Collections framework

Overview

The development, management and stewardship of the University Library’s collections is an essential service to support the current and future teaching, learning and research ambitions of the University community.

The University of Sydney Library Collections Framework:

  • sets out principles to guide the development of the University Library’s General Collection, Rare Books and Special Collections, the Sydney eScholarship Repository and Sydney Digital Collections
  • describes the University Library’s professional collection development and management practices
  • communicates the University Library’s selection, retention and management principles and professional collections management practices to the University and the wider community.

University Library staff will use the principles and guidelines outlined in this framework to build collections in consultation with and for the University community, now and into the future.

For further information, please see:

Why we collect

The University Library will develop and maintain:

  • General Collections that provide comprehensive access to a range of contemporary information resources that are relevant to, and strongly align with, University’s current teaching, learning and research activities
  • Rare Book and Special Collections that preserve rare and unique works and artifacts of cultural, historical and/or scientific significance
  • Sydney Digital Collections that enable open access to significant or unique physical items within our collections
  • the Sydney eScholarship Repository, which captures and preserves the intellectual output of the University of Sydney staff and Higher Degree by Research students.

In building its collections, the University Library seeks to:

  • deliver timely, comprehensive, equitable access to information resources
  • balance historical perspectives and narratives across the collections by actively collecting materials authored by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and members of diverse communities
  • leverage local, national and international industry partnerships to preserve the global scholarly record
  • enable experimentation with new modes of intellectual inquiry, publishing, and scholarship
  • build enduring collections for future generations of scholars.

How we collect

The University Library builds its collections through a variety of means, including:

  • subject-based profiles with Australian and international vendors for the purchase of individual monograph titles
  • direct or consortia licensing of enterprise-wide perpetual and subscription-based electronic content and packages
  • faculty requirements and recommendations for purchase
  • NSW legal deposit
  • resource sharing arrangements with other lending institutions
  • financial gifts, donations and bequests
  • collection of university research outputs
  • publishing through Sydney University Press.

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