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Medieval Studies

Research Library Cooperative Program

Premiminary Working Draft
Research Library Cooperative Program
Medieval Studies Collections Statement of Principles

University of California at Berkeley | Stanford University | University of Texas at Austin

This agreement attempts to rationalize our acquisitions activities relating to Medieval Studies collections. It aims to extend and deepen the strength of our library collections by focusing acquisitions and development efforts in complementary areas. This cooperative undertaking will allow our libraries to build more extensive collections more systematically, and yet collectively, cost no more to each library than would be possible individually.

This document is not a collection development policy describing the breadth and depth of each library's collecting in support of medieval studies at their separate institutions. This information exists in separate documents. This agreement is a codification of collecting traditions and behavior wherein each institution commits:

• To maintaining the level of purchasing power needed to satisfy the depth and extent of collecting for the areas and genres specified below.
• To holding harmless the parties to this agreement in the case of fiscal duress or necessary programmatic change by:
  1. notifying the other parties as soon as possible about any problems which would affect that institution's ability to fulfill its obligation,
  2. maintaining the needed level of spending on the program for a period of twelve months following notification, in order to enable the other parties to adjust their programs and their own spending levels to changing circumstances; and,
  3. agreeing to build up in its own budget over time an escrow account large enough to cover spending on the program for the twelve-month letdown period.

Each institution will notify the other parties if it wishes any change in their areas of collecting as defined by this agreement.

We all recognize the need for each institution to acquire general study and teaching resources for some or all areas covered by this agreement. We also acknowledge the importance of sharing responsibility for in-depth acquisitions at the research level. Cooperative agreements are facilitated by the development of communications technology which makes it possible to share bibliographic information and accelerate interlibrary lending.

A document delivery component, as defined in the broader agreement signed by the University Librarians in December 1997, is also part of this agreement. It stipulates that interlibrary fees will be waived and that individual participants will be able to generate non-mediated interlibrary loan requests.

II. Collections

Collecting responsibility will consist of several components:

A. Language of materials collected:

B. Topics, etc.:

C. Series and Sets:

III. Library Services

The circulating collections of each library will be available for lending to program participants either through on-site visits or through interlibrary loans.

Document delivery will follow the stipulations agreed upon by the University Librarians on December 15, 1997 as stated in the document: "Research Library Cooperative Program, Statement of Principles." These will include fee waivers for interlibrary loans, and a standard borrower's card accepted by all three libraries. Card holders will have the same circulation and service privileges afforded to graduate students and to academic staff and faculty at the lending institution. The Circulation Units of the three libraries win define relevant regulations and procedures.

IV. Evaluation

V. Digitization

Selectors will develop cooperative digital projects of benefit to the three libraries and the Medieval community in general.

Implementation of this agreement will start on x/x/x.

Areas that need further detailed discussion before including them in the agreement are consideration of the many archaeological and local history reviews and the various record society publications, e.g. Canterbury and York Society, etc.

Rationalization of collection development in the context of cooperative agreements is an important way of addressing the reality of decreasing resources for library materials. This agreement is an attempt to ensure, well into the future, adequate research materials. The University Librarians are committed to making this agreement work by providing for budgetary adjustments when needed.

Compiled by AnnMarie Mitchell and John Rawlings, 29 Dec. 1998

Last modified: October 19, 2006