Collection Development Policy Example

This document is a sample collection development policy that can be used to inform appraisal and acquisition decisions. The policy includes a general statement about the collecting goals of the institution, details about the types of materials collected by the insitution, the subject areas of interest by the institution, and the types of materials the institution generally does not retain. In her tutorial titled "Appraisal Based on a Collection Development Policy," Jennifer O'Neal states that policies such as these are intended to guide decisions and that, in practice, appraisal occurs on a case-by-case basis and cannot be strictly governed by a single document.