Collection Development

Development of library collections at the University of St. Thomas is a collaborative effort involving librarians, faculty, students and staff. 

Each academic department and program is assigned a librarian who functions in a liaison role (liaison librarian) providing communication between the department and the library.  Academic departments and programs also generally have a faculty liaison who works with the liaison librarian on collection development and other areas.

Liaison librarians meet to discuss collection issues in round tables organized by broad subject areas: Business (BLRT), Humanities and Arts (HART), Science and Technology (SATLRT), Social Sciences (SSLRT), and Reference (REFRT). The librarians meet regularly to review requests from faculty and to initiate their own requests, based on review tools that are appropriate to their disciplines. In addition, librarians have considerable day-to-day interaction with library users, which informs our understanding of the materials needed for research here at St. Thomas.
Background and guidelines

• Collection development and collection management at UST Libraries
• UST Libraries Collection Development Policy
• UST Libraries Collection Management Committee and Mission
• UST Libraries Mission Statement
• Library support for new curricula
• Library collection statistics (# of books, serials, etc.)

Books

• Book selection
• FAQ about book purchase requests
• Book order request form
• Information for donors (books)
• General Fund Policy
• Tools for selectors

Periodicals

• 2010 Proposed Serial Cancellations
• Periodicals request form
• Information for donors (periodicals)

• Electronic resources acquisition policy and procedures

Note: Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library, with the graduate collection for The Saint Paul Seminary and in support of UST graduate and undergraduate studies, has its own mission, reflected in its own collection development policy for resource access and acquisition.