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Library Services for Staff

Collection Development Policy

The Collection Development Policy informs Library staff and users of the criteria and principles used in the acquisition, management and disposal of resources. This policy also describes how access to, and currency and maintenance of these resources will be achieved within agreed priorities and subject to constraints on funding and space. 

Ordering books and e-books

Academic staff wishing to suggest books to be purchased for the Library collection should liaise directly with their Subject Librarian. This applies to the purchase of new titles and to extra copies of titles already in stock.

Your librarian will need the following information:

  • Title of the book
  • Author's full name
  • Publisher
  • Date of publication
  • ISBN (if you know it)

You should also indicate:

  • The number of copies you require
  • If the book is on a reading list and if so is the material is core reading or background reading
  • The number of students expected on the module.

Things to be aware of when ordering books: 

  • Library Services has a limited budget for buying new titles and more copies of existing titles, current policy is 1:15 for essential reading and 1:30 for recommended reading.
  • Where an e-book is available, we will purchase that instead of extra print copies.
  • From the day a book is ordered it normally takes around 4-6 weeks to hit our shelves - make sure you contact your Subject Librarian in good time so that the resources you need are available! 
  • If the title you have recommended is out of print, we will contact second hand suppliers. However, it may take longer to get hold of the material, and we cannot guarantee we will be able to satisfy your request.

Ordering new journal subscriptions

Academic staff should contact their Subject Librarian to request a new journal subscription.

They'll need the following information:

  • Title of the journal
  • ISSN 

All new journal requests will be carefully evaluated in terms of the Library's annual financial position, the overall demand for new titles and the journal's importance for the curriculum and research.  The Library will need to know how the new journal title will benefit you and your students and how it fill gaps in our existing journal collection.

Journal subscriptions are only reviewed once a year so requests for new journal titles should be placed well in advance.