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Collection Development for Biology in the Boston College Libraries

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Additional Criteria

Criteria for collecting and maintaining materials in the subject area of Biology, with links to general library collection policies.

Format Selection

Format decisions follow the General Collection Development Policy by default, but allow for considerations of requester preference, curricular needs, and other factors.

  • Journals are electronic, with perpetual access whenever possible, and include the offerings of all the major scholarly publishers in the field. Electronic journal backfiles are purchased to augment available content or replace print, based on requests, usage data, and space considerations.
  • Monographs are preferentially purchased as e-books to support wider access, particularly for edited, individually-authored chapter works.  Exceptions may be made at individual user request.
  • Bibliographic Databases provide access to the extensive literature of the field and are exclusively purchased in electronic format.
  • Protocols and methods are are purchased in electronic and streaming video format.
  • Conference Literature access is generally met through purchase of published proceedings. 
  • General/layman-focused materials are acquired to support first-level, scientific literacy/non-major courses. Biographical information is also acquired for much the same purpose.

Language

Materials purchased for the Biology collection are primarily English-language, with rare exceptions as needed.

Currency of the Materials Collected

Selection focuses on current scholarship;  materials covering historical research are acquired on a very limited basis.