Policies

Mission
The mission of the NJIT Library is to foster the exchange of ideas across the University’s educational and research communities by identifying, organizing, preserving, and ensuring responsive access to information and knowledge that supports all forms of scholarship.

 

Objectives

Develop a print and digital library collection including books, journals, databases, and other media to support NJIT students, faculty, and staff in their research and educational needs.
Provide specialized resources for NJIT’s major areas of study and research within NJIT budgetary constraints.

 

Clientele

NJIT faculty, staff, and students are the primary clientele of the NJIT Library. The library is open to the public for research relating to the NJIT Library's science and technology collection, as well as our special collections as further described below, but collection decisions are made only with NJIT faculty, staff, and students in mind.

 

Responsibility for the Selection of Books

The Subject Liaison Librarian to an academic department is the selector for print and electronic books for NJIT Library’s collections. The Subject Liaison Librarian solicits faculty recommendations, is cognizant of faculty research areas, and follows the guidance of the Committee on Information Technology, Library and Academic Resources (CITLAR). Publishers’ and dealers’ catalogs and websites, book reviews in professional journals, and materials presented at conference exhibits and bookstores are examples of sources used to identify relevant titles for selection. The librarians work to ensure that all acquisitions are balanced to meet the university's priorities. Faculty members, staff, and students are encouraged to submit suggestions for acquisition through the Recommend a Book form. In addition to single-title and package purchases, the Library utilizes a patron-driven acquisition model for electronic books. When possible, collections of ebooks are purchased to leverage discounts from publishers.

 

Responsibility for the Selection of Individual Periodical Titles for an Academic Department

Each CITLAR department representative selects individual journal subscriptions according to the rules set by CITLAR and with the counsel of the Subject Liaison Librarian. Periodical subscription lists are evaluated and revised annually. A database subscription appropriate to an individual academic department may be selected in place of one or more journal titles, provided there is a sufficient budget.

 

Responsibility for the Selection of Cross-Disciplinary Library Materials such as Databases, Indexes, and Other Subscription Services

The term “databases” refers to electronic subscriptions purchased for:

• access to the full text of documents (such as ebooks, scholarly journals, standards, handbooks, and more)
• video streaming services (see the Streaming Media Licensing Guidelines)
• research tools for the advanced discovery of published scholarly materials 
• citation databases which leverage bibliometrics to enable discovery and characterize literature

Electronic resources represent a large portion of the budget. CITLAR representatives confer with Subject Liaison Librarians and the Electronic Resources & Discovery Librarian to evaluate and rank subscriptions annually. CITLAR rankings provide a yearly record that keeps the Library accountable to the needs of the faculty. In order to address changing budgets and faculty priorities, CITLAR rankings are weighted heavily when considering whether subscriptions are added or canceled.

 

Responsibility for the Budgeting for all Library Materials

All collections budgets are set by the University Librarian with recommendations from CITLAR, the librarians, and relevant library staff.

Currency, Language, Duplication, and Formats

Acquisitions are primarily focused on newly published and current materials. However, backlist items may be acquired if needed or appropriate. Where appropriate, Subject Liaison Librarians will make every effort to select good-quality material available in non-traditional formats and via new channels, whether fee-based or free. 

Materials are collected in English. Rarely, non-English items of unique research significance may be acquired if unavailable in English and requested explicitly by a user with good reason. Language as a subject of study is not collected.

Any duplication of print materials will be at the discretion of the Subject Liaison Librarians, but should be highly selective and additional copies purchased only for titles that are in high demand.

Van Houten Library is a “digital preferred” library, but different formats will be selected based on the needs of the academic discipline served, the type of resource being purchased, and the availability of the format from the publisher. In general, reference materials, journal subscriptions, and database subscriptions are “digital preferred”. Books intended for comprehensive reading are generally bought in physical form. Manuals, handbooks, conference proceedings, and other resources used for reference rather than full reading are typically purchased in electronic format.

• Reference Materials – Technical manuals, standards, handbooks, and other reference materials are collected in electronic format whenever possible. When purchased as a subscription, reference materials will be treated like a journal or database and subject to annual review by CITLAR.
• Microfiche and Microfilm – The existing collection is maintained, but new microform items are no longer acquired.
• Audio and Video Materials—Items are added to the collection if they accompany books (e.g., CDs) or if they are acquired upon request because they are within the subject scope of the NJIT community. See the Streaming Media Licensing Guidelines.

Special Collections – The Library maintains a Special Collection of rare or unique materials in the Rare Book Room. The collection is almost exclusively developed through gifts and donations to the library and curated by the Archivist and Digital Initiatives Librarian in accordance with the general policy on donations. The criteria for inclusion typically fall into one of three categories:

• Publications and ephemera generated by the University community (theses/dissertations, yearbooks, course catalogs, etc.).
• Materials related to notable individuals affiliated with the university.
• Materials related to technology in Newark, NJ.

 

Cooperative Arrangements and Agreements
See the Reciprocal Borrowing Agreements policy.

 

Lost, Damaged, and/or Missing

When staff become aware of lost, damaged, or missing materials, they are tagged in the catalog, and a notification is sent to the appropriate Subject Liaison Librarian. Librarians will evaluate the item to see if it should be replaced or withdrawn.

 

Inventory

A complete inventory will be conducted approximately every ten years or as budget permits.

 

Weeding

Weeding books and journals is necessary to create space for new materials and maintain currency and relevance in the collection. Decisions about retaining or weeding materials may be made at any time by the Subject Liaison Librarians. Journal issues available electronically in an adequate format will, in most cases, not be retained in print, at the discretion of the Subject Liaison Librarian and with the advice of the Electronic Resources & Discovery Librarian. Items that are weeded but are still in good condition will be offered to the NJIT user community free of charge. Items deemed unsuitable, such as damaged items, will be discarded discreetly.

 

Hillier College of Architecture and Design (HCAD)

The Barbara and Leonard Littman Architecture Library is the sole branch library on campus. Its collection development policy aligns with this overarching policy but includes some distinct features.

 

Collection Evaluation

The print collection is evaluated continuously, including reviewing circulation statistics, reviewing ILL requests, and comparing it against collections of peer institutions. Electronic collections are evaluated according to criteria such as usage statistics, cost per use, and relevance to research and curricular needs.

 

Gifts and Donations

See the Library’s donations policy for details on accepting gifts.

 

Policy Evaluation and Policy Changes

This Collection Development Policy will be reviewed and may be updated as needed. It will be ratified at least every five years by the University Librarian with the advice of CITLAR and the Librarians.

 

Approved at the Librarian’s Team Meeting, January 17, 2025 
Approved by the University Librarian on October 5, 2012