Collections and Information Services Budget: Policy and Guidelines

University of Connecticut Libraries

Endorsed as revised by Leadership Council, April 12, 2000

The Collections and Information Services Budget enables the University Libraries to acquire and preserve high quality collections and information services in support of the University's research and educational missions. This Budget covers the direct expenses related to providing and maintaining access to information resources for the University community and other authorized Library clients. The following guidelines suggest five broad categories of expenditures that may appropriately be charged to this budget.

Each year's Collections Budget is allocated by subject, format, and other categories. One function of these allocations is to help assure that the five categories described here are weighted in a fashion that respects the mission of the University Libraries and that meets the evolving short- and long-term interests of the University community in a cost-effective manner. Working within their assigned Budget allocations, designated subject liaisons, bibliographers, curators, document delivery staff, and the Libraries' Networked Services Team are responsible for making individual selection decisions, and should follow these guidelines, the guidelines established by the Ownership and Access framework (1999), individual subject and service policies, and other relevant policies.

Information and the Costs of Access 

The ultimate goal of the acquisition of collections and other information services is to provide access to information content, and selectors are responsible for anticipating costs associated with access that might not be covered by the Collections Budget. Examples of such costs may include cataloging records, shelving, CD-ROM drives, and file storage space. Selectors should consult in advance with appropriate bibliographers or area heads if there is any doubt that existing equipment, facilities, or staff can accommodate an intended acquisition.

1. Information Content for the Collections

The Collections budget purchases books, sound recordings, journal subscriptions, manuscripts and archives, statistical and spatial data files, and other types of information in analog and digital formats for the common benefit of the University community. Some of these resources become part of the Libraries' permanent cumulating collections, while others are held on a year-to-year basis without accumulating a permanent archive.

In both cases, collections purchased through the Collections Budget shall be indexed in or hyperlinked to one of the Libraries' primary public information systems (e.g., the Homer catalog or the Library website). Collections purchased with the Collections budget shall be available for public use within a UCL facility, through the University network, or within a university facility that maintains regular hours of availability to the university community. The location of collections outside UCL facilities or networks must be approved by the Principal Bibliographer or the Head of Collections Services in consultation with the Director of Library Services.

2. Information Content for Individual Users

Through its interlibrary borrowing and document delivery services, the Libraries provide paper or digital copies of certain categories of published information to eligible members of the University community. If the ILL or document delivery service itemizes fees in a way that distinguishes recurring administrative or system costs from the direct cost of the information, the Collections Budget should fund only the latter.

3. Pointers to Information Content

Published indexes, abstracts, and catalogs provide bibliographic access to information content that is part of the Libraries' collections, that can be acquired by the Libraries through document delivery services, or that can be used at other libraries or repositories. These indexes shall be indexed in or hyperlinked to one of the Libraries' primary information servers. Similarly, cataloging records (in MARC or another standard record format) for print, microform, or  digital resources owned or leased by the Libraries may be purchased using the Collections Budget if they are loaded into one of the Libraries' primary catalogs.

4. Reformatting and Preservation

The Collections Budget supports reformatting in print, microform, or digital formats collections owned by the Libraries or selected (from materials not owned here) for addition to the Libraries' collection in reformatted form. Applicable copyright laws governing reproduction in libraries shall be observed. Reformatting supported by the Collections Budget may be a preservation strategy, or it may (as in the case of digitization) be a means of extending and enhancing access.

The Collections Budget also supports the direct costs of binding books and journals owned by the Libraries and made available for public use.

5. Consortial Memberships and Program Support for New Forms of Scholarly Communication

The Collections Budget may be used, with the concurrence of the Head of Collections Services and the Director of Library Services, for membership or consortial fees that directly expand the availability of information resources for the University community or that directly support progressive models of  licensing or scholarly publishing. With these expenditures, the Libraries seek to influence the information and publishing marketplace to the advantage of the University of Connecticut and the greater scholarly community.