Effective management of library resources necessitates an ongoing element of stock management.

Image of student with books

This includes removals and relegations to store to make room for newly acquired stock, promotion from store for material with increased usage or requirement, and also reclassification and reorganization work within active collections and stores. Some of these processes occur annually, or as part of ongoing work, or as intensive projects when necessary.

The complete library collection spans the Main Library, LLC stores, Duncan of Jordanstone Library, Robertson Trust Medical Library, and Fife Campus Library. The Main Library collection is targeted towards high use and specified texts for taught courses, reflecting the high number of daily student visitors to the site and the overall requirement for study space. As well as space utilisation issues, there are significant costs associated with long term storage, preservation and management of collections. This policy covers the retention, relegation and disposal of scholarly resources that is required to ensure efficient administration of library stock and future development of the collections.

Retention

The following criteria are used as a general guide to inform decisions about retention or disposal of print and physical materials. When required, additional consultation is also initiated directly with the relevant academic units (schools, research groups, or committees).

Books and monographs will be retained where they are known to be:

  • Required for current teaching, learning or practice
  • Support current School research profiles
  • Included in a contractual or collaborative agreement requiring retention by UoD
  • Unique or rare
  • Published before 1900
  • Significant in association or important ownership to UoD.

Books and monographs will be disposed of where they are judged to be:

  • Items no longer relevant to current teaching, learning or practice
  • Items no longer supporting current School research profiles
  • Duplicates not borrowed in previous 3 years
  • Superseded editions of textbooks and reference sources (except where of historic interest, or required for teaching)
  • Material outlining good governance or practice that no longer affects current standards or practice
  • Low use items in poor physical condition
  • Low use items available in electronic format
  • Items available in alternative preferred formats
  • Ephemeral material or reference material now available online.

Journals and periodicals will be retained where they are known to be:

  • Required for current or future teaching or research
  • Titles which are not available electronically
  • Society hosted titles vulnerable to publisher transfers
  • Included in a contractual or collaborative agreement requiring retention by UoD
  • High use or high value items where electronic access is not secure or where licensing agreements do not guarantee access to archives if a subscription is cancelled
  • Antiquarian titles.

Journals and periodicals will be disposed of where they are judged to be:

  • No longer relevant to current or future teaching or research
  • Available electronically as open access
  • Available electronically with secure archiving services or adequate archiving arrangements exist with publishers
  • Abstracting and indexing services that are available electronically
  • Low use titles where access is available via British Library Document Supply or other national service, except those identified through the 'Last Copy in Scotland' policy
  • Ephemera and current awareness publications (unless identified as unique or otherwise of particular interest).

Multimedia and other formats will be retained where they are known to be:

  • Required for current or future teaching or research
  • Unavailable in an alternative format
  • Still accessible as a medium.

Multimedia and other formats will be disposed of where they are judged to be:

  • No longer relevant to current or future teaching or research
  • Superseded by other formats or online services
  • Inaccessible due to degradation or availability of format reader.

Relegation

The LLC sites reflect the study environment required by students in busy modern libraries. Open access shelf space is restricted and prioritization is given to materials that justify being accessible on a daily basis to the campus population. Less heavily utilised material is still retained, but can be relegated to Store and recalled as required.

Print material will be retained on open access shelf space within sites where items are:

  • Required to support taught courses
  • Listed on a current reading list
  • Required as openly available for accreditation purposes
  • High use reference material
  • Highly utilised.

Print material may be relegated to store where items are:

  • Low use, evidenced by no borrowing in previous 4 years
  • Low use duplicated
  • Low use reference material.

Ethical Disposal

The LLC is committed to the provision of a high quality collection and service, and acknowledges that this work involves the disposals of materials no longer required by the University of Dundee. Every effort is made to dispose of materials in an appropriate and ethical manner, including the following actions:

  • The University of Dundee is a member of the ‘Last Copy in Scotland’ initiative, and the LLC adheres to the guidelines for this as set out by SCURL, NLS and SLIC
  • Charities are engaged to collect and distribute discarded materials, with a small percentage of any profits made being paid back to the LLC
  • Where others do not want materials for redistribution, recycling options are exercised
  • Materials being prepared for recycling or charity collection are stored securely.

Policy Details

LLC Stock Retention Policy created: October 2013

Last updated: October 2015
https://www.dundee.ac.uk/library/resources/stockretention/
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