of the loan expiry date.

Missing items are those not found in stacks following three searches conducted within the first 48 hours of patron request and are not on loan.

Lists of missing and lost items are generated monthly for replacement decisions. In general,./p>

  • Items from “popular” collections (e.g. Alldred) are not replaced.
  • Items for which there is another ULS copy are not replaced.
  • Other criteria for replacement decision include, age, recent usage, availability of newer editions, etc.

Associated documentation: ULS Staff access only

  1. Item Search best practices
    1. Missing Item Search Form.
  2. ULS REPORTS: Lost, Missing, In-Transit Workflow.

Other procedures and policies

Associated documentation for staff: login required to Associated documentation: ULS Staff access only

  1. Shelf reading: best practices to ensure library materials are shelved correctly within the correct physical location.
  2. In-House Use: best practices to record the use of browsed library materials that were not loaned.