SPEC Kit 337: Print Retention Decision Making · 67
Readily available in stable electronic environment
Restrict Approval Plan &resume PDA as funds are made available.
Robust on-going program of annexing and deaccessioning
Shared print collections shared print storage
The rise in the use of electronic formats has the consequence of decreasing the print collections rate of growth, but we
are not basing the decision to move towards electronic resources on this consideration.
There is no strategy to limit growth of print collections, however, selectors are encouraged to minimize duplication of
digital collections, of local collections, and to some extent with regional holdings, and to consider where users will
prefer or find greater value in digital formats.
We are looking at other methods for acquiring needed materials for faculty, like purchase of single articles in lieu of
subscriptions. We continue to transfer materials to on-site facility.
We have an e-preferred model for serials but have not rolled out an equivalent policy across the full monograph
collection. We are increasingly purchasing e-book packages in certain subject areas or with specific publishers and have
implemented a broad e-book PDA platform, both of which have the de facto effect of reducing some purchasing of
print monographs. We make efforts to avoid purchasing the same title in both print and electronic format (not always
possible with packages), and do not regularly purchase multiple copies of a title in any format. A second copy would
only be purchased when circulation or other data demonstrates a demand for greater access.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
48. Please enter any additional information that may assist the authors’ understanding of your
library’s strategies and decision-making process for managing print collections. N=23
1. Where the opportunity exists, we secure online access to information products instead of acquiring printed copies.
2. As time goes on, we think we should (a) spend decreasing amounts of money on published print materials and (b)
dedicate a decreasing amount of space to published printed materials, but we do not assume that the demand for
printed materials will ever completely disappear. 3. We buy fewer published books and rely more heavily on patron-
driven and demand-driven acquisitions. 4. Where feasible and appropriate, we intend to work actively with local,
regional, and national partners to identify opportunities for cooperative collecting and preservation. 5. Where possible,
low-use printed materials should be moved out of high-demand library spaces so that those spaces may be put to other
uses as desired by the library’s constituency. 6. We are proposing to explore a three-tiered approach to archiving of print
materials that might simultaneously facilitate real-time access to knowledge, better use of library space, and provide
for the long-term preservation of printed documents. Those tiers might look something like this: a. Tier 1-Support for
Dark Archives. Give support to third party dark-archive initiatives to foster an environment in which we are able to
deaccession certain low-use materials without fear that they will become permanently inaccessible. b. Tier 2-Regional
Participation in Archival Initiatives. Actively participate in regional and consortial archiving initiatives, such as WEST.
These initiatives would allow us to deaccession low-use journals in full confidence that they will remain readily available
from other institutions in the region. c. Tier 3-Local Archival Strategies. We may create local dark archives of materials
that get little use but should, for whatever reason, be safeguarded and preserved for the future. 7. We are hoping to
enlarge our on-going discussions with other local research libraries regarding collaborative collection development
and collaborative deaccessioning. 8. Generally speaking, we acquire formally published documents for purposes of
supporting real-time research and teaching needs, and unpublished documents for purposes of preservation and future
Readily available in stable electronic environment
Restrict Approval Plan &resume PDA as funds are made available.
Robust on-going program of annexing and deaccessioning
Shared print collections shared print storage
The rise in the use of electronic formats has the consequence of decreasing the print collections rate of growth, but we
are not basing the decision to move towards electronic resources on this consideration.
There is no strategy to limit growth of print collections, however, selectors are encouraged to minimize duplication of
digital collections, of local collections, and to some extent with regional holdings, and to consider where users will
prefer or find greater value in digital formats.
We are looking at other methods for acquiring needed materials for faculty, like purchase of single articles in lieu of
subscriptions. We continue to transfer materials to on-site facility.
We have an e-preferred model for serials but have not rolled out an equivalent policy across the full monograph
collection. We are increasingly purchasing e-book packages in certain subject areas or with specific publishers and have
implemented a broad e-book PDA platform, both of which have the de facto effect of reducing some purchasing of
print monographs. We make efforts to avoid purchasing the same title in both print and electronic format (not always
possible with packages), and do not regularly purchase multiple copies of a title in any format. A second copy would
only be purchased when circulation or other data demonstrates a demand for greater access.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
48. Please enter any additional information that may assist the authors’ understanding of your
library’s strategies and decision-making process for managing print collections. N=23
1. Where the opportunity exists, we secure online access to information products instead of acquiring printed copies.
2. As time goes on, we think we should (a) spend decreasing amounts of money on published print materials and (b)
dedicate a decreasing amount of space to published printed materials, but we do not assume that the demand for
printed materials will ever completely disappear. 3. We buy fewer published books and rely more heavily on patron-
driven and demand-driven acquisitions. 4. Where feasible and appropriate, we intend to work actively with local,
regional, and national partners to identify opportunities for cooperative collecting and preservation. 5. Where possible,
low-use printed materials should be moved out of high-demand library spaces so that those spaces may be put to other
uses as desired by the library’s constituency. 6. We are proposing to explore a three-tiered approach to archiving of print
materials that might simultaneously facilitate real-time access to knowledge, better use of library space, and provide
for the long-term preservation of printed documents. Those tiers might look something like this: a. Tier 1-Support for
Dark Archives. Give support to third party dark-archive initiatives to foster an environment in which we are able to
deaccession certain low-use materials without fear that they will become permanently inaccessible. b. Tier 2-Regional
Participation in Archival Initiatives. Actively participate in regional and consortial archiving initiatives, such as WEST.
These initiatives would allow us to deaccession low-use journals in full confidence that they will remain readily available
from other institutions in the region. c. Tier 3-Local Archival Strategies. We may create local dark archives of materials
that get little use but should, for whatever reason, be safeguarded and preserved for the future. 7. We are hoping to
enlarge our on-going discussions with other local research libraries regarding collaborative collection development
and collaborative deaccessioning. 8. Generally speaking, we acquire formally published documents for purposes of
supporting real-time research and teaching needs, and unpublished documents for purposes of preservation and future
