The mission statement of the Library states that it "shall acquire materials in appropriate formats and in sufficient quantity, depth and diversity to support teaching and basic research in the subject areas of the curriculum." In order to foster intellectual partnerships with students, faculty and staff, the Library encourages you to become involved in building its collections by recommending Library purchases.

Recommendations are evaluated by subject specialist librarians according to the following criteria:

• Relevance to the curriculum

• Support for the research needs of students

• Support for faculty course preparation

• Relationship to existing holdings

Subject specialists or acquisitions staff may initiate a dialogue with the requestor as they consider an item's cost, availability and format. Requests for new journal subscriptions will be evaluated by the guidelines for the selection of periodicals and other serial publications.

The Library currently acquires books, periodicals, audio-visual materials, scores, sound recordings, data files in various formats, and maps. It also provides access to number of Remote Online Resources, all accessible through its online catalog. A small leisure-reading collection shaped by reader requests is maintained in the Brooks Room on the the Library's fourth floor.

The Library normally purchases materials in the original language, if part of the curriculum, or in English translation. While every effort is made to provide a wide range of materials, the Library does not normally acquire the following:

• Multiple copies of single titles, with the exception of course reserve materials. A guideline of one copy per 10-12 students governs course reserve requests.

• Juvenile and young adult literature, with the exception of certain titles for Special Collections and the Education Curriculum Collection.

• Dissertations from institutions outside the U.S.

• Workbooks and teaching aids, especially those consumed through a single use.

• Vanity press publications.

Records for on-order materials appear in the online catalog, where their progress may be tracked by the requestor. Receipt and processing of new acquisitions take approximately 8-10 weeks, a time period which allows the Library to realize substantial savings through economies of scale with its vendors. Rush service is available in cases where urgent need could not have been anticipated.

If desired, "holds" may be placed on items to be held at the circulation desk and notification provided upon arrival. The Library regrets that it cannot notify patrons when requests are not ordered (with the exception of periodicals), nor reimburse individuals for materials purchased for its collections without advance authorization from Acquisitions & Cataloging.

For further information on acquisitions policy please contact Ross Wood at ext.2104, or rwood@wellesley.edu

• Wellesley College Library
• Date created: May 20, 1997
• Last modified: January 8, 2002
• Expires: June 15, 2002