Collection Development Policy
Collection Development and its management are terms used by libraries to outline & set out principles and guidelines for developing and maintaining the library’s collections in all formats. The quality of Library collections is fundamental to the University’s success in learning, teaching and research.
This statement provides a brief overview of the collection development policies to guide the Librarians; users and the British University in Egypt Library committee about the principles used for selecting materials (both physical and digital), plans for future growth of the collections and the policies governing the removal and replacement of materials
The British University in Egypt Library prioritizes serving our university community, including students and academic staff.
Our collection reflects the diverse academic programs offered by the university, which currently include:
1. Faculty of Business Administration, Economics & Political Science.
2. Faculty of Engineering.
3. Faculty of Informatics and computer science
4. Faculty of Pharmacy.
5. Faculty of Dentistry.
6. Faculty of Nursing.
7. Faculty of Communication & Mass Media.
8. Faculty of Law
9. Faculty of Arts & Humanities in three branches English, psychology & Chinese.
10. Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering.
11. Faculty of Arts & Design
12. Faculty of Physiotherapy
We strive to provide equitable access to our collection for all users, regardless of location or area of study. However, we recognize the limitations of resources and the need to use them efficiently.
Therefore, our collection development policy prioritizes meeting the core needs of undergraduate students, ensuring access to essential materials in both print and electronic formats.
If resources become available beyond this core focus, we can then consider expanding the collection to provide a wider range of research materials for future generations.
The British University in Egypt Library offers a comprehensive collection of resources to support the learning and research needs. We provide access to nearly 40,000 core print materials on our shelves and over 500,000 electronic resources on & off campus through subscriptions to various academic databases.
Library’s materials budget
The library prioritizes acquiring essential materials that align with the curriculum. Each year, we embark on a budget development process that begins in March. This process involves discussions and approvals to finalize the budget by August. Once finalized, the allocated resources are used to acquire a variety of print and electronic materials, including:
· Online database subscriptions
· eBooks
· Printed books
· Individual journals
Acquiring and/or providing access to resources:
· Text and reading books:
The library requests by email course material recommendations from faculty members twice a year, in June and November. This ensures we have the necessary textbooks and reading materials (typically 3-5 copies per title) available for students at the start of the academic year.
· Electronic resources:
Reflecting the growing trend towards electronic resources, the library offers access to over 500,000 electronic materials through subscriptions to various academic databases. These databases significantly contribute to the university’s success in learning, teaching, and research.
We hold annual meetings with the library committee to evaluate our database subscriptions. We consider usage statistics and pilot new databases before making final decisions.
Once a list of databases is approved, we negotiate with vendors to secure the best price and licensing terms.
· Interactive E-textbooks:
To enhance the learning experience, the library provides access to interactive e-textbooks from leading publishers like McGraw Hill, Pearson, Cengage, and Wiley. The interactive E-textbook is a new technology that helps the academic staff to create deeper connections with their students. It is a complete course platform which supports academics by automating time-consuming prep work, simplifying the addition of instructors to any section, and surfacing more information with fewer clicks. It helps in Course Building & Delivery, Student Engagement & Performance Tracking.
Each year, faculties are invited by the library to submit requests for interactive e-textbooks in April which will be used in the academic year to support the taught courses.
We then request official quotes from the publishers and negotiate the best price based on the number of courses per faculty.
After considering costs that will be added to the student fees, the final order is submitted to the Finance Department for approval to be sent to the publishers.
Acquisition models options for E-resources:
The British University in Egypt Library utilizes a variety of acquisition models to build the collection of electronic resources and cater to the diverse needs of our faculty and students. Here’s an overview of our approaches:
· Direct Purchase (One-Time Purchases):
We purchase individual e-book titles based on the faculties’ recommendations to directly support specific courses or research needs. These purchases typically come with perpetual access, meaning the library maintains long-term ownership of the resource.
· Subject-Specific Subscriptions (Focused collection):
This model allows us to subscribe to focused collections of E-resources in specific subject areas that align with the faculty’s curriculum. This ensures targeted access to relevant resources for research and study needs.
· Comprehensive Subscriptions (Large-Scale Subscriptions):
Large-scale subscriptions provide access to extensive E-resources collections encompassing broad disciplinary areas. This approach provides a wider range of resources to support various aspects of the curriculum across different faculties.
· Evidence-Based Acquisition (EBA)
This innovative model enables us to offer a curated selection of e-books at a pre-negotiated fee. The library can then evaluate usage patterns and user needs to strategically acquire e-books that align with the BUE community’s research and learning priorities.
The British University in Egypt Library welcomes donations of materials that support the university’s curriculum and research needs, aligning with our established collection policies. Donated materials become part of the library’s permanent collection and are generally not returned to the donor. We reserve the right to select, organize, and manage donated materials in a way that best serves our users.
We accept donations of academic materials in the following subject areas, as well as general materials of interest to our community, all preferably in English or Arabic:
1. Faculty of Business Administration, Economics & Political Science.
2. Faculty of Engineering.
3. Faculty of Informatics and computer science
4. Faculty of Pharmacy.
5. Faculty of Dentistry.
6. Faculty of Nursing.
7. Faculty of Communication & Mass Media.
8. Faculty of Law
9. Faculty of Arts & Humanities in three branches English, psychology & Chinese.
10. Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering.
11. Faculty of Arts & Design
12. Faculty of Physiotherapy
Donation Process and Guidelines:
To ensure a smooth donation process and maximize the benefit to our users, we kindly ask that you follow these guidelines:
· Prior Discussion: We encourage all potential donors to discuss their donation with a librarian beforehand. This allows us to understand the materials and assess their suitability for our collection.
· Delivery: Donated materials can only be delivered after a conversation and agreement with the Collection Development Librarian.
· Selection Process: The Collection Development Librarian, in collaboration with faculty coordinators, will carefully evaluate and select appropriate items for the collection based on established criteria.
· Retention and Disposal: The library reserves the right to retain or dispose of any donated materials based on these criteria and space limitations.
· Large Donations: For large donations, we may request a list of items in advance to facilitate the selection process.
· Location: The library will determine the most appropriate location for donated items within the building based on space availability.
· Processing and Access: Donated materials will be catalogued, processed, and made available to all library users in the same way as all other library acquisitions.
Acceptance Guideline:
To ensure the long-term value of our collection, we kindly ask that donated materials meet the following criteria:
· Relevance: Does the material directly support the university’s academic programs or research interests?
· Language: Is it primarily in English or Arabic?
· Physical Condition: Is the material in good condition, free of damage or excessive wear?
· Currency: Is the information current and relevant unless it has historical value?
· Uniqueness: Does the material duplicate existing holdings unless additional copies are needed to meet demand?
Material not accepted will include:
While we appreciate your generosity, some materials may not be suitable for our collection, including:
· Outdated editions of textbooks
· Journals already accessible electronically (exceptions may be made for rare or unique materials)
· Incomplete journal runs (exceptions may be made for rare or unique materials)
The library is happy to accept donations from university staff of their authored or edited.
By following these guidelines, you can help us build a strong and valuable library collection that serves the needs of our entire university community.
Weeding
Regularly evaluating and weeding our collection is essential to ensure it remains current, accurate, and useful for our users. This process helps us achieve several goals:
· Maintain a High-Quality Collection: Weeding allows us to remove outdated or less-used materials, ensuring the collection reflects the latest information and supports your research and learning needs.
· Identify Materials for Repair or Replacement: Through weeding, we can identify damaged or missing items that require repair or replacement to maintain the collection’s integrity.
· Gather Valuable Feedback: The weeding process provides valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the collection, allowing us to make informed decisions about future acquisitions.
· Optimize Space Utilization: By removing unused materials, we can free up valuable shelf space for new and in-demand resources.
Criteria for Withdrawing Materials:
We carefully consider the following criteria when making decisions about withdrawing materials:
· Usage Statistics: We analyze circulation data to identify materials that are rarely or never borrowed.
· Duplicate Titles: We may remove unused copies of duplicate titles, especially older editions, to optimize shelf space.
· Physical Condition: Materials in poor physical condition may be withdrawn to maintain the overall quality of the collection.
How to benefit of the withdrawn items:
We explore various options for reuse the withdrawn materials, including:
· Book Sales: We may organize book sales offering withdrawn materials at discounted prices to students and staff.
· Donations: We consider donating withdrawn materials to other libraries or educational institutions.
· Recycled Materials Sales: We may sell withdrawn materials to secondhand book suppliers, promoting responsible recycling.
To ensure our collection development practices remain aligned with user needs, the Collection Development Policy is reviewed annually by the library at the beginning of the academic year. Proposed revisions will be presented to the library committee for discussion and approval.