Policy – Collection Development
Rebecca Crown Library – Update 2022
Statement of Purpose
The Dominican University Rebecca Crown Library Collection Development Policy sets forth the
principles and practices which guide the selection, evaluation, and deselection of materials in
the Rebecca Crown Library and other collections that are discoverable in the library’s multiple
catalogs of resources. The purpose of this policy is to provide a written statement of the
library’s objectives in building its collection in order to provide guidance to librarians and cross-
campus partners in developing a collection that best furthers the department’s goals and the
mission of Dominican University. While the library’s priority is to build a collection that supports
the academic programs and endeavors of students and faculty, the Rebecca Crown Library will
also collect materials that enhance student life and activities. The collection should reflect the
Sinsinawa Dominican ethos of Caritas et Veritas and the diversity of our institutional
community. By defining the reasons for collecting, not collecting, and deselecting certain types
of resources, in relation to the needs of the academic programs on campus, this policy aims to
provide the foundational collection development guidelines clearly to all community members
of Dominican University and community partners as well as to cultivate an understanding of
library best practices that outlines the planning for future development of its resources.
Mission
As a Sinsinawa Dominican-sponsored institution, the Rebecca Crown Library guides it students,
employees, and community to discover ideas, develop passions, find truths, and apply
knowledge. We provide compassionate service and encourage our community to participate in
the creation of a more just and humane world.
Vision
The Rebecca Crown aspires to be the progressive center of the University’s intellectual
endeavors supported by outstanding librarians and staff, services and resources in a welcoming
and inclusive space.
History & Description of the Community
Dominican University (DU) is located ten miles from downtown Chicago in Cook County, River
Forest, Illinois. In the recent three academic years, DU enrolled an average of 2,127
undergraduate students, 63% Hispanic and 71% from underrepresented minorities. Its high
Hispanic undergraduate enrollment has qualified DU as an HSI continuously since 2011.
DU has a long history of educating women since its founding in 1848 as a women’s academy in
Sinsinawa, WI, and achieved collegiate status in 1901 as Saint Clara College. Renamed Rosary
College in 1922 and moving to River Forest, IL, it continued to serve first-generation students,
becoming coeducational in 1970. It was renamed Dominican University in 1997 to reflect its
heritage while strategically positioning it as a more comprehensive university for the future. DU
aims to build capacity to enhance academic preparation of minority and women students for in-
demand careers in metropolitan Chicago.
The University consists of four colleges and four schools:
• Rosary College of Arts & Sciences
• Brennan School of Business
• Borra College of Health Sciences
• College of Applied Social Sciences
• School of Education
• School of Information Studies
• School of Social Work
• Elizabeth T. MacNeil School of Nursing
Dominican University offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. The university also
offers certificates and various non-credit courses.
The majority of the Rebecca Crown’s patronage consists of all students actively enrolled in
courses, alumni, faculty members, and staff employed by the university. The Dominican
University student body is a diverse group comprising people of all different ages, races,
genders, and nationalities. The university employs over 200 faculty members, tenured, adjunct,
associate, and assistant professors, as well as over 100 staff at the administrative and support
levels.
In addition to the local institutional community, the Rebecca Crown Library serves in several
larger communities through its affiliations with various consortia, state, and national
organizations. The most integral consortium the library is part of is Consortium of Research
Libraries in Illinois (CARLI).
Responsibility for Selection: Introduction
Responsibility for the selection of library materials is shared between the librarians and the
faculty. However, the ultimate responsibility for materials selection and the development of a
strong collection rests with the University Librarian. While faculty members are experts in their
particular field, the faculty in the library is better placed to maintain the balance of the
collection across all subject areas. The establishment of effective two-way communication
channels between the faculty librarians and the teaching faculty is essential for successful
collection development.
Other materials searchable in the library’s catalog that are maintained and managed by cross-
campus partners are considered outside the purview of the Rebecca Crown Library. The
development of those collections rests with the stakeholders responsible for the mission and
vision in those units and are not under the responsibility of the faculty in the library or the
University Librarian. These cross-campus partner units include the Butler Children’s Literature
Center, the Mary Nona McGreal Center, and the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence.
Librarians’ Responsibilities for Collection Development
Dominican University significantly invests money, personnel, and time in acquiring, maintaining,
and deaccessioning resources cataloged and managed by the Rebecca Crown Library. As such,
the University Librarian has overall responsibility for the development of the library’s
collections. This responsibility is delegated to the rest of the professional full-time library
faculty who are assigned one or more of the subject areas or overall college(s) that comprise
the University’s curriculum. Each faculty librarian serves as the primary library contact for
faculty members in their assigned college(s) or area(s) of responsibility and are responsible for
sending them information about recent publications in their field and communicating with the
University Librarian and Technical Services and E-Resources Librarian gaps or needs from their
assigned unit(s).
Part-time librarians may also assist faculty librarians with selection duties.
The selecting faculty librarians are charged with making recommendations to the University
Librarian on all matters pertaining to library collection development, including:
• Creating, and annually reviewing, the mission, strategic plan and goals of the library’s
collection development efforts.
• Defining specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely (SMART) objectives for the year
to advance the goals of the collection development strategic plan.
• Identifying policies, procedures, budget requirements, technology needs and tasks that need
to be assigned in order to fulfill the planned objectives.
• Providing/identifying in-house and external professional development and training
opportunities.
All selecting librarians operate with the understanding that the overall responsibility of
collection development is to plan and maintain a balanced catalog of resources based on sound
selection principles within budget. All selecting librarians recommends policy (including an
annual review of the collection development policy) and develops and reviews collection
development processes. Various collection committees may be formed as needed for special
projects or other collection activities.
Teaching Faculty Members’ Roles in Collection Development
Library selectors are expected to recommend purchases that reflect the needs of all course
offerings in their area of responsibility or college, and which supports the curriculum (on all
levels), as well as the educational mission of Dominican University. In addition, library selectors
are asked to encourage the active participation of all the members of their assigned
department(s), college(s) or program(s) in the selection process.
The library selectors are also asked to work closely with their faculty by sharing information
about:
• Student needs (e.g. course assignments, reading lists, etc.)
• Accreditation requirements
• Curriculum or program changes
• Perceptions of the collections’ strengths and weaknesses
In general, requests for new purchases by faculty members should be submitted to the library
through the library selector designated for the specific college or via the “Request an Item for
Purchase” form on the library’s website. https://research.dom.edu/forfaculty/acq These
purchase recommendations will be reviewed by the Technical Services Unit, which determines
if the recommendations fit the library’s scope and budget. The University Librarian reserves the
right to refuse a recommendation for budgetary reasons or failure to meet the general
selection criteria. Whenever faculty have identified themselves on their request, they will be
informed of the status of their request by the appropriate library selector.
For new program, certificate, or course proposals, the University Librarian must complete the
Pro Forma Budget worksheet. The University Librarian will coordinate with appropriate
librarian selector to assess current resources and services for new programs or certificates.
It is the responsibility of the faculty and departments to follow the guidelines of the University
Curriculum Committee. One of the requirements is to connect with the University Librarian
prior to presenting the proposal for new programs, majors, etc. to discuss the library needs of
the new program. If the University Librarian, in discussion with the faculty proposing the new
program, determines that the library cannot meet the needs of the new program, the
University Librarian will inform the UCC via a letter of support, or lack thereof, the need for
funding in order for the library to purchase core materials in a new curricular area.
Pro Forma Budget Worksheet questions:
1. To what extent does the RCL currently hold the journals, database (full-text), reference
and curricular resources, materials, texts, I-Share resources, etc. to support the
curriculum (or specialized needs) of this program?
2. Are there any specific holdings or equipment needs required by accreditation
standards?
3. What impact would this program have upon the instructional and reference librarians’
capacity or knowledge base to support this program?
4. What impact would this program have upon the facility or equipment resources of the
RCL? (i.e. are the software needs accessible on RCL computers and equipment)
5. Summary recommendation and assessment from the University Librarian
a. Give an estimate of what it might cost to secure the materials and resources
identified above
Current Library Resource Selectors
• Rosary College of Arts & Sciences – Beronica Avila & Stephanie Fletcher
• Brennan School of Business – Steven Szegedi
• Borra College of Health Sciences – Steven Szegedi
• College of Applied Social Sciences – Molly Mansfield
• Juvenile Collection – Jill Bambenek
• Reference – Jill Bambenek
• Popular Literature Collection – Estevan Montaño
Role of Students & Staff
Students and staff are encouraged to submit requests for items that they would like to see
added to the collection. Student and staff suggestions for purchases can also be made via email
to Reference Desk at reference@dom.edu as well as the “Request an Item for Purchase” form
on the library’s website. https://research.dom.edu/forfaculty/acq These purchase
recommendations will be reviewed by the library selector for the appropriate subject. The
University Librarian reserves the right to refuse a recommendation for budgetary reasons or
failure to meet the general selection criteria. Whenever students or staff members have
identified themselves on their request, they will be informed of the status of their request by
the appropriate library selector.
Duplication of Materials
In general, to prevent dilution of the library's fiscal resources, duplicate copies of circulating
books will not be purchased. Exceptions may be made for certain titles that exhibit heavy or
continual use or for large university or library events or courses such as the common read texts
for seminar classes. Library patrons are highly encouraged to use the consortium catalog for
unavailable items.
General Guidelines
In fulfillment of its mission, the library aims to provide access to resources of the highest
possible quality. The library does not attempt to amass vast collections of all possible materials
on all possible subjects. Rather, it obtains the most useful sources of information available on
topics of demonstrable relevance to the mission and curriculum of the University. Though
quantity is important (for the collection must be large enough to support the needs of our
student body, faculty, etc.), it is the quality of the collection that matters most.
The major responsibilities of the library are to support the curriculum of the University by
obtaining the materials needed by students in its undergraduate and graduate programs,
accreditation requirements, and enhancing the collection by including materials from and by
voices from underrepresented groups. Because more extensive research is required on the
graduate level, research materials of greater depth are obtained in those fields where graduate
degrees are awarded. The library also obtains materials needed to support faculty teaching in
all programs offered by the University. Materials required solely for the personal research
needs of individual faculty members may be obtained to a limited degree; careful consideration
will be given to the relationship of the materials to the curriculum, their expense, the likelihood
that they will be of any future use as permanent additions to the library's collection, and their
availability elsewhere. If unique, hard-to-acquire, out-of-print, or obscure titles are
recommended, it is first expected material needs will be met through use of partner libraries’
collections either through our agreements with other I-Share academic libraries or through
interlibrary loan.
In recognition of its role as a general cultural resource for the campus community, and its duty
to provide for the well-rounded education of its students by giving them access to all the
significant works of human thought and achievement, the library collects materials
representing diverse cultural traditions. In addition, the library selects some materials which
are outside the scope of the University's curriculum. Such materials are chosen very selectively;
the primary consideration being their value as an introduction to an important area of human
endeavor, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
All collection development criteria developed beyond this policy must be approved by the
University Librarian.
Collection Development – General Criteria
The following general criteria are considered in the selection of materials:
• Appropriate content that supports the curriculum, student research needs, and/or
faculty teaching
• Materials that cultivate and enhance the Caritas Veritas mission of Dominican University
• Items that represent and bolster cross-campus cultural competencies and other
diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts
• Materials needed for accreditation purposes
• Materials that augment or support departmental programming
• Quality, relevance, currency, accuracy of information presented
• Authoritativeness and reputation of the author, material, and publisher
• Strengths and weaknesses of the current collection
• Materials can be accessed by all current members of the Dominican University
community
• Timeliness and historical value of materials
• Budget and price constraints
Acquisitions
The offices of the University Librarian and Technical Services and E-Resources Librarian are
responsible for the purchasing of selected materials and the financial management of the
resources budget. The office of the Technical Services and E-Resources Librarian will order
materials in a timely manner, giving priority to purchase requests and materials needed for
accreditation. Ordering, shipping, and receiving materials can take up to three weeks. The
library is not able to honor rush requests. In exchange for the discounts, shipping and receiving
materials may take between one and three weeks. If materials are not available through library
supply vendors, the library will purchase titles directly through the publisher or reseller but will
ultimately select the vendor with the largest discount, which may also impact delivery time.
Ordering materials for the Rebecca Crown Library is limited to the library selectors outlined in
this policy. Commencing in January 2022, faculty librarians serve as subject liaisons and
selectors for the following areas: Popular Literature, Juvenile, Reference, General Collections,
Rosary College of Arts and Sciences, Borra College of Health Sciences, Brennan School of
Business, and the College of Applied Social Sciences. The preferred method of selecting and
requesting print and electronic books is through Rialto, a cloud-based selection and acquisition
system that is integrated with Rebecca Crown Library's integrated library system (ILS).
Non-Library Suppliers/Vendors
The library selectors may order from outside vendors under the following conditions:
• The materials are not available in Rialto
• Materials ordered are only available through the publisher; or discount offered is equal
to or better than Rialto
• The copyright to the material is limited to one or a few people
Hardback vs. Paperback
For reasons of economy, the paperback edition will be purchased in preference to the hardback
edition whenever possible. Due to the higher costs of hardback books, mylar dust jackets will
be added to the covers for longer durability. Exceptions to the paperback preference may
include: collected or major works, popular subjects which will get continued or heavy use
requiring durability, and oversized or thick books whose bindings can easily break. Damaged
dust jackets from gifts, donations, or shipping may be discarded.
Print vs. Electronic Resources
Library selectors will carefully assess the current print and electronic resources while
considering budget limitations and access equity when selecting print or electronic materials.
For electronic materials items that are DRM-free with perpetual access for an unlimited number
of users are preferred. However, as costs of electronic materials are typically higher than print
and online resources have limited licenses by publishers, the library selectors will weigh
choosing print or online materials with the following criteria:
• Material is needed for print reserves
• Online titles with access limitations
• Online resources that have a limited timeframe license or if they are purchased with
perpetual access
• Determine if materials are part of a larger subscription or a single cost
• Access needs of the academic program
• Weigh the online vs. in-person classes being offered in a particular subject
• Physical space available in the stacks or other locations
• Urgency of need as electronic items may be available quicker than print materials
• Electronic or print materials request
Languages
The library will primarily collect materials published in the English and Spanish languages. Other
appropriate materials will be collected in those languages which are offered as majors or
minors.
Textbooks
Because of the large cost that would be incurred, the Rebecca Crown Library will only purchase
copies of textbooks required for currently offered courses at faculty request. Please allow three
to five weeks for textbooks to be ready when the library needs to purchase the item. All
textbooks will be placed on reserve for equal access for all stakeholders.
Government Documents
The Rebecca Crown Library is a selective depository library participating in the Federal
Depository Library Program. After a significant analysis of the government documents
collection and deselection, the library is prepared to transition to an all-online depository
program.
Faculty Publications
The Rebecca Crown Library and the University Archives will collect one copy each of faculty
authored books, chapters, and articles which meet the following criteria:
• The faculty member must be full-time.
• The faculty member is tenured, adjunct, associate, assistant, clinical, or lecturer status.
• The faculty member must be employed at Dominican University when the book is
published.
It is highly encouraged that faculty sign the title page for the University Archives copy. The
Rebecca Crown Library will have a running display of faculty-authored items on the first floor of
the library.
Audio-Visual Materials
Audio-visual materials are purchased for the general collection when requested by faculty, for
university or library events, or when merited for university curriculum. Faculty are highly
encouraged to utilize the library’s online movie and online media resources such as Kanopy or
Alexander Street Press.
Analog and DVD materials are located at the library’s circulation desk. The library has minimal
equipment available for watching or listening to these materials. The scope of selection of
audio-visual materials follows the same outline as the general selection criteria mentioned
above.
Equipment & Technology
Currently, the Rebecca Crown Library does not acquire for circulation technology or equipment
resources. The Rebecca Crown Library does have an active Learning Commons where students
and the Dominican University may utilize state-of-the-art technology on campus.
For questions about the Learning Commons, please contact the Learning Commons Librarian.
Juvenile Collections
The Juvenile collection supports the curriculum of the Schools of Education and Information
Studies as well as personal endeavors for the Dominican Community. The collection format is
print, reading levels are from pre-K to high school, and contains picture books, fiction, non-
fiction, folk tales, young adult/teen literature, and graphic novels. Titles receiving awards such
as the Caldecott Medal, Coretta Scott King Award, John Newberry Medal, and other reputable
awards are prioritized for the collection. The Juvenile collection is cataloged in the Dewey
Decimal system in order to simulate a school and public library. The library selector responsible
for selecting juvenile materials collaborates with the Butler Children’s Literature Center as they
cycle out materials which are added to the Rebecca Crown Library collection. For Juvenile
materials, hardcover items are chosen over paperback due to durability.
Popular Literature Collection
The popular literature collection supports the curriculum of the Schools of Education and
Information Studies as well as personal endeavors for the Dominican Community. The
collection is primarily best sellers and various award winners in fiction, but some non-fiction
may be added to this collection. As popular collections tend to be timely and fall out of popular
circulation after several months, the collection will be analyzed on a semesterly basis. The
popular collection will utilize the McNaughton selection system to keep the collection fresh and
updated for the Dominican Community.
Aggregated Databases & Online Periodicals/Serials
Aggregated databases and online resources are typically the largest operational resource
investment made by the library. Due to the large financial commitments to these resources, the
University Librarian and Technical Services and E-Resources Librarian will continuously analyze
usage data, cost-per use information, and relevancy to current academic programs.
Electronic access to the full-text of journal and newspaper articles will be provided largely
through subscriptions to aggregated journal or newspaper databases, whether supplied at no
cost through library consortium agreements or purchased with library funds. For those
purchased with library funds, priority will be given to those databases that augment, support,
and are needed for the curriculum, especially to meet program accreditation requirements. The
overlap of titles with current database subscriptions will be considered before a new database
subscription is purchased. After purchase, usage statistics will be used to help determine
whether subscriptions should be renewed. These statistics may be shared with the faculty to
assist with purchase decisions. Price increases will also be factored into renewal decisions.
The following additional criteria apply to the selection of online databases:
• Ability to access titles through an index which is discoverable through the Library’s ILS.
• Number of other titles currently held in the subject area.
• Ability to access full-text materials.
• Purchasing journal resources in multiple formats (e.g., print and electronic access) is no
longer fiscally responsible. The library will migrate its journal collections from print to
electronic format wherever possible.
• Commitment must be made to support new online serials on an on-going basis.
• Remote access must comply with the library’s single sign-on system.
• Preference is given to online resources that provide COUNTER statistics reporting and
unlimited user access.
• Donations of personal print journals will not be accepted to replace a current
subscription or to add a new title.
• The Rebecca Crown Library will take advantage of consortia pricing or multi-year
discounts whenever possible.
• Online resources that auto-renew or have unreasonable cancellation polices are not
accepted by the library.
Other Criteria for Online Resources
Interlibrary loan and I-share librarians and staff will provide a list of highly requested materials
the University Librarian and other library selectors on a semesterly basis. The Rebecca Crown
Library reserves the right to discontinue subscriptions to online databases and periodicals with
low usage, low access, programs no longer need the resources, the vendor does not support
the mission of Dominican University, or due to annual price increases.
Microform/Microfiche
The Rebecca Crown Library no longer collects microform/microfiche. The University Archives
will collect these materials on a limited basis. Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis
and must be approved by the University Librarian.
Theses & Dissertations
All dissertations and theses are first to be submitted electronically through the student’s
department for deposit into the ProQuest EDI: https://www.etdadmin.com/main/submitting. A
second electronic copy should be deposited into the University Archives. The electronic copy
will be uploaded to the current repository, Constellation. A new online repository is currently
under review by stakeholders at Dominican University as Constellation is reaching its end-of-
life.
Reference Collections
The purpose of the Rebecca Crown Library's reference collection is to provide students and
faculty with the information necessary to fill specific research needs. This information may be
located in either print or electronic resources. While reference collections are intended to serve
the curriculum needs of the students and faculty, they also serve the general reference needs
of the entire university community. As such, these collections must consist of a broad variety of
reference tools that enable the reference staff to answer questions accurately and efficiently.
The Rebecca Crown Library's print reference materials circulate and are interfiled and located
within the general collection of the library and in the Noonan Reading Room.
Whenever possible, the library will purchase or subscribe to reference materials available
electronically. On a regular basis, the library selector for reference will review the collection’s
statistics to determine deselection of print titles, renewal or non-renewal of print reference
materials.
Deaccessioning Materials
Deaccessioning or ‘weeding’ materials from the library is essential for scholarly research and
maintenance of a relevant and useful collection. The University Librarian and the Technical
Services & E-Resources Librarian are responsible for deaccessioning materials from the
collection and the Technical Services unit in the library administers the deaccessioning process
of print and electronic materials. Titles selected to be deaccessioned from the collection will be
shared with the selectors mentioned above. Deaccessioning print and electronic materials is
conducted on an ongoing basis. Faculty members may be consulted when deaccessioning
materials from the library.
Each title under consideration for deaccession will be evaluated by each factor:
• Item is superseded with a newer edition
• Item contains inaccurate information
• Item is out-of-date
• Usage statistics indicate item has not been used in 10 years
• The library has duplicate copies or multiple copies exist in I-Share
• Item is in poor condition
• Item may be replaced with a cost-effective electronic copy or an e-copy that offers
greater access than a single print copy or single use copy
• Item is not relevant to the university’s mission, curriculum, coursework, research, or
general interest
• For electronic materials, links to the title or within the title are no longer active
Deaccessioned materials may be removed from the library in the following ways:
• Donate to another nonprofit organization, such as Better World Books, or another
library
• Send materials for preservation to the University of Illinois in their “last title” program
• Sell to book resellers
• Discard
Collection Development – Gifts
While the library is grateful to be considered as a gift repository, gifts are carefully evaluated
for their potential usefulness to the mission of the Rebecca Crown Library, Dominican
University, and the overall collection. Gifts must primarily support the criteria given within this
policy that support the Rebecca Crown Library, the University Archives, or other cross-campus
partners. Currency and good condition gifts are paramount in gift acceptance.
For physical material donations, donors are asked to submit a list of titles and other items
wishing to donate. Each donation will be accompanied with a Deed of Gift form that must be
signed by the donor and the University Librarian or University Archivist. Cross-campus partners
will also provide a Deed of Gift for donations to their areas and signed by the donor, receiver of
the gift, and University Librarian if items are to be cataloged into the ILS. Dominican University
also has a gift & donations policy that all departments at the institution much adhere to. All
gifts and non-book donations must be approved by the University Librarian or University
Archivist. Large gifts over $5,000 must be in collaboration with Institutional Advancement staff.
Additional criteria for gifts retention are as follows:
For Books
• Generally, books with an imprint date of more than 10 years are not accepted unless they are
determined to have particular usefulness.
• Duplicate titles are generally not added to the collection. However, some duplicate titles may
be occasionally added, at the discretion of the library selector, in order to provide increased
accessibility.
• Books in poor or otherwise unreadable or unusable condition are not accepted.
For Journals & Periodicals
• As more and more full-text online journals and periodicals become available, the library has
less need of these print gift volumes. The decision to add these titles will be decided on a
case-to-case basis.
For University Archives
The collection scope for gifts to the University Archives must pertain to the history of the
university. The University Archives collects from donors print materials and artifacts that usually
are works of art. Donated materials to the archives must pertain to the history, people, and
events surrounding either the University, the Mound in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin, the Sisters or
subjects pertaining to the mission of the Dominican University with a special focus on the past or
present curriculum, general institutional procedures, and artifacts that may hold significant
historical value. There are no date restrictions on gifted materials donated to the archives. All
formats of materials may be accepted. However, due to physical space restrictions, not all gifts
or donations can be added to the collection. The archives may coordinate with cross-campus
partners to determine if the donation would best fit the scope of their collections.
Please note:
• The library and archives cannot pay for shipping donations and gifts.
• All gifts become the sole and exclusive property of the Rebecca Crown Library or University
Archives.
• Gifts not added to the collection will be disposed of at the discretion of the library selector.
• Gifts cannot be held in separate, discrete locations in the library or archives. They will be
inter-filed with the regular collections.
• The University cannot assess the value of donations; this is prohibited by the IRS.
• The Rebecca Crown Library and University Archives do not provide tax receipts for in-kind
donations. The Deed of Gift will outline the scope of the donation.
Reserve Materials
Placing Materials on Reserve
All materials put on reserve must comply with the regulations set out in the Copyright Law, Title
17, U.S. Code. It is the responsibility of faculty members to acquaint themselves with the
copyright law, since, under the law, anyone copying materials is liable for what is copied. The
library is responsible for monitoring copyright compliance of Reserves materials and, as such,
has outlined the following guidelines for both printed and electronic documents which must be
adhered to:
Determining Copyright Protection
For the purposes of this document, copyrighted works include all print, electronic, online, and
audiovisual content that is subject to copyright protection. When in doubt, assume a work is
under copyright protection and permission is necessary for use. Certain content is not subject
to copyright protection including:
• Governments works
• Facts
• Ideas and concepts
• Items in the public domain including works that no longer have copyright due to age, i.e.
works before 1923 or 70 years after the author’s death if rights have not been
transferred
Fair Use
Fair use is encompassed within Section 107 of Copyright Law that provides criteria of limited
use of copyrighted materials for the purposes of teaching, learning, scholarship, criticism,
commentary and research.
The four factors that determine fair use or when permission is necessary are as follows:
The Purpose and Character of the Use
• Nonprofit and educational uses are more likely to be considered fair use, especially if
the work serves a clearly articulated pedagogical purpose.
• Transformative uses, like parody and news reporting, are important factors that weigh
in favor of a finding that the use is fair.
• Commercial uses of the copyrighted work or uses that substitute for the copyrighted
work weigh against a finding of fair use.
The Nature of the Copyrighted Work
• The fair use privilege is more extensive for works of information, such as scientific,
biographical, or historical works than for artistic and creative works. It is not within fair
use if the “heart” of the work is taken without permission.
The Amount and Substantiality of the Work Used
• Fair use is more likely to be found when the user of the copyrighted material takes only
the amount necessary for the purpose of the use.
• Using an entire work will often, but not always, weigh against a finding of fair use.
The Effect of Use on the Potential Market for the Copyrighted Work
• If there is a potential for harm to the market for the work, this harm will weigh against a
finding of fair use.
• If there is no readily available market for the work, this weighs in favor of fair use.
Before placing materials on reserves or using material in the classroom, instructors should
determine if their intended use of that material falls under fair use. Because fair use analysis
depends on the particular contexts of the intended use, there are no hard-and-fast rules for
which materials, how many pages, or what situations are or are not fair use.
There are many tools designed to help you think through fair use when you are planning a
curriculum. http://librarycopyright.net/resources/fairuse/index.php
Reserves
Print Reserves:
Items that may be placed on reserve:
• Books owned by the library or the instructor’s personal copy
• No more than one chapter or 20% of a book
• DVDs or other media owned by the library or the instructor’s personal copy
• No more than two photocopied journal articles from a single issue
• No more than one chart, diagram or picture from a single source
• Materials authored by the instructor
• Student papers, with express written permission from the student (written permission
will be added to the materials and can be an email or formal written permission)
• Works in the public domain or under creative commons licensing
Items that may not be placed on reserve:
• Workbooks, course packs or other consumable materials
• Student papers without written permission from the student
• More than two chapters from a book
• More than two articles from a single journal issue
Reuse of materials:
Permission must be sought from the copyright holder when:
• Materials are reused by the same instructor for the same course in a subsequent
academic year.
• Materials are considered assigned or optional text for specific courses taught in multiple
sections by multiple instructors.
Obtaining Copyright Permission:
The University Librarian or Technical Services Librarian will work with faculty to obtain
permission from publishers, distributors and other copyright holders on items. However, it is
the responsibility of the faculty member or department to pay for permission fees when they
apply.
Questions about copyright, Fair Use or reserves may be addressed to the University Librarian.
Reserve Form
The library has an online form to start the reserves process:
https://research.dom.edu/forfaculty/reserves
Quick facts about reserves:
• Requesting Reserves: It can take up to 5 business days for items to be placed on
reserve.
• Personal Items: Faculty may place personal items on reserve. Please do not place highly
valuable personal items on reserve unless it is necessary. The library cannot accept
responsibility for their safekeeping.
• After filling out the Course Reserve Request Form, please bring personal items to the
first floor circulation desk.
• Items borrowed from other libraries (I-Share and ILL items) cannot be placed on
Reserve.
• Reserve Item Removal: Items may be renewed for the following semester, please see
item #26 on form. Items not renewed for reserve that are owned by the Rebecca Crown
Library will be returned to the regular circulation stacks. Personal copies will
be returned to owner 30 days after the end of course.
Library Reserves Access Policy
Course reserves are located on the first floor of the library at the circulation desk. Additional
information about course reserves:
• At the first-floor circulation desk, present your Star Card or other photo ID to use
print Course Reserves.
• Items are available on a first-come-first-served basis.
• Due to high demand and limited availability, patrons are restricted to borrowing two
reserve items at one time.
• Reserves are generally loaned for two hours.
• Extensions of a two-hour loan period can be made for viewing a single DVD or video
with a running time greater than 120 minutes (select Media Loan).
• Items may not be used outside of the library.
• Library users who remove reserve material from the library without prior
permission from the instructor and the Circulation Coordinator (or other non-student
staff member) will be fined and may have their library accounts blocked until the item is
returned.
Materials are put on reserve in the Rebecca Crown Library, at the request of a faculty member,
for those Dominican students registered in the faculty member's class. The intention is to set
aside particular materials on a restrictive basis for the faculty member's students so that they
can be assured continued access to the materials. As soon as the class is over the reserve
materials are put back into the regular collections where they can be accessed by anyone
unless the copy on reserve is a personal copy.
Reserve materials cannot be borrowed by other libraries or by students from other institutions.
This is in accordance with the statement in Section V (D) of the ILLINET Online Library Resources
Sharing Code. It is standard reserves policy in libraries that each institutional library provides its
own reserve materials for its students.
University Archives
The University Archives is the center of Dominican University that is the repository of
information, data, artifacts, and historical art pertaining the current and past history of the
university. The University is committed to preserving its history through the archives and the
archivist is the custodian of the materials.
Materials of enduring historical value are those which document the history, organization,
policies, and activities of Dominican University. In general materials that have enduring value
are if they contain evidence of the University’s organization, function, policies, decisions,
procedures, operations, or other activities, or because of their information or university
historical value.
The Archives will:
• Acquire and preserve records of enduring value produced by University offices, faculty,
and students.
• Arrange and describe those records and make them accessible
• Serve as an information resource center to assist the Dominican University Community
with research projects.
• Encourage and assist the Dominican University Community to recognize and make use
of its institutional documentary heritage and history.
Resource Sharing
The Rebecca Crown Library is a member of numerous consortia which enables the Dominican
faculty, staff, and students to borrow library materials from other libraries. However,
membership in these consortia requires the Rebecca Crown Library to grow, maintain, and
manage the local collection and participate in cooperative collection development.
Membership in these consortia should not substitute other members’ collections for our own.
When possible, RCL should take advantage of consortia borrowing opportunities and licensing
pricing.
Currently, the Rebecca Crown Library is a member of the following consortia networks that
share resources:
• Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI)
• Reaching Across Illinois Libraries System (RAILS)
• OCLC & Tipasa
• LIBRAS
• Lyrasis
• Catholic Research Resource Alliance (CRRA)
• Chicago Collections Consortium (CCC)
• Black Metropolis Resource Consortium (BMRC)
Collection Development – Resources Maintenance
Binding/Repair
Books
In general, circulating books that are damaged will not be rebound. Some books with minimal
damage may be repaired at the discretion of the Technical Services and E-Resources Librarian. If
a book is seriously damaged, it may be replaced with a more recent edition of the same title or
by another book in the same subject area, based on evaluation by the selector.
Journals
Back issues and current journals to which the library subscribes will not be bound.
Deselection of Materials
A primary goal of the library is to support the university curriculum and research needs.
Therefore, the library must maintain the currency and scope of the collection. An important
process to keep the currency and maintenance of the library collection is deselection of the
general collection. The deselecting process should be done on a continuous basis and is done by
the faculty librarians. When necessary, teaching faculty will be consulted as needed.
Materials which are no longer useful in supporting a collection which is active and responsive to
student, faculty or university administration needs should be deselected; removing the title
from the library’s collection. The library selectors have primary responsibility for deciding what
materials should be withdrawn from the collection.
The following factors may be considered when deselecting all library materials, print and
online:
• Relevance to the current curriculum
• Unneeded duplication or availability in multiple formats
• Obsolescence of information or edition
• Frequency of use
• Space available
• Physical condition
• Availability from other libraries in cooperative arrangements
• Cost of maintenance
The library will adhere to a deselection cycle to ensure the currency of the collection. The
Technical Services and E-Resources Librarian is the librarian responsible for creating and
updating the procedures for deselection. The collection for each subject area will be
inventoried after the weeding process is completed.
Local used bookstores may be contacted to review withdrawn materials to see if any of the
materials are of any resale value. Withdrawn materials may also be offered to other libraries or
faculty for their collections. Unwanted materials may be given to various literacy organizations
or disposed of.
Replacements
Damaged Books/Missing Books
Library selectors should evaluate badly damaged books to determine whether it would be best
to purchase a later edition of the same book, purchase another book in that subject area, or
withdraw the item. The decision to determine whether to replace a missing book will follow a
similar procedure. These guidelines apply to both print and online materials.
Out-of-Print Books
If a decision has been made to replace a book with the same edition and it is out-of-print, the
library staff will consider acquiring it through second-hand vendors.
Missing Issues of Current Journal Titles
In most cases, replacements for missing issues of current journal titles will not be purchased.
Books with Accompanying Disks/CDs
If only the disk or CD is missing, it is usually necessary to purchase the book again to replace the
disk or CD. Books in this category will usually not be replaced.
Preservation & Conservation
The librarians and library staff should make every effort to handle library materials properly.
Handling material with care, including technology resources, is important for materials
conservation. Shifting in the stacks and regular cleaning of equipment in the library is necessary
to provide appropriate space and welcoming environment for the entire Dominican University
community. Brittle print materials should be flagged and routed to Technical Services and
damaged technology equipment should be reported to the University Librarian and IT.
Intellectual & Academic Freedom
The Rebecca Crown Library supports the position of the American Library Association on
intellectual freedom as stated in the Library Bill of Rights. This statement says that "Intellectual
freedom is the right of every individual both to seek and receive information from all points of
view without restriction. It provides for access to all expressions of ideas through which any and
all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored. Intellectual freedom encompasses
the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas."
The Rebecca Crown Library further supports the Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic
Libraries: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights as set out by the Association of College
and Research Libraries (ACRL).
American Library Association Bill of Rights:
https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill
ACRL Statement on Academic Freedom:
https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/academicfreedom
Guiding Principles
The Rebecca Crown Library adheres to the standards, guidelines, and principles of librarianship
as outlined by the American Library Association:
https://www.ala.org/tools/node/57/
Addendums*
1. Cross-Campus Partnerships
