Collection Development

Research Collections Guidelines

[NOTE: The Research Collection program has been on hiatus since the 2008/2009 academic year. No proposals will be accepted and no awards made. The program is being reviewed. Please send any ideas or comments about the program to Kay Downey , Collection Management Librarian.]

The following guidelines, along with current collection development guidelines, will assist University Libraries in determining which proposals will receive highest priority for purchase.

• Only research collections costing $1,000 or more will be considered. Less expensive collections normally can be acquired through departmental library funds.
  
• Primary research materials in any format will be considered.
  
• Secondary research materials (e.g. journal indexes) or materials requiring a continuing commitment of funds (e.g. journal subscription) will not be considered.
  
• Generally, a collection will not be considered if it is available for loan through the Center for Research Libraries or another institution, particularly an OhioLINK member.
  
• Proposals will receive higher priority if they include some financial support for the purchase from the library allocation of the applicant’s academic unit.
  
• A proposal that is not recommended for funding in one year may be resubmitted in the following year(s). 

A three member faculty committee will advise the Head of Acquisitions on which research collections are to be considered for purchase. One of the factors taken into account is how a proposed collection adds to existing collection strengths or supports new areas of research interest. 

Examples of Previously Funded Research Proposals

• 1930 Census Records/African-American Reference Collection
• St. Jerome Collection
• Women's Wear Daily

Proposal Form

Available in the following formats:

• Word document
• Web Form
• Printable PDF

Some Major Research Collection Websites

• UMI ProQuest Research Collections http://www.umi.com/en-US/catalogs/collections/rc-search.shtml
• Adam Matthew Publications www.ampltd.co.uk
• Thomson/Gale gale.cengage.com/servlet/SearchPageServlet?region=9&imprint=745
• Lexis/Nexis, CIS Publications, and University Publications of America Research Collections www.lexisnexis.com/academic
• Readex www.readex.com

Questions about these guidelines and the proposal form should be directed to Kay Downey, Collection Management Librarian, 379 Library, 330-672-5000.