n. (also collections development policy)synonym for collecting policyReed-Scott 1984, 24The drafting of a written collection development policy is an important first step in this planning process. Such a policy is a statement of long- and short-range needs, of acquisition priorities, and of collecting boundaries.Reed-Scott 1984, 26While the collection development policy contains definitions of the parameters and an underlying rationale, only effective selection of materials translates the policy into practice.Phillips 1984, 37A collection development policy statement should address the breadth and depth coverage of the collection’s focus, whether it be geographic, subject, or periodic.Berner 1984, 248In the library or historical society, these collections accumulated more often as backlogs than as actively used collections. In the absence of coherent collection development policies, these collections remained embryonic because their inherent documentary linkages with extant collected and uncollected materials were not being realized—I am speaking mainly of the era before 1960.Phillips 1995, 260In conjunction with the documentation strategy, archivists need to refine repository collection development policies to focus on subject areas such as congressional papers.Sauer 2001, 317The other factors leading to the creation of written collection development policies at responding repositories were a mix of external forces relating to broader organizational collecting activities, and repository-specific factors directly connected to the use for which written collection development policies are intended. . . . Two respondents each cited the beginning of active collecting activities at their repositories and a desire to refuse offered collections as the reasons for the creation of a written collection development policy.Sauer 2001, 319–320Putting a collection development policy in writing does not permanently fix or restrict a repository’s collecting options, so it is unfortunate that some archivists appear to resist written policies for fear of their constraints.Hyry, Kaplan, and Weideman 2002, 58By answering these questions, we sought to articulate a focused collection development policy for faculty papers. . . . We needed to refine selection criteria so that we would neither accept every faculty collection offered to us nor solicit only from those who won a Nobel Prize. Additionally, by determining what materials to collect, we could set appraisal standards for work in the field and for the processing of faculty collections in the backlog.Loe 2004, 66Prudent archival collection development policy addresses copyright issues before collections are deeded to the institution.O’Meara and Tuomala 2012, 84Although archivists do aim to preserve objectively and expansively the histories of the organizations, constituents, and cultures whose records they preserve, it is prudent to reflect on Shellenbergian appraisal standards when faced with the flood of records that today’s electronic environment has encouraged. . . . In the case of an institutional repository, these archival appraisal guidelines can inform the collecting efforts surrounding data sets and other non-traditional, scholarly output. They can also help form a sound collection development policy, necessary in light of the large volume of electronic records archivists are facing.White 2012, 124However, further research and work is still needed before a more complete record becomes reality. Among the areas that need to be explored are how disability fits within archives’ existing collection development policies and what documentation currently exists on disability in both traditional and community archives.Novara 2013, 209All archival institutions that collect state political archival materials should write formal collection development policies for state legislative papers, including specific guidelines for the collecting of women’s papers. These collection policies must complement each other, or one institution in the state might be specifically designated as the official archival repository for state legislators’ papers and/or for concentrating on documenting women’s issues.Noonan and Chute 2014, 207Archival best practices recommend that archives should have written collection development policies that address what the archives retains and, often, what is not collected.Noonan and Chute 2014, 209Philosophically, if the materials—whether electronic or paper-based—fall within an institution’s mission and/or collection development policy, archivists should collect, preserve, and provide access to them.Slater and Mahoney Hoelscher 2014, 51A strategically crafted collection development policy helps archivists acquire materials that enrich their collections.Slater and Mahoney Hoelscher 2014, 54Documenting priorities in a collection development policy will allow archivists to be efficacious when considering potential donors and prioritizing outreach activities.Barnard and Redwine 2016, 75A well-formulated collection development policy provides a foundation for a repository to ensure that its collecting practices have a coherent focus and support its institutional mission and goals.Shelstad 2018, 11In addition to identifying the collecting rationale, the collection development policy identified methods for collection, languages, type and format, geographical area, and subject area.Gentry et al. 2021, 86A repository’s relationship with donors depends on the rapport they establish early on, and it should be in line with the institution’s collection development policy.Leventhal et al. 2021, 329–330In regard to collecting design records for special collections, the collection development policy should observe and reflect the mission of the archives and its parent institution (see Table 3). The scope of the collecting institution should consider the records that include long-term use by researchers and eliminating any redundancy.
