Home > Library > About > COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICIES: Collection Maintenance
Incomplete, under development; last revised3/24/08
Replacement of Lost or Damaged Copies
Books or other collection items that are lost, or that are damaged beyond repair, are not automatically replaced. A judgment will be made by a librarian as to whether the title's continuing value is sufficient to warrant replacing with another copy, or whether an alternative title should be acquired to cover the subject matter. If the title is out of print, efforts to obtain a second-hand copy may be made, depending on the assessment of continuing value and weighing also the effort involved and the price and condition of available copies.
In the case of lost periodical issues or volumes, replacement efforts are not undertaken routinely, due to the effort and potential cost involved, but may be pursued at the discretion of the Library Director. Opportunities to replace lost periodicals through gift or exchange may be utilized.
Preservation and Conservation
The library's Technical Services department will endeavor to maintain supplies, tools, and skills necessary to perform basic repairs on damaged or worn books and other materials. Books with wear or damage that can be rectified by rebinding may be sent out to a commercial bindery for that purpose. In instances where imminent damage upon use is predictable, as with spiral bindings or very flimsy paperback bindings, books may be sent for rebinding as a preventive measure. Glue-in binders may be installed in-house on pamphlet formats or very flimsy books and musical scores.
For most items in the collections, the goal of these and other preservation efforts will be to extend their immediate useful life, even at the risk (where not readily avoidable) of a diminished long-term preservation horizon. In the case of items in Special Collections, or items in other collections likely to be candidates for eventual transfer to Special Collections, long-term preservation and, in many instances, maintenance of the item's physical or historical integrity (for example, the desirability of preserving an original binding) will be the dominant consideration and may dictate a minimalist approach to short-term preservation.
Specialized and expensive conservation measures by outside experts will be undertaken only in rare cases for items of exceptional historical, monetary, or other value, restricted usually to Special Collections.
De-selection or "Weeding"
Under development | 
