Collection Development Goals
The ultimate goal of any library is to provide its users with the right material at the right time.  To accomplish this goal, the broad selection strategy of the University Library is to assemble a collection of print and electronic materials that is strong in the curricular and research needs of the RMU community to the extent that budgetary resources will allow.

Funding Allocations
Collection development funds are not allocated to individual academic departments based on enrollment or other quantitative measures. Rather, the Library Director, as well as other librarians who are responsible for collection development, will work closely with department chairpersons and other academic administrators in determining research and curricular support needs.

Collection Development Analyses
Collection development patterns will be reassessed whenever University programs are added, deleted or revised. Requests for materials that would divert resources from normal collection development patterns will be addressed on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with appropriate University departments.

Maximizing Our Resources

In order to augment the information resources that it makes available to members of the University community, the RMU Library participates in a variety of resource sharing programs that are sponsored by regional, state, and national networks and consortia. The Library does not, however, consider these programs as substitutes in any way for either conventional curricular support or collection development.

Enhancing accessibility and maximizing limited space are factors taken into account in RMU Library collection development decisions. The ability to make resources available online, to realize significant financial savings or to conserve a notable amount of shelving space are factors that sometimes favor the acquisition of materials in electronic format when all other elements of comparison are found to be essentially equivalent.

Collection Development & Management/ Collection Responsibilities