Collection Development Policy
1. Introduction
This policy outlines guidelines used at Hampshire College for building and maintaining the collections of the Library that support the continually changing transdisciplinary curriculum of the College.
2. Responsibility for Collection Development
The research librarians cover subject areas broadly so that collections are appropriately developed and maintained in accordance with this policy. Each librarian is responsible for identifying curricular trends in their domain. Requests for purchases by Hampshire students and faculty are always welcome, and are evaluated according to the criteria described herein. The Library relies on the other libraries in the Five College consortium for collections of historical depth, special collections of manuscripts and rare books, and access to specialized databases and research material. Librarians work closely with Five College library committees to leverage access and avoid duplication of resources.
3. Acquisitions Priorities
Hampshire College’s curriculum is transdisciplinary and continually changing to meet the needs of students and urgent global issues.
Disciplines represented broadly in the sciences and social sciences may include: cognitive science, computer science, computer animation, psychology, philosophy of the mind, education and child development, linguistics, and communication, history, anthropology, economics, sociology, education, urban studies, political science, law, and psychology. Areas of interest include gender studies (including reproductive rights), queer studies, race and class, social justice, global migrations and diasporas, contemporary philosophy and critical theory, and sustainability.
Broadly speaking, the arts and humanities at Hampshire may include: art history, studio arts, American studies, architecture, environmental design, dance, music, photography and video, literature, cultural studies, media studies and journalism, philosophy, religion, critical theory, all forms of art and art making including painting, sculpture, theater, children's theater, creative drama, writing, literature, art and technology, and art and social action.
Materials are purchased based on an analysis of course descriptions and syllabi. Textbooks are not routinely purchased, nor is everything relating to a particular discipline acquired. Instead, materials on research methods such as oral history, ethnography and mapping, or materials on particular topics appearing in recurring courses or student projects are ordered. A percentage of the budget is allocated to student and faculty requests. The library has received the gift of a number of small funds, each of which has a specific subject area for which it may be used. These funds are included as a part of the acquisitions budget.
4. Collecting Criteria
Scholarly credibility
In addition to general selection criteria, scholarly value is important to the selection decision. We will provide access to highly-regarded publications because they occupy an important space in most research processes, but we must also acknowledge that vital marginalized voices are often excluded by the systems of power that govern the academic publishing industry. Selectors will make efforts to seek out and promote works of note by authors from marginalized groups. Priority is given to materials from reputable trade publishers/distributors, university presses, and special or small presses, if relevant to the material type.
Availability in the Five Colleges
We consider holdings of our Five College partners when making purchase decisions to ensure that unnecessary duplication is avoided. This does not, however, prevent the material from being acquired if a clear case of its usefulness for the Hampshire community is present.
Formats and Material Types
With the exception of archives and institutional records, the library only acquires and maintains materials in formats for which it has in-house equipment or conditions for use. The majority of our collection development is focused on print and electronic books, periodicals, videos, and research databases.
5. Notes on Individual Library Collections
Special Collections
Hampshire College Special Collections include an Artists' Books collection, along with other fine press, small press volumes and limited first-edition printings. The Artists' Books collection includes a wide variety of formats, styles, and works by a diversity of artists. Preference is given to books by Hampshire-affiliated and New England artists and to specific subject matter relevant to Hampshire curricular offerings. Preference is also given to works by marginalized voices in order to promote authors whose work might not otherwise be known.
In addition to Artists' Books, small press, or limited first editions, our Special Collections contains items that are exceptional in some way. Common reasons include physical fragility, rarity or uniqueness, financial value, provenance, or alterations like inscriptions or marginalia. Although these items do not circulate, they are available for individual and classroom use through the College Archivist, who encourages their use with proper care and handling.
Media Collections
Videos and films selected for the collection must meet the curricular support objectives outlined above. Collection strengths include experimental films (contemporary or historical, fictional or documentary), documentary films (contemporary or historical), films by alums who are professionals in the field, and historical or contemporary feature films that are related to curricular offerings.
The principal areas of music collected, as related to the curriculum, are classical, jazz/blues, and world music. Most music is now acquired as part of streaming audio databases.
Game Collections
In addition to curricular objectives outlined elsewhere in this document, consideration additionally will be given to games that a.) are especially influential and likely to have an outsize effect on the game publishing industry; b.) are judged to be a popular source of leisure play for our community; c.) are especially high-quality or unique in some way; and/or d.) contribute to our efforts to promote stories and creators from historically-marginalized groups.
The collection will include both tabletop games and video games from established current platforms; physical copies of titles will be purchased wherever possible to facilitate ease of lending, but exceptions may sometimes be made for titles that are only available in a digital format. The library lends video gaming consoles for play.
6. Gift Policy
The Hampshire College library welcomes monetary and in-kind gifts of recent material (not older than five years with few exceptions). Monetary gifts may be directed to a variety of purposes, including purchase of materials for the collection, or endowments for continuing support.
Because of severely limited shelf space, the library must be very selective in adding material to the collection. Gifts in all media will be considered, but unfortunately the library is not able to accept all offered material. The Librarians determine the suitability of gifted material based on its relevance to the current Hampshire curriculum and to its alignment with the goals outlined in this collection policy. If other libraries in our consortium already hold the material, we are likely not to add it to our collection. Funds for the processing, cataloging and storage of donated material may be required as part of the gift agreement.
As charitable donations, gifts to the library may constitute a tax deduction for the donor. Internal Revenue Service regulations make it the responsibility of the donor to obtain legal advice on tax deductions, to arrange for appraisals for materials of significant value, and to maintain an inventory of materials donated.
7. Deaccessioning of Library Materials
Books
The collection must be actively reviewed to remove items that are no longer useful, and to make room for new material. Reasons for deaccessioning these items include but are not limited to physical condition, outdated information, and the lack of current circulation. Material that is removed is transferred to the Five College Repository if it is the last copy in the Five College consortium. For material that is to be removed permanently, the library staff offer the books to our community, to dealers, and to representatives of charitable organizations for donation to prison and other underfunded libraries.
The Five College Libraries all participate in the cooperative shared print collection, EAST (Eastern Academic Scholars’ Trust), which is the collaborative effort of a large group of academic and research libraries to document, protect, and provide long-term access to their print collections. We, along with more than 80 other academic libraries, have committed to retaining certain titles to ensure a minimum number of copies across the shared collection are available for interlibrary loan and other resource sharing initiatives. We have committed to retaining our thirty-thousand EAST titles through 2030.
If librarians judge that removing a book from our permanent collection could lead to erasure of marginalized voices, we will prioritize maintaining that representation even if usage statistics are low.
Serials/Periodicals
Deaccessioned bound serials and periodicals are transferred to the Five College Repository if a copy is not yet present in that collection. Because of the wide availability of electronic serials and periodicals, there is almost no demand for bound serials/periodicals even as donations to other libraries.
Media Material
Any films, videos, DVDs, and CDs that are withdrawn, usually because of condition, are discarded. If the material is still of interest, an effort is made to acquire the same content in a newer format.
8. College Archives
The Hampshire College archives were established in 1980 by President Adele Simmons, who recognized the archives as the repository for historical records of the College, including confidential records requiring controlled access.
The Hampshire College archives comprise a collection of materials by and about Hampshire College people, programs, and offices. These records are produced in the course of day-to-day operations (for example, correspondence files, minutes of meetings, or College publications) and transferred to the archives when no longer in daily use by the originating office or group. This material forms a documentary record of the history and functioning of the College.
Files of continuing or historical interest to future scholars and researchers (such as correspondence and subject files), files constituting the record of the activity of an office, school, student group, or governance body, and records which are little used (less than once a year) should be considered for transfer to the archives. The archives reserves the right, while processing records for permanent inclusion in the archives, to discard non-essential or duplicative material.
Manuscript Collections
The archives maintain a number of manuscript collections, usually acquired because of the donor’s connection with the College, or because they provide an exceptional complement to the College’s curriculum and/or the faculty and student body’s independent research. Donations of manuscript collections must be carefully evaluated based on their relation to the College's mission and usefulness to the College community before being accepted into the archives. Acceptance of collections may also be limited by the availability of appropriate storage and conditions for preservation and staff capacity for the processing and description of collection materials.