Collections Policies

General Collections Policy

The library is in the process of reviewing and updating our General Collections Policy. We are re-adding sections of the policy to this page as they are revised. If you have a question about our current policies, contact Julie Adamo, Director of Collection Strategies and Acquisitions (contact information below).

Electronic and Continuing Resources (including databases and journals)

Requests for new databases, journals, and other electronic and/or continuing resources are reviewed three times a year, with deadlines falling six weeks before the first day of the fall and spring terms and six weeks before the start date of the first summer schools and conferences. The library’s ability to add new resources is contingent upon our budget. When evaluating potential new resources, we draw from the following criteria:

Factors related to content:

• Relevance to the teaching and research needs of the Middlebury community, with priority given to resources that address the teaching and research needs of multiple faculty members and/or departments. We also prioritize the needs of newly hired faculty and new courses
• Uniqueness of content (e.g., how much of the content overlaps with existing library resources and how much of the content is Open Access)
• Demand for the resource or content within it, as demonstrated by interlibrary loan requests and requests emailed or otherwise communicated to librarians and library staff

Factors related to systems, licensing, and business processes:

• Campus-wide IP range and proxy authentication
• Compliance with industry accessibility standards or, at minimum, demonstrated progress toward meeting them
• Vendor responsiveness and performance
• License terms that allow for unlimited simultaneous use of content
• Cost and budgetary impact
• Whether there would be perpetual, post-cancellation rights to paid content and/or whether there is participation in preservation archives such as Portico
• Whether the resource is required for accreditation and the centrality of the resource or content to the applicable discipline(s)
• Usability and overall functionality
• Quality of metadata and bibliographic records
• Whether the resource is COUNTER compliant (strongly preferred); If the resource is not COUNTER compliant, we consider availability and quality of usage data
• Performance during the trial period, if applicable
• Alignment of contract or license language with the Library and College’s required and preferred terms along with favorability of business terms
• Integration with indexing and abstracting services, LibrarySearch/Primo, and other discovery tools

If a requested resource does not appreciably meet a majority of the criteria above, we may choose not to onboard it. Resources supporting faculty research that are unrelated to the curriculum are acquired as funds allow. In some cases, we may need to support research-related requests through interlibrary loan or other document delivery services rather than through direct subscriptions or purchases.

Existing resources are reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure we are maximizing the library’s budget and providing a suite of resources that support the College’s current teaching and research activities. Resources that are not being used actively and consistently and that are not required for accreditation will be replaced with more relevant resources.

We endeavor to support as many teaching- and research-related requests as possible within our budget, and we welcome requests and suggestions from faculty, students, and staff. To submit a request, please fill out the form that’s linked via our web page about requests.

Special Collections and Archives Policy

Middlebury Special Collections collects and preserves rare and unique materials that support the interdisciplinary research, teaching, and learning of our undergraduate and graduate students and our faculty. Middlebury faculty are an important source of requests for the acquisition of rare materials. Contact Rebekah Irwin, Curator and Director of Special Collections to learn more. 

The College Archives collects and preserves materials documenting the activities of administrators, students, faculty, and staff. It serves as an educational resource for the Middlebury Community and beyond. View full College Archives Collection Development Policy on their site.