Collection Development Policy
The Collection Development Policy defines the scope and nature of the collecting of Australian and overseas materials for the National Library's collection. This new edition of the policy was issued in late 2008 and replaces the previous edition published in 2007.
There are no major changes in policy direction. Changes primarily focus on updating of information and clarification of some collecting areas, particularly under the Australian and Overseas sections. Many of the special collection sections remain unchanged. The main changes are documented below.
Throughout the Australian sections of the document, changes have been made to provide greater clarity of the Library’s policy in collecting certain categories of material and to remove out-dated or unnecessary detail to improve readability.
Under the section on Music, the paragraphs on acquisition of one/two copies of overseas publications with Australian content has been clarified. The different collection practices for digital music files and mixed media publications have also been identified.
There has been more substantial revision in the format of the Overseas’ sections of the Policy. For example, a new section has been added to cover "Overseas Electronic Resources". The arrangement of subjects under the separate sections of Social sciences, Humanities & the Arts and Science has also been removed. Subjects are now arranged alphabetically in one section. This was to done to enhance readability and remove some of the repetition in introductory sections. A separate section on East Timor has also been added under Asian Collections.
The policy provides guidance for staff, other libraries, readers and the general public on the Library's collecting activities as well as providing information on the scope and depth of the collections.
If you have any comments about the directions set out in the policy, please email them to select@nla.gov.au.
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