Libraries and Learning Resources collections policy 2024-2027

Section 1:  Purpose

Libraries and Learning Resources collections are fundamental to supporting the learning, teaching, research and strategic priorities of the University. This policy provides a governance framework for the development and management of the Library Services’ collections both in the UK and Dubai.

This policy excludes collections managed by the Cadbury Research Library (CRL), Shakespeare Institute Library and Barber Art Library, where separate policies apply.

Section 2: Key Statements

2.1 Key Strategic Principles

Libraries and Learning Resources role is to develop, manage and facilitate use of these collections which can be themed in to two broad and interconnected types:  

Externally Acquired Content

  • The purchasing, licensing and management of materials from external sources, e.g. publishers, for the benefit of University staff and students.  

University Generated Content

  • The ingest and stewardship of institutional outputs, e.g., research publications, research data, which are also shared externally.  

These collections provide the information base for the University’s academic work and are a repository for the University’s research outputs. Their curation requires effective lifecycle management (see Figure 1) in an increasingly complex and fast changing landscape. 

This policy recognises the importance of open practices in enhancing the transparency, reach, citation and impact of University of Birmingham’s research and in supporting Birmingham 2030 aspirations around citation volume and global reputation. Library Services will strive to deliver Open Access and Open Data services which extend beyond compliance to realise the full benefits of openly sharing research outputs. 

Libraries and Learning Resources are moving towards the use of collection categorisation for its externally acquired print collections, in order to make best use of resources throughout the collection’s lifecycle: 

  • Heritage: Collections or items of national significance, as well as likely relevance to current research and teaching.
  • Legacy: Collections or items of national significance, which are less likely to be of relevance to current research and teaching.
  • Self-renewing: Collections or items which are not of national significance, but which are likely to be relevant to current research and teaching.
  • Finite: Collections or items which are not of national significance, nor of likely relevance to current teaching and research. 

2.2 Commitment to intellectual freedom

Libraries and Learning Resources collections are maintained to support the learning, teaching and research activity of the University. Libraries and Learning Resources will not exclude or withdraw any material based on the grounds of author’s race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or opinions, nor because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval, unless it is proven to be illegal under English Law.  This is in accordance with the University’s Code of Ethics.

 

2.3 Key Roles and Responsibilities

The effective implementation of this policy is dependent on proactive collaboration between academics, appropriate University committees, and Libraries and Learning Resources. Libraries and Learning Resources must be consulted at the earliest opportunity if new programmes or areas of research are planned to ensure resource requirements are costed from the outset and can be appropriately supported.

Authority and accountability for the management and development of collections lies with the Director of Libraries and Learning Resources and/or their delegates.

 

2.4 Funding and budgetary priorities

2.4.1 Externally Acquired Content:

Libraries and Learning Resources manages the Information Resources Fund (IRF), an institutional budget, on behalf and for the benefit of the University.  Libraries and Learning Resources works collaboratively with academic colleagues to ensure the IRF is used effectively to provide information resources which support the education and research requirements of the Schools and Colleges.

  • Libraries and Learning Resources prioritises IRF spending through the following allocations:
    • Subscription based resources - existing and continuing commitments such as interdisciplinary publisher ‘Big Deals’ (including ‘read’ element of transitional agreements), ebook packages, periodicals, and databases.
    • Resource list items – information resources listed on ResourceLists@Bham will be purchased in appropriate formats and quantity according to reading importance and student numbers. The University Policy on Resource Lists articulates the responsibilities of Libraries and Learning Resources and academics.
    • Research monographs - books and other non-recurrent purchases identified by academic staff in support of their research.
    • Student recommendations – books identified by students via routes such as the MoreBooks@Bham service and user driven purchase models.
    • Professional Services Staff recommendations – books identified by Professional Services staff via the DevelopOurCollection@Bham service to support diversification of the collection, Equality Diversity and Inclusion, wellbeing, and CPD.
    • Book charges – includes shelf ready cataloguing and physical book processing charges
    • Strategic purchases – where funds permit, a proportion of the IRF will be allocated for strategic, high-value information resource purchases, subject to the approval of evidence-based business cases submitted by colleges.
  • Open access – see "University Generated Content" below. The IRF is finite and where institutional funding cannot cover information resource requirements, Colleges may supplement core provision with additional funding.
  • InterLibrary loan funding – requests from staff and students will be funded by Libraries and Learning Resources. 

Under this policy, Libraries and Learning Resources requires appropriate academic staff, such as module leads, library representatives, Heads of School, etc., to assist with informing budget prioritisation in line with School/College/University strategy.

2.4.2 University Generated Content

Libraries and Learning Services financially supports OA publication in a variety of ways:

  • Payment of individual article processing charges (APCs) on behalf of University authors
  • Payment of annual publishing charges under transitional and fully open access publisher agreements which allow many/all UoB corresponding authored papers to be published OA at no additional cost
  • Payment of voluntary annual supporter memberships which enhance open access infrastructure, increase options for OA publishing and support wider adoption of OA practices.

Costs are met from a variety of sources:

  • Internal Open Access Budget: reserved for payment of individual article processing charges (APCs) in Fully Open Access journals by authors with no other source of funds
  • IRF: As publishers increasingly transition from ‘pay to read’ to ‘pay to publish’ revenue models, a growing portion of the IRF reserved for ‘big deal’ subscription costs is being used to pay annual publish fees under transitional and fully OA agreements; A dedicated IRF open access allocation is also used to pay for annual supporter memberships
  • Block Grants: Libraries Learning Resources manages and administers several research funder Open Access Block Grants. In line with prevailing funder policies, these grants are used to pay APCs, contribute to transitional and open access agreement annual publishing fees and pay for supporter memberships. Libraries and Learning Resources is also responsible for reporting use of block grant funds to funders and Jisc.

Currently available Open Access funds, conditions of use and application details, along with instructions to find and utilise publisher agreements that include OA publishing, are maintained at Publishing Open Access.

Section 3: Policy Framework

3.1 Selection

How resources will be identified for ingest into the collections:

  • The selection of information resources is driven by the academy.  Prioritisation of those resources for purchase relies on a close and dynamic partnership between the academy and Libraries and Learning Resources.  Final decisions on the purchase and cancellation of all information resources will rest with the Director of Libraries and Learning Resources. 
  • Libraries and Learning Resources follows an ‘electronic first’ principle for the acquisition and retention of both books and journals, considering financial feasibility, currency of content, licensing conditions, ease of access and use, discipline requirements and long-term access.
  • When procuring electronic content, Libraries and Learning Resources will consider content and platform accessibility for users with disabilities. Libraries and Learning Resources reserves the right to refuse to purchase information resources requested by the academy which are not sufficiently accessible. 
  • Information resources purchased by Libraries and Learning Resources will, where possible, be made available to all Libraries and Learning Resources’ users with the exception of: interlibrary loans or other document supply options where this is most cost-effective means of offering access; electronic resources where licensing restricts access in certain geographical locations or prohibits access by non-University members; and digitised chapters/ articles which may be limited to specific cohorts of students.
  • Books listed on ResourceLists@Bham will be purchased in appropriate quantities according to reading importance and student numbers. Where a research monograph is requested, only a single copy will be purchased.
  • Libraries and Learning Resources will buy the latest published editions of books and e-books unless there is a strong pedagogic reason for not doing so. 

3.2 Acquisition/ Procurement

How Libraries and Learning Resources acquires content:

  • Libraries and Learning Resources will select the most appropriate purchasing model to provide cost-effective access to print and electronic information resources that meet the education and research needs of the University community within prevailing market conditions.
  • Libraries and Learning Resources will seek to take advantage of national consortia deals to achieve the best value.
  • Libraries and Learning Resources will review all licences governing access to electronic information resources prior to procurement, to ensure they are fit for use for our education and research purposes by all staff and students including all University campuses, sites and collaborative activities.  Key licence terms affecting use of the content will be available to users through FindIt@Bham.
  • Libraries and Learning Resources will pursue “Big Deal” subscriptions which allow unlimited Open Access publishing for UoB authors. It will require that any such deals which seek to increase the proportion of Open Access publishing while continuing to operate in a hybrid manner, do so by offsetting traditional subscription costs against any publishing fee.  
  • Libraries and Learning Resources will provide and support the operation of repository services for the deposit and retention of University Generated Content, which include:
      • Research publications as specified in the University of Birmingham Research Publications Policy (DOCX - 96 KB) and defined in the Code of Practice for Research (PDF - 460 KB).
      • Research Data as specified in the University of Birmingham Research Data Management Policy.
      • Research Theses: a print and electronic copy of every research thesis must be deposited with Libraries and Learning and Resources.
      • Other unpublished University scholarly assets.
  • Libraries and Learning Resources welcomes donations which will support the education and research needs of the University, enhance existing collections or are of particular rarity or historical interest.  Donations will be assessed using selection criteria outlined in the Donations policy. Donations become the property of the University, managed by Libraries and Learning Resources, and are subject to the same on-going review process as all other materials.  

3.3 Ingest

How resources are processed to make them available:

  • Libraries and Learning Resources will ensure all information resources are catalogued and classified according to recognised international standards and schema.  The current standards and schema will be used at the time of ingest, however it is acknowledged these are externally governed and subject to change.  Library Services will endeavour to update its metadata accordingly where it is feasible, given the size of the collection.
  • Where appropriate, print books will be supplied ‘shelf-ready’ to ensure the most efficient route from order to shelf.
  • Unique persistent identifiers will be generated and associated where appropriate for University Generated Content.
  • Libraries and Learning Resources will provide metadata validation and monitor Open Access compliance against funder and national policy requirements for University Generated Content.
  • An appropriate licence will be applied to all University Generated Content, with a preference for as permissive an open licence as possible under prevailing legal and ethical constraints. 

3.4 Discovery/ Access

How we ensure resources can be found and accessed: 

  • Libraries and Learning Resources enables discovery of printed and electronic information resources via its unified resource discovery solution promoted as FindIt@Bham, which provides a single point of access for Libraries and Learning Resources collections. 
  • Access to licensed electronic resources will be provided via a system of centrally managed electronic authentication wherever possible.
  • For University Generated Content, the University of Birmingham Institutional Research Archive (UBIRA) provides a suite of repositories which facilitate discovery through the exposure of metadata to web-based search engines and discovery tools.
  • At a minimum UBIRA will be maintained and operated to allow University researchers to meet prevailing legislative and funder requirements for the long-term storage of and Open Access to research outputs.
  • Where possible, the full text of University Generated Content will be openly available and accessible for reading and re-use by human and digital agents.
  • Where it is not appropriate to make deposits immediately publicly available, Libraries and Learning Resources will advise on and apply appropriate embargoes and access restrictions.
  • Libraries and Learning Resources will share its library catalogue and repository metadata to ensure that information resources are discoverable via external search tools and union catalogues.
  • Libraries and Learning Resources operates a digitisation service for the provision of article/chapter level copies of resource list material under the terms of the CLA licence.
  • Where University students or staff are identified as requiring accessible copies of content within Libraries and Learning Resources collections Libraries and Learning Resources will acquire such copies in a suitable format as permitted.  This may include external procurement, digitisation or format shifting as appropriate.
  • Libraries and Learning Resources will comply with the Re-Use of Public Sector Information (PSI) Regulations in determining how information it holds or creates is made available for re-use. It is reliant on recouping the cost of digitisation, supply and licensing of content provided under PSI regulations by charging standard fees which are published on Libraries and Learning Resources web pages.
  • Libraries and Learning Resources acknowledges the increasing importance of machine access to information and will consider its inclusion in future acquisitions processes. 

3.5 Maintenance

How resources are managed to ensure they remain discoverable and accessible to users:

  • Location of physical library collections including their movement between the open shelves and the Research Reserve, will be based on factors such as:
      • Presence on resource list(s) and reading importance
      • Loans and requests over a given period of time
      • Purchase date
      • Condition and rarity of physical print items
  • Once a newer edition of a print book has been purchased, Libraries and Learning Resources may keep a maximum of one copy of previous editions in the Research Reserve. Older editions of e-books may be removed from FindIt@Bham once superseded by a new e-book edition.
  • Libraries and Learning Resources will monitor usage of licensed e-resources in conjunction with IT Services to prevent the misuse of these resources and take appropriate action where a breach is identified.
  • Users such as external members, visiting scholars, or individuals engaged on programmes of study validated by the University will be entitled to access e-resources where licences permit, and University infrastructure allows. Any such users must comply with all the licence terms and IT policies governing such use. 

3.6 Review

How resources are selected for withdrawal, renewal and/or preservation:

  • Libraries and Learning Resources reviews the ongoing value of its collections.  Subscription cancellations will be based on usage, relevance to current teaching and research, and financial sustainability.
  • Licences will be reviewed considering the current educational and research context to ensure the terms remain fit for purpose.
  • Collection categorisation is a first step in identifying print resources for potential withdrawal from the library collection, but it is not automatic that all ‘Finite’ items will be removed. Disposal decisions will consider factors such as scarcity amongst the national HE sector; age and condition; and, for journals, the existence of secure and high-quality electronic versions. Duplicate copies of low use material will be withdrawn. Libraries and Learning Resources at its discretion may also withdraw outdated textbooks, teaching aids and general reference works from the Self-Renewing category.
    • All material which meets criteria agreed with the Cadbury Research Library will be flagged to them for assessment under their own collecting policies, prior to disposal.
    • Physical material may be transferred from Libraries and Learning Resources to Special Collections for management if necessary for its long-term preservation and conservation.
    • Disposal of material is carried out with ethical and environmental concerns in mind and favours re-use or recycling where possible.
    • Libraries and Learning Resources participates in national schemes to support the distributed research collection, e.g., UK Research Reserve (UKRR). As part of its UKRR participation, Libraries and Learning Resources commits to indefinite retention of material identified as scarce under UKRR, and to only disposing of relevant material under the UKRR scheme.
    • Where appropriate, long-term access to licensed digital content will be secured through negotiation of post-cancellation access clauses within content vendor contracts.  Libraries and Learning Resources will also subscribe to independent services which archive licensed electronic content securely and separately from publisher systems, to protect the University’s investment.  This protects licensed electronic content from vendor insolvency or systems failure.  Libraries and Learning Resources will not continue to subscribe to print or duplicated electronic resources for the sole purpose of securing post cancellation access.
    • Libraries and Learning Resources recognise the particular risk to University Generated Content which may only be held on locally managed infrastructure, such as our repositories.  Libraries and Learning Resources will advocate for the development of a robust digital preservation service to secure long-term integrity and accessibility. 

Section 4: Policy Review

Libraries and Learning Resources will formally review this policy on a three-year cycle, the next being summer 2026. At the discretion of the Director of Libraries and Learning Resources the policy will be reviewed earlier if there are significant changes to the collections lifecycle, external landscape, or University strategy. 

Approved and Adopted by University Executive Board on behalf of University Council on 16 December 2024.

Appendix: List of related polices