The University of Virginia Library Collection Development and Management Strategy
About our strategy
The University of Virginia Library collects, organizes, preserves, and provides access to rich and varied resources in support of the research and teaching missions of the University. Its collection is not static but rather adaptable in response to past, current, and future needs of the University. The Library aligns its approach to collecting with the University’s objective of excellence in leadership, scholarship, and global engagement.
The Collections Management Team, operates strategically in collegial collaboration with Library subject liaisons and University faculty to provide access to information, images, data, music, etc. Our methodology is designed to provide a framework for collection development and management while remaining flexible and responsive to changing University and Library priorities. The Library prefers, when possible and practical, to select digital resources to increase user access, provide ethical stewardship of its budgets, and to be a good partner to scholarly publishers.
Through its collections, the Library affirms the University’s commitment to the advancement, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge in a facilitative and impartial environment. Accordingly, the Library’s collection management strategy:
- advocates intellectual freedom in support of diverse points of view and confidential, equitable access to information;
- respects intellectual property and author rights in current and emerging methods of scholarly output;
- endorses open access and digital initiatives in scholarly publication and communication;
- seeks to promote discoverability and accessibility, enrich useful Library spaces, protect physical materials, and provide scholars with thoughtfully curated collections:
- leverages relationships with local, national, and international partners to provide access to the largest possible number of resources;
- advances sustainable scholarly communication and dissemination.
What we collect
In brief, the Library collects:
- resources that support current research and teaching initiatives of the University;
- resources in new, developing, and interdisciplinary areas for delivery at the point of need;
- internationally produced resources to support the global mission of the University;
- resources produced by University of Virginia faculty, researchers, and students;
- University- and Virginia-related data and materials.
Our approach to collection development
The Library’s collection development process involves:
- analyzing prospective and existing resources with an understanding of University departmental needs;
- balancing support of both expansive and targeted University programs and initiatives;
- obtaining resources to maximize access and minimize user wait;
- leveraging appropriate emerging formats and modes of access in anticipation of user needs;
- capitalizing on high quality metadata, whether created in-house or purchased;
- maximizing consortia relationships to enhance resource accessibility through interlibrary loan;
- collaborating with peer institutions in consortia to retain materials and build shared collections;
- engaging in new methods of scholarly communication;
- identifying and protecting rare and unique materials, as well as anticipating and safeguarding potentially rare materials;
- accepting gifts when appropriate for inclusion in the collection;
- striving for dynamic equilibrium between immediate on-the-shelf access and rapid response delivery from publishers.
Academic and intellectual freedom
The Library remains firmly committed to the principles of academic and intellectual freedom, In alignment with the ideals of open and unrestricted scholarly discourse, the Library does not engage in the censorship of research materials. Accordingly, its collections may include resources presenting viewpoints some may consider controversial or objectionable. The Library adheres to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights. Please see the Library’s page related to inquiries or concerns about items in our collections.
Textbooks
The Library is dedicated to collaborating with faculty and instructors to acquire and provide materials that reduce textbook costs for students. The Library encourages faculty to adopt materials already held within its extensive collections of e-books, journals, and streaming videos and encourages the use of open educational resources (OER). This initiative also supports open pedagogy, the practice of leveraging OER to foster equitable and active learning experiences that engage students as active creators of information, leading to improved engagement and academic success. Please contact the Library for more information.
The Library is unable to purchase print or electronic textbooks for all courses offered at the University of Virginia. Please see the complete textbook acquisition policy for further details and information. Requests for textbooks are evaluated using the criteria listed on the Textbook Acquisition Policy page.
Access to specialized materials such as standards, datasets, case studies, grammar tools, etc.
Many specialized materials and tools are limited to single users and thus fall outside of the Library’s collections parameters. Students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to contact the Library to determine whether a resource is appropriate for inclusion in the collections. Requests should be:
- appropriate for wide curricular and research application for the University community,
- adequately supported by the vendor providing the material,
- unrestrictive in licensing terms and technical requirements.
The Library welcomes the opportunity to explore joint purchase agreements with individuals, departments, and schools. However, any agreement would need to fall within the parameters of the Library’s strategic goals and objectives.
Open access
Open Access materials offer free and immediate online availability of current scholarship. These resources exist without cost to users due to the financial investments of libraries and other institutions. In alignment with its strategic goals, the Library actively supports sustainable scholarship through Open Access content funded by monetary contributions and personnel expertise and labor. Open Access materials are added to the collection if they fall within current collection guidelines.
Materials not collected
The Library considers multiple criteria when deciding not to add specific materials. Those factors may include unsustainable costs, limited University-wide application, and limited-access resources.
The Library does not collect certain resources such as test preparation workbooks, language instruction resources, audiovisual materials, popular and self-help materials more suitable to the public library, travel guides, lab notebooks, and datasets and electronic resources that are restricted to a single user.
Collection analysis
The Library actively analyses and evaluates collections and their use. Our emphasis is on maintaining user privacy while collecting data to understand the following about the Library’s resources:
- accessibility to all users
- University authorship
- authenticated access
- usage by various University communities of practice
- support for fair use and copyright
- user confidentiality and privacy
- cost effectiveness and sustainable pricing
- stable platforms providing for ease of use
- quality
- strength of the collection in subject areas
- support of teaching and research initiatives
- breadth and depth of collections in various subject domains
These are a sampling of the data the Library analyzes. Please contact the Library if you have questions or concerns. Contact: lib-collections@virginia.edu
Summary
The University of Virginia Library Collections Management Team recognizes that we work in a highly connected environment and seeks input from subject experts in the Library, University, library profession, and scholarly societies. The team is fiscally responsible and thoughtful in the stewardship of collection purchases with both Commonwealth and endowment budgets. Collections are built, curated, and managed to range from basic instructional support to comprehensive research engagement, depending on University audience and departmental strengths and initiatives. The team understands that the collection is ever-evolving and is managed to be responsive to user needs and changing University priorities.
Last updated: 4/21/2025