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Collection Guidelines - Overview

Introduction

The Library's collections of information resources aim to support and enhance the teaching, learning and research activities and strategies of Deakin University. The collections are developed and managed according to the University policies and procedures which are formulated in the broader context of the University's strategic and operational plans. The purpose of these guidelines is to document publicly the general principles and practices that underlie their development and management and to provide an overview of the Library’s key collections – both those related to specific subject discipline areas and those relating to other collections such as special collections or cross-disciplinary collections.

Collection development and management is driven by the teaching, learning and research needs of the University. Library collections are increasingly dynamic and responsive to the changing University environment as well as the changing information and knowledge environment. Academic library collections have undergone rapid change in recent years. The increasing importance of online information resources has transformed the nature of library collections and the ways users can search and access information resources.

The University's collection polices, procedures and guidelines support some fundamental principles and values identified by library organisations throughout the world including the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). These values include intellectual freedom, equity of access to information, an inclusive approach to information, protection of confidentiality and observation of laws and regulations relating to access to information.

For collections to be up to date and responsive to teaching, learning and research needs, they must be developed through collaboration between library staff and the rest of the University community. Communication regarding library collections is actively facilitated via liaison librarians, participation by library staff at Faculty/school meetings and through the Library Consultative Committee. Feedback and suggestions regarding the library collections are strongly encouraged and should be sent to your liaison librarian or via the Library feedback form.

Brief history of Deakin University Library collections

Deakin University was established by the Deakin University Act in 1974. The library absorbed the education collections from the Geelong campus of the then State College of Victoria. It also absorbed science, engineering, architecture, mathematics, commerce and art collections to support the transfer of the more academic elements of these subject areas from the independent Gordon Institute of Technology to Deakin University.

When Deakin enrolled its first students at its Waurn Ponds campus in 1977, resources were acquired to support the ongoing teaching and learning curriculum which was a broad curriculum focusing on education, commerce, humanities, social sciences, architecture, science engineering. Deakin's collections were also shaped early on by a strong ethos of open campus and a commitment to distant education. Donations of resources were actively sought for many years to rapidly build a strong collection that had historical depth as well as sufficient breadth to meet the teaching and learning needs.

The merger of Deakin University with the Warnambool Institute of Advanced Education in 1990 and with Victoria College, Melbourne in 1991 meant that library collections were for the first time distributed across 5 different campuses over a wide geographic area. Transfers and consolidation projects were implemented to try and bring order to a dispersed collection that reflected different collection development policies and practices. In addition, collection development was focused on changing largely teaching collections to collections with enough depth to support university level research. In 1997 the Woolstores campus (later the Waterfront campus) opened involving the transfer of collections to support the architecture and nursing courses initially taught there.

Changes to library collections have always reflected Deakin's strategic decisions on courses and programs. The introduction of new courses such as MBA, law, police studies, occupational therapy, social work, wine science etc have created the need for new collections. The decision to introduce Medicine in 2008 has created the need to quickly build a substantial specialised medical collection The decision to close down courses such as Deakin's School of Engineering in 1981 meant that the large, research quality engineering collection was archived or dispersed. A decision to re-offer engineering in the 1990's created the need to rapidly re-acquire an engineering collection.

Library collections have also been actively developed to support the research within the University which was initially focused largely on applied research in engineering, science and education but has since expanded to a broad research profile focusing on several priority research areas. Donations of both monographs and periodical backsets were actively pursued to provide research depth to library collections. In recent years the emphasis has moved largely to online databases and publisher packages to support electronic access to a wide range of research level literature.

Several special collections were developed very early in Deakin Library's history with a Deakin archival collection and rare book collection first established. Other special collections were added both through active acquisition programs (eg. Western Victorian Collection), through the donation of large formed collections (eg. Louis Goldberg collection) and the acquisition of significant other donations such as by the Parliamentary Library of Victoria. The Friends of Deakin University also assisted by the purchase of significant items for the special collections.

In March 2009, a new Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library was officially opened within a new physical space located in the recently developed Dennis Lascelles building. The Library aims to provide access to material supporting scholarship and research into Alfred Deakin, and the social, political and national context in which Alfred Deakin lived. The collection also supports the Alfred Deakin Research Institute which aims to generate research that informs public debate and that enables government ministers, departments and policy-makers to take action based on evidence.

In recent years, the collections held by Deakin University Library have changed dramatically to meet changing user needs and technological developments. Online resources such as electronic journals and ebooks have transformed the ways collections are being developed and the way information can be accessed. The large scale collection of print resources has given way to the flexibility of access to online resources. The number of journal titles in the collection has increased from around 2,000 in the early days of establishment to over 78,000 in 2011. The number of ebooks has also grown substantially to now over 134,000 ebooks available. These changes have resulted in print collections being systematically evaluated for their ongoing value to users and their future possible preservation/archiving value.

Deakin University Library collections reflect a unique history and have been created, developed, shaped and transformed from a blend of complex political, social, education, technological and human factors. The current strength of the collections of Deakin University reflects the passion and professionalism of the many university staff members who have contributed actively to collection development over the years.

Library Information Resources Budget

The Library's Information Resources budget allocation comes from two main budget sources:

• The University's operating budget - to purchase non capital resources such as leased electronic journals and ebooks
• The University's capital budget - to purchase capital resources such as print books, print journals, owned ebooks and microform

The information resources budget is allocated to support the teaching, learning and research needs of the University using the following process:

1. Journals and databases:
The amount allocated is according to need taking into account the total cost of current subscriptions plus expected collection development.

2. Books:
The amount allocated is based on previous years expenditure plus known variations due to new courses, changes to curriculum, changes to student numbers and changes in purchasing patterns etc. A separate allocation is made to support the purchase of multiple copies of core reading list resources.

3. Electronic versus print allocations are adjusted to support the continued movement of resources from print to electronic. Development funds are set aside to acquire new electronic resources as they become available. Budget bids are readjusted each year to reflect changing format preferences.

4. Other categories such as special collections, specific collection development targets and interdisciplinary resources are identified for specific budget allocations.

5. Revision and review of amounts allocated across faculties and schools occurs to ensure that needs are being met as equitably as possible. Allocations are checked against WEFTSU, number of higher education students and research income within faculties and schools. Allocations are also adjusted according to average prices of materials in discipline areas.

6. Adjustment of allocations to allow for inflationary price increases and any forecasted foreign currency fluctuations. This adjustment is essential as price increases for information resources average between 8-12% per annum and over 75% of all information resources acquired are in foreign currencies.

The table below shows the changing pattern of the information resources budget breakdown:

Last revised February 2011