Madeleine Clark Wallace Library

Collection Policy

A. INTRODUCTION

These policies and procedures are used to develop Madeleine Clark Wallace Library’s collections as the essential source of scholarly information for the Wheaton community. To best support the mission of the College, the Library selects resources that represent a variety of perspectives and align with the curriculum. This is a living document. This version was approved on August 27, 2025.

  1. Library Collections

    Information about Wallace Library’s current collections is available on our website. Information about the Marion B. Gebbie Archives & Special Collections including named collections and their locations, is available on the Archives & Special Collections website pages.

  2. Consortial Partnerships

    The Library maintains memberships in multiple consortia for cooperative purchasing and resource sharing. These relationships allow the Library to provide materials that support the undergraduate curriculum and selected research needs of faculty.

  3. Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    The Library affirms that Black lives matter. The Library is deeply committed to social justice and to supporting the work that the Wheaton community directs toward diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. The Library understands that there are gaps in the collections and continually works to address them. The Library makes collections more inclusive by:

    1. Developing expertise in inclusive descriptive cataloging terms and metadata schema;
    2. Expanding vendors for monographic purchasing, including local independent bookstores;
    3. Identifying collection gaps in underrepresented subject areas and works by authors from marginalized communities, and involving students, experts, and community members in selecting materials that address those gaps.

B. RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTION

Resource selection is a complex process that involves library staff and faculty members. In the Library, the Discovery & Access and Research & Instruction teams identify gaps in the collection and evaluate requests and recommendations to select materials that support the College’s and Library’s missions, values and commitments. Faculty members, as subject specialists for their fields, are encouraged to recommend materials that support the undergraduate curriculum. All Wheaton community members may submit title recommendations for acquisition. Selection for Archives & Special Collections is the responsibility of the College Archivist.

The Library reserves the right to refuse any request for materials inappropriate for the collection. Ultimate responsibility for collection development resides with the Dean of Library Services.

C. COLLECTION LEVELS

The Library of Congress provides guidelines that outline the depth to which a subject might be collected. The Library selects most materials at the Instructional Support Level:

A collection that in a university is adequate to support undergraduate and most graduate instruction, or sustained independent study; that is, adequate to maintain knowledge of a subject required for limited or generalized purposes, of less than research intensity. It includes a wide range of basic monographs, complete collections of works of more important writers, selections from the works of secondary writers, a selection of representative journals, and reference tools and fundamental bibliographical apparatus pertaining to the subject.

Selected subjects may be collected at the Research Level when sufficient scholarship warrants. Subjects not specifically covered in the curriculum may be collected at Minimal or Basic Levels.

D. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The general criteria for selecting library materials include:

  • Importance of subject matter in relation to the College’s educational goals and curriculum;
  • Balance of the collection’s coverage of all subject areas;
  • Timeliness or permanence of the material;
  • The author’s or editor’s reputation and significance within their field;
  • Authoritativeness based on recommendations/criticism by respected authorities and reviewers;
  • Relative importance to similar materials;
  • Clarity of presentation, readability, and accessibility;
  • Reputation and standing of the publisher;
  • Local availability of the title;
  • Price.

The specific criteria that follow address additional factors considered during the selection process.

  1. General Collection

    1. Currency: The Library prioritizes purchases of newly published works. The Library may pursue retrospective purchases in certain subject areas as funds allow.
    2. Editions & Sets: The Library purchases the latest edition of any item unless an earlier edition is requested, complete texts rather than abridged editions, and complete sets rather than individual parts unless the cost is prohibitive or a complete set is not essential.
    3. Format: The Library typically purchases items in a single format. Priority is given to digital formats that enable multiple simultaneous users and remote access. The Library purchases items in physical format when the required content is only available in that format, when there is a prohibitive price difference between digital and print, when the functionality of digital format is inferior to the print, or when the print format provides an important inherent functionality that cannot be duplicated digitally. Paperbacks are preferred and are treated to maintain durability.
    4. Language: English is preferred, except for materials used by foreign language/literature courses.
    5. Out of Print Items: The Library makes a good faith effort to purchase requested out-of-print items.
    6. Price: All purchase requests are subject to availability of funds. The Library can refuse or delay purchase of prohibitively expensive items depending on the availability of special funds.
    7. Recreational Materials: After primary curricular needs have been met, the Library may collect other materials that give balance to the collection or meet the special interests and needs of the community.
    8. Reimbursement for Purchases by Faculty: Individual faculty are sometimes in a good position to purchase certain kinds of hard-to-procure items; e.g. a professor in Bhutan may have immediate access to materials not available through US library suppliers. Faculty must contact the Dean of Library Services before making purchases on behalf of the Library. If approved in advance, the Library reimburses faculty for items. Purchase receipts are required for reimbursement.
    9. Replacements: Circulation history, price, availability for purchase, and availability through interlibrary loan determine whether the Library replaces missing or damaged items. Certain damaged items are sent to a bindery for repair on an annual basis.
    10. Single Issue Periodicals: The Library typically does not purchase single issues of periodicals. Special theme issues are considered for purchase only if required for a course.
    11. Textbooks: To support equity and inclusion, the Library purchases, whenever possible, all books required for all courses and submitted by faculty to the College Bookstore. The Library does not purchase textbook access codes.
    12. Wheaton Authors: The Library purchases duplicate titles of works fully authored or edited by Wheaton alumni, students, faculty, staff, and emeriti. One copy is retained in the non-circulating Wheaton Authors collection or its subset, Faculty In Print; the other copy circulates. The Library also purchases duplicate titles of works with chapters or introductions by faculty members. Gifts of these titles are encouraged.

  2. Audiovisual Collection

    The Library collects streaming videos and DVDs. When streaming video is available from commonly used vendors at a reasonable price, that format is preferred for all content. The Library does not purchase public performance rights. Faculty should refer to the Copyright Guide to determine if showing films in classroom settings is fair use.

    Music faculty are, at present, the sole selectors of scores, sheet music, and music in CD format.

    Spoken recordings are purchased only when the format lends itself to the teaching of a subject, e.g. an author reciting her own works or for practice of a special language such as Middle English. Students with accessible media needs should contact the Accessibility Services office for expert assistance.

  3. Electronic Resource Collection

    The Library’s collection of electronic resources expedites retrieval, allows for simultaneous use in most cases, and permits off-campus access. In addition to the general criteria listed at the top of this section, electronic resources are also evaluated for selection according to the following criteria:

    • COUNTER and SUSHI compliant usage statistics;
    • Documented progress towards WCAG 2.0 AA compliance;
    • Technical documentation and support for the duration of the subscription;
    • Compatibility with library discovery layer and single sign-on integration;
    • Reasonable licensing agreements that do not prohibit ILL or text and data mining (TDM) or impede fair use;
    • Added value over other formats or products;
    • Cost/benefit analysis.

  4. Journals Collection

    The Library provides most journal subscriptions in a single format only. Preference is given to electronic formats and publisher-supplied content as opposed to content provided in aggregator packages. Print subscriptions may be preferred for image quality, coverage, or to avoid publisher-imposed embargo periods. Current subscriptions are reviewed annually.

  5. Digital Collections

    The Library collects and makes available digitally the scholarly and historical material of the College, primarily in , ArchivesSpace, and Archive-It. This includes faculty, student, and institutional publications, curricular materials, historical and legislative records, faculty governance documents, image and video collections, and archived web content. The Library cannot guarantee digitization of any tangible items.

  6. Archives & Special Collections

    The Library, through Archives & Special Collections, collects material related to Wheaton College, its people and environs, and broader primary source material that supports the curriculum and research needs of the College. The Library seeks, collects, arranges, describes, and makes available text-based, two-dimensional, primary source and audiovisual materials.

    1. Archival Records:
      1. Administrative records: Records of the daily activities deemed appropriate for permanent retention of the College are transferred to the Archives in accordance with institutional records retention schedules and compliance established by the Records and Information Management Committee.
      2. Manuscript collections: Archival collections of material relating to students, faculty, staff, alumnae/i, trustees, and friends of the College are acquired by donation. Collections that provide insight into the lives of Wheaton students and community members are of particular interest. Materials may include correspondence, lecture notes and curriculum materials, biographical material, records from departmental or College-wide activities, research-related records and data, literary manuscripts, publications and reports authored, photographs and audiovisual materials, scrapbooks, notebooks, press clippings and releases, rare books, and other rare publications.
    2. Special Collections: Special Collections comprises rare books and manuscripts acquired from the circulating collection, by donation, and in limited cases, by purchase. The Library collects materials that support the curriculum and research interests of Wheaton College faculty, staff, and students. Current collecting areas include materials authored by or about historically underrepresented and marginalized people, the history of women, gender, and sexuality in society, racial diversity in New England, and non-Western texts and manuscripts.

E. COLLECTION MAINTENANCE & ASSESSMENT

The Library makes every effort to maintain a collection with the most current and useful information. Consistent maintenance of the collection through withdrawal of selected materials supports a well-balanced collection that best serves the curricular needs of the College. Retaining materials that no longer serve the curriculum impedes efficient access to suitable material. Materials are evaluated for their individual worth and for their value in relation to the rest of the collection.

  1. General Collection

    Items may be removed from the general collection due to any of the following:

    • Physical condition: The item is moldy, damaged, or otherwise irreparable.
    • Additional copies: Duplicated items may be deaccessioned if demand for them diminishes.
    • Superseded material: Older editions may be deaccessioned if a new edition is received.

    The library conducts an annual deselection of items from the general collection with input from faculty based on the following factors:

    • Circulation: Items that fail to circulate over an extended period of time, usually fifteen years.
    • Historical value: Items having no intrinsic or historical value.
    • Availability: Items available at over 100 libraries.
  2. Audiovisual Collection

    In addition to the general collection criteria, DVDs, CDs, and LPs are considered for deaccession if their physical condition no longer allows for regular use.

    Items in legacy formats eligible for preservation are digitized and streamed for registered users. The legacy format is retained in non-circulating closed storage.

  3. Electronic Resources Collection

    Electronic resource subscriptions are regularly reviewed for usage, cost per use, and the resource’s relevance to and support for the curriculum of the College. Items with low usage, high cost per use, or which no longer support the curriculum may be canceled. Electronic resource subscription reviews involve the subject librarian in consultation with faculty and the Director of Discovery & Access. Decisions are subject to approval from the Dean of Library Services.

  4. Journals Collection

    Journals and serials are eligible for deaccessioning when online access to full text overlaps with print coverage and online access is economically and technologically sustainable from a trusted vendor or when the title is held in print at over 100 libraries. Journal deaccessioning involves the subject librarian in consultation with faculty and the Director of Discovery & Access. Decisions are subject to approval from the Dean of Library Services.

  5. Digital Collections

    Digital collections are regularly reviewed for accessibility, findability, and appropriateness of platform.

  6. Archives & Special Collections

    The Library deaccessions archival and special collections items only if they no longer fit within the scope of the collections or if materials no longer meet a pedagogical or curricular purpose. Reasonable attempts are made to transfer items to other repositories. In the event of a sale of some or all of a collection’s contents, 100% of the proceeds are used to support and sustain the development and maintenance of the special collections, in alignment with the values in the ACRL Code of Ethics for Special Library Collections Librarians.

F. GIFTS

  1. General Collection

    The library accepts limited items for the general collection that meet current and anticipated curricular and research needs or that contribute to the historical record of the College. We reserve the right to decline gifts of materials that do not meet current collection goals and policies.

    All donations to the general collection must be pre-approved by the Library Collections Manager. While intermediaries may initiate conversations with library staff about potential gifts, the Library Collections Manager must have direct contact with a donor before gifts are accepted and received. The Library Collections Manager will provide a deed of gift that donors are required to complete before a donation will be considered.

    The same criteria used for the purchase of new materials are applied when gifts are reviewed.

    Gifts are accepted with the understanding that once received, they are owned by the College. Upon receipt, the Library determines retention, location, cataloging treatment and other considerations related to the use or disposition of gifts. Any accepted donation that does not meet the collection criteria may be transferred to Better World Books or a similar organization. While a gift of books or materials may qualify for a tax deduction, by law the Library cannot provide an appraisal for the gift’s value. Finding an appraiser and completing the appraisal prior to donation are the responsibility of the donor.

    The following materials are generally unsuitable as gifts:

    • Complimentary desk copies or publisher samples;
    • Mass market paperbacks;
    • Older editions of titles owned by the library;
    • Books that are marked up or in poor physical condition;
    • Workbooks, laboratory manuals, standardized tests, and other instructional supplies;
    • Materials on hobbies and crafts;
    • Outdated titles containing erroneous or misleading information;
    • Incomplete sets of periodicals, unless the set completes an existing run or has historic value.
    • Materials for which copyright clearance is not confirmed;
    • Content that duplicates current local holdings;
    • Content that falls outside of the scope of the collections or would not be considered for inclusion in the collections on the basis of the selection criteria outlined above.
  2. Archives & Special Collections

    Archives & Special Collections welcomes gifts of rare books and relevant manuscript collections that fall within the scope of its collecting activities. Interested parties should contact discovery_access@wheatoncollege.edu to inquire about gifts and donations. Due to spatial restraints, gifts of furniture, large artwork, or similar items are not accepted.

    Due to constraints of storage space and of labor, donations of substantially-sized collections can only be accepted along with a monetary donation to support and care for the collection.