CRL Collection Principles
CRL Collection Philosophy
As a membership organization, the primary community served by CRL’s collections are member libraries and affiliated researchers. CRL provides rich, diverse, and relevant collections and services that complement the aggregate of their local collections.
CRL is actively developing a Global Collection that reflects a multi-faceted approach to collecting materials which represent diverse perspectives, regions, and disciplines that include voices and knowledge systems worldwide. Our work reflects our understanding that all human knowledge is interconnected and requires a collection strategy that reflects the global nature of scholarship. We affirm having an ethical responsibility to acquire, steward, and provide access to collections in a manner consistent with our mission vision and values.
Our collections and services complement and reinforce each other to support researchers at member institutions and other communities. Our Open Access Initiative Policy articulates our efforts to advocate for and support publishing in a public sphere and to facilitate access to content in the public domain. Our Interlibrary Loan policies responsibly extend access to our collections beyond membership without compromising the benefits of a shared collection.
CRL is committed to preservation and participating in coordinated projects with our member and partner institutions. CRL takes proactive measures to care for our physical and digital collections and selectively accepts member transfers of at-risk and other content that falls within CRL collection areas of emphasis.
Collection Development and Management
We build upon a history of distinctive international collections
CRL has a long history of large-scale collaborative collection development projects. These efforts have resulted in our deep collections of U.S. and international newspapers, other primary resources from around the world, non-U.S. dissertations and theses, and other unique collections. We will build upon these areas, as long as they remain relevant and useful to our member libraries.
CRL collections complement our members’ collections
CRL seeks to provide collections and services that maximize the impact of collaborative action of and for our members. CRL collections complement and enhance member libraries’ collections. While CRL member libraries are our primary audience, CRL shares collections broadly through digitization projects and resource sharing.
CRL collecting efforts evolve to meet member needs
CRL collects materials directly through purchase, donation, member transfer, and digital ingest based on policies and guidelines authorized by CRL’s Board of Directors with the advice and recommendations of the Collections and Services Policy Committee (CSPC) and the Global Collections Committees (GCC).
Long-term commitments to preservation and access enhance the strategic value of CRL's collections, encouraging member participation and continued investment for maintenance and development.
CRL participates in institutional collaboration to expand member access to partner collections. Examples include joining as a member of organizations with collections that complement our own holdings, scanning digital working copies of partner physical collections for use by CRL members and researchers affiliated with the partner library (which enhances discoverability of the content and supports preservation efforts of our collaborators), and other models of mutually beneficial arrangements.
Collection development is guided by collection committees comprised of subject specialists and other staff from member organizations, and CRL staff who coordinate collections in areas not represented by a single collections committee.
We practice sustainable and ethical stewardship
Resource Allocation and Description
CRL will only collect materials if it has the resources to properly describe and make accessible. This may include partnering with or hiring outside cataloging or other technical services providers for planned temporary expanded capacity. However, this excludes formats outside our collection scope, projects that exceed ongoing processing capacity, and preservation commitments that exceed our projected growth capacity.
Preservation
CRL is committed to longevity of our collection through an active conservation program, including reformatting as applicable. Please also see the CRL Preservation Policy for information on collection activities.
Formats
CRL collections include commercially available print and microfilm, global government publications, and digital resources, including digital and microfilm surrogates of other formats. We collect across languages, geographical areas, and chronological periods as resources permit.
Definitions
CRL Collections are newspapers, journals, books, pamphlets, dissertations, archives, government publications, and other resources held by CRL to support research and teaching. CRL holdings include materials from all world regions. Collections include physical and digital materials in a variety of formats and languages.
CRL Members per our bylaws, “institutions eligible for membership shall be any federal, state, county, or municipal body politic; any public board or agency; any nonprofit educational institution; or any nonprofit library, educational, charitable, or scientific society, corporation, or trust. While an institution as a whole is eligible for membership, the institution's library is the principal participating unit within the Center's membership.” In the context of collection development and management these libraries contribute to CRL’s mission through collective expertise, advising, and other works of professional service.
Collections Services and Policy Committee (CSPC) is a Board-appointed standing committee that advises the Board on issues pertaining to the Center’s collections, management of content and related services, and develops policies relating to the same matters.
Global Collections Committees (GCC) are standing operations committees which maximize the collective expertise and financial resources of CRL and its membership to collect and preserve identified material by focusing on specific geographic regions, culturally and/or linguistically defined areas, or other collection development emphases as determined by the Collection and Services Policy Committee (CSPC) to accommodate changes in research needs of our members.
International Collections or Area Studies Collections refers to materials originating from or focusing on specific regions and/or countries and/or linguistic groups.
Global Collections refers to an inclusive and comprehensive approach to collecting materials that represent diverse perspectives, regions, and disciplines worldwide.
Responsibilities
CRL staff include librarians and expert staff skilled in collection development, access and description, collection analysis, collection management, resource sharing, and library collaboration. CRL staff are responsible for creating and maintaining systems to acquire, describe, manage, and provide access to CRL collections, both retrospectively and prospectively. CRL staff are also responsible for providing platforms for members to collaborate and contribute.
Collections Services and Policy Committee creates policies on services and collections including advising on budget allocations. CSPC also identifies and develops strategic opportunities and engages in long-term planning to enhance the value and impact of CRL’s collections.
Global Collections Committees actively advise on and participate in the collaborative effort of collection building, licensing, and stewarding at CRL per their focus areas and by selecting materials, initiating collections-related projects, and contributing to larger conversations around work supporting CRL collections and membership.
CRL Member Libraries work together to identify, preserve and acquire critical evidence and documentation for advanced research and teaching, and their researchers in turn benefit from CRL collections and services. They engage in member governance by appointing representatives to serve in key positions such as Board Members and Collection Committee members and providing voting counselors to represent their institution at the Annual Meeting (and Special Meetings) of Voting Members.
Document Title: CRL Collection Development Principles
Effective Date: March 2025
Last Revision Date: March 2025
Responsible Party: Collections Services and Policy Committee
Policy Purpose and Scope: This statement describes the roles and responsibilities of each part of CRL’s collections community and the principles guiding our collective effort.