Collection Development Policy

While priority is given to core areas relating to the Organisational Strategic Plan, purchases are determined by the Library budget. The following criteria will be applied when evaluating materials to be added to the collection:

• Exclusively English language titles
• Quality/authority of content: The content is evidence-based, peer reviewed and/or favourably reviewed by qualified HNELHD personnel. The content is relevant, and provides a comprehensive view across subject content
• Currency of information: Material has been published within the last 3 years, however archival material related to HNELHD and its predecessors is also collected
• Value for money: Hidden costs such as processing, maintenance, foreign exchange rates, and ongoing costs from subscription purchase models are considered
• Availability: Items need to be available through standard or appropriate specialist suppliers
• Anticipated or demonstrated demand: The level of expected use will be considered, particularly in determining the number and format of holdings. Titles suggested by patrons will be considered for purchase
• Geographical areas: No geographical area is excluded however preference is given to relevant Australian content
• Format: The Library will take a ‘digital first’ approach to resource acquisition to facilitate access to the collection regardless of location and time of day. Alternative formats may be collected in the absence of suitable electronic versions
• Licencing and usage limitations: The Library will aim for titles with clauses allowing for best access, content usability and navigation standards
• Vendor reputation, service, and support assistance

The priority of certain criteria may change according to funding, subject matter, and the availability of alternative formats.

Selection is a cooperative activity undertaken by library staff in collaboration with library members who are encouraged to suggest items for purchase. In evaluating material for selection, the Library is led by three primary considerations:

• Relevance and quality of content
• User potential
• Cost-effectiveness

Preferred material formats and access conditions

The Library currently collects material in these formats:

• Books – ebooks and print (both hardback and paperback)
• Electronic resources – ejournals and online databases
• Archival material relevant to HNELHD and its predecessors (see section on ‘Special Collections’)

Books

• Electronic book format is preferred, due to the advantages of 24x7 and remote access
• In most cases, a 1-user access licence will be chosen for consistency
• Print books will be purchased if:
• Electronic format for a desired title does not exist
• Technical issues prohibit satisfactory use of an ebook due to platform stability/robustness, or restrictive licensing conditions
• Cost per item is prohibitive for a ebook

Electronic resources – ejournals and online databases

Electronic/online format is the default for both journals and databases, due to the advantages of 24x7 access, multiple simultaneous usage, and ease of access for remote users. Other criteria considered in the selection process include:

• Satisfactory pricing models
• Usage statistics
• Licence conditions and terms of use

The Library will review the collection on an ongoing basis to ensure value, currency, and relevance.

Items not collected include:

• Duplicate copies of material in the same format
• Resources available via NSW Health’s Clinical Information Access Portal (CIAP)
• Self-published items, unless they specifically pertain to HNELHD or its predecessors
• Conference proceedings
• Statistics
• Single-use items, such as forms or tests
• Resources that require specialised software and/or special readers or items installed on a single workstation or other device for single/individual one-time use
• Frequently updated resources might not be purchased every year or edition
• Items which promote hatred, vilification, or degradation of members of the community, or are overtly supportive of intolerant ideologies, persons, or organisations
• Second hand material; out-of-date or fragile items; ephemera or pamphlets, unless they pertain to HNELHD or its predecessors
• Popular literature, except for books that provide a lived experience perspective

Document supply and inter-library loan services are available to obtain books and journal articles not held within HNE Health Libraries' collections.

Library members are encouraged to make suggestions for new purchases or subscriptions via the Library website. The Library will endeavour to purchase requested items. These items must meet the Selection Criteria described above. Requests do not automatically equate to purchases and library staff will review recommendations for alternative resources already held. Document supply and inter-library loan services are available (for a fee) if the item (book or journal article) falls outside the Selection Criteria.

The Library does not encourage unsolicited gifts of material. All donations are held to the Selection Criteria described above. The Library reserves the right to decline donations that do not meet these criteria or where the Library does not have the capacity to process or store the items. Donated items become the property of the Library and donations unsuitable for the collection are disposed of via any means considered appropriate by the Library. The Library will not accept donations where the donor places conditions on the use of the item(s).

Items relating to HNELHD or its predecessors are welcomed but the conditions outlined above will apply.

The Library has a right and a duty to provide a collection that includes a representative selection of resources which meet Selection Criteria on topics of interest to the HNELHD community and which are not prohibited by law, including items covering a range of opinions on controversial subjects. The Library supports the Australian Library and Information Association’s (ALIA) Free Access to Information Statement.

Deselection, otherwise known as weeding, is the process of assessing an item for removal from the collection and the Library catalogue. Weeding of items is vital to maintain the functionality of the Library’s collection and ensure it is relevant, and appropriate for HNE Health Libraries' client base.

Items will be considered for withdrawal from the collection where:

• The item contains outdated, misleading, or factually inaccurate information
• Material with low borrowing statistics
• The material is in poor physical condition, particularly where there is a risk of contamination of other material
• There are multiple copies of superseded editions; in some cases, one copy of each edition may be retained for historical research purposes
• They are an incomplete set of works (which cannot be used if they are not complete)
• Incomplete runs of ceased journals with little use
• The item format has become outdated or obsolete

• Items over 10 years old with consideration given to subject area, frequency of editions, circulation in the last year
• Items not circulated in the last 3 years
• Texts whose pages are torn, dirty, dog-eared; have missing or defamed pages; have frayed or broken spines or damaged binding

Items that are NOT to be discarded include:

• Classic texts, reference items, theses, and dissertations
• Speciality dictionaries and encyclopaedias
• HNELHD publications – including annual reports
• Artefacts, photography, biography pertaining to the history of HNELHD and its predecessors
• Special collections – including items in glass display cases:
• David Wallace Memorial and John Irvine Hunter Collections
• Historical collection and artefacts
• Pathology Museum and Newcastle Mater Hospital Memorabilia

The last state or national copy of any title may be retained to meet potential research purposes. Format, subject/discipline requirements and physical condition will also be considered.

Superseded or damaged items may be replaced with new editions if they continue to meet the Library’s Selection Criteria.

Material withdrawn from the Library’s collection or donations that do not meet the Library’s Selection Criteria will be disposed of in an environmentally responsible and appropriate manner.

Subscriptions for electronic books, journals and databases will be regularly reviewed and evaluated by library staff in consultation with appropriate HNELHD personnel to ensure relevance, subject balance, currency, and depth, through a range of mechanisms including:

• Annual usage statistics
• Return on investment – calculation of cost per use for the last year
• Overlap analysis of duplicated content
• Library’s budgetary position

HNE Health Libraries have collections of historical value, archival and reference potential, and subject significance. They include:

David Wallace Memorial Collection - This is a closed collection of beautifully bound books from ‘The Classics of Medicine Series’ donated to the Library by the medical Board of Royal Newcastle Hospital in memory of cardiologist, Dr David Charles Wallace, housed at the Mater Library.

John Irvine Hunter Collection - This is a closed collection of John Hunter’s private texts covering his childhood to his career choice in medicine and is housed at the Mater Library.

Historical collection - Consists of past circulating texts and donated items that are considered of significant merit. The continued growth and development of this collection depends upon donations and the transfer of items from the circulating collection when their content or historical significance determines such treatment. Also collected are pictorial materials illustrating persons or events of historical significance to HNELHD.

Historical artefacts - The Library holds a variety of historical artefacts reflecting its history in connection with Royal Newcastle Hospital, James Fletcher Hospital, Calvary Mater Newcastle, Tamworth Rural Referral Hospital. These include photographs, maps, devices, instruments, and other ephemera.

Pathology Museum and Newcastle Mater Hospital Memorabilia - This exhibition shows some of the equipment used to perform pathology tests prior to the introduction in the 1970s of automated electronic analysis of blood samples.

HNE Health Libraries recognises a responsibility to maintain the collection in good condition and to ensure its availability. Monographs are secured and mended/replaced as required. Rare materials are housed in glass cabinets. Security systems have been installed to discourage theft.

The Policy will be reviewed regularly by library staff responsible for collection development with assistance from the Library Manager and revised as required.

Any feedback on this document should be sent to HNELHD-Libraries@health.nsw.gov.au

Medical Library Association Collection Development Caucus. Health sciences collection development: an overview of fundamental knowledge and practices. Second edition. Richmond (VA): VCU Libraries; 2023.