I. General Statement of Collection Development Policy

The Z. Smith Reynolds (ZSR) Library Collection primarily supports the study and research needs of faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students in the Undergraduate College, School of Business, the School of Professional Studies, the Divinity School, and the Reynolda Campus programs of the Graduate School. To a lesser extent, the Collection supports the research and operational needs of Wake Forest University administrative departments (including the ZSR Library itself). Works that primarily support the leisure needs of the WFU community are collected to a much lesser extent.

II. Description of the University Program

Wake Forest University offers courses of study in Undergraduate Minors, Undergraduate Majors, Masters programs, and Ph.D. programs. Collecting in each subject area corresponds to the level of the program.

III. Interdisciplinary Elements of Subject Area

The curricula in the Schools supported by the ZSR Library overlap in some areas with the curricula of the Law and Medical Schools, which receive support from other WFU Libraries, (e.g. Politics & International Affairs major with Law School, Biology program with Medical School interalia). The ZSR Library partners with the other two libraries to reduce duplication, particularly with online resources that are accessible to all WFU members.

ZSR participates in the statewide consortium NC LIVE, which provides a prescriptive selection of databases designed to appeal to K-12, public, and academic libraries. ZSR also purchases large journal bundles (a.k.a. Big Deal packages). These two types of arrangements, widely used in libraries across the nation due to their cost-effectiveness for needed materials, inevitably also include content that is outside of primary collecting areas, but may add value as supplemental material.

IV. Formats and Types of Materials

The many formats collected are listed below in order of current emphasis. New and emerging formats will be collected, often initially experimentally and dependent upon technological infrastructure, then with increasing intensity if they prove reliable and necessary.

Online: Periodicals, books, reference materials, primary sources, still images, statistical data (some of which can be manipulated), streaming audio/video. If permanent archival rights can be secured, online-only is the preferred format for journals, primary sources, and reference materials. Online formats are strongly preferred in subjects where WFU offers distance education (but print is acceptable since the library will mail print materials to distance education students as needed).

Print: Periodicals, books, reference materials and music scores. For monographs, the same title may be bought in both print and online formats, or only one format as dictated by the specific need.

Streaming media: Films are leased or purchased to support the curriculum in addition to offerings in several aggregated database subscriptions.

DVD/Blu-ray: Films on physical discs are purchased to support the curriculum when there is no online alternative. Legacy film formats are not retained or actively collected.

CD: Music CDs are actively collected. Other types or data (e.g. data sets) may be collected when there is no online alternative. Audiobooks are not collected. Legacy music formats (e.g. LPs) are not retained or actively collected.

Manuscripts and Archival Materials: Collected according to the Special Collections Development Policy.

Microforms: Backfiles of certain newspapers and journals are actively collected. Other materials may be considered if microform is the only available format.

V. Special Types of Material

Within the formats listed above, certain types of material deserve special mention.

Government Documents: The ZSR Library is a selective depository in the Federal Library Depository Program. The library has chosen the Office of National Drug Control Policy as its Center of Excellence within the ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Program.

Juvenile Materials: The library actively collects children’s literature in multiple formats to support the Undergraduate and Masters programs in Education. Other children’s materials (especially films) may be collected if they support another area of the curriculum or faculty research.

Self-Published Works: Self-published works are more likely to be collected if the author or the subject matter has a direct relationship to Wake Forest University.

Demand-Driven Acquisition (DDA): The library has a demand-driven acquisition program for certain electronic books. The selection pool is deliberately broad, since the library does not pay for material that is not used. The program excludes works flagged as juvenile or popular level, but includes all subjects regardless of curricular relevance, under the assumption that materials irrelevant to the curriculum will not get used. The library offers demand-driven acquisition programs for other formats such as streaming films and audiobooks as funding permits.

VI. Languages

Most of the collection is in English. Foreign language works are collected extensively to support Foreign Language and Area Studies sectors of the curriculum. In most other curricular areas, works of international scholarship are sometimes collected.

VII. Geographic Areas (Subject Approach)

Since most areas of the world are studied somewhere in the curriculum, the geographic scope is global. As Australia and Oceania are not the primary target of any of the various Area Studies programs, these areas are collected more selectively.

VIII. Time Periods (Subject Approach)

All time periods are relevant to the collection, although this varies by the needs of each department or program.

IX. Dates of Publication

The collecting effort is directed primarily at current and recent scholarship. However, retrospective titles may be acquired in response to changes in the curriculum and other academic initiatives (new courses, minor and interdisciplinary programs), faculty research interests and significant lacunae in the collection. Very selective retrospective purchasing may involve reprints, microform or electronic archives.

X. Subject Area and Level of Collecting Intensity

Where majors are offered, ZSR collects at the basic academic level. Where graduate programs are offered, ZSR strives for research intensity.

XI. Deselecting Library Materials

The continuous review of library materials is important as a means of maintaining an active library collection. Materials will be withdrawn from the collection in accordance with the Deselection policy.

Updated December 2024