Libraries

In support of the work OSUL undertakes to ensure equitable access to a diverse collection of resources, these values outline the framework in which we build and maintain collections.  We regularly evaluate our approach to applying the values as the need demands (on an ongoing basis).

• Collaboration
  • Work with stakeholders to ensure new and existing programs are supported through collections. 
  • Include all community voices to build and maintain the collection. 
• Compassion
  • Exercise compassion towards ourselves and others to give this work meaning and value.  People are the reason that we have a collection and it is people who do the work and make the decisions to collect and maintain this collection. 
• Discovery 
  • Make our collections consistently discoverable by mediating discovery to create a better user experience, and by creating support tools that meet users where they are.
• Diversity 
  • Reflect the breadth of experiences our OSU community of learners and researchers bring, including their varied linguistic, format, and educational needs. 
  • Recognizing that our community extends beyond OSU to the state of Oregon, we seek to understand the changing needs of this community in order to inform our collections decisions.
• Equity of Access
  • Reduce barriers and ensure access to the content and formats needed by the OSU community and people of Oregon. 
  • Respond to the needs of our community in order to provide access to learning and research tools, materials, equipment and services to support work inside and outside the classroom or lab.  
• Learner Affordability
  • Support courses to minimize or reduce the overall costs to learners (connect to Course support policy)
• User Data Privacy
  • Steward our user data and purge user data that is no longer needed for library business purposes. 
  • We do not collect user data without reason 
  • We do not sell user data. We do not support selling identifiable user data. We advocate against these practices by third parties. 
  • [OSU Privacy Policy:  https://library.oregonstate.edu/privacy-policy] [Confidentiality of Records: https://library.oregonstate.edu/borrowing/confidentiality]
• Stewardship 
  • Make the collection useful by strategically deselecting and maintaining what is available. 
  • Adapt to the changing needs of the community via access to formats that meet the current and future needs of users. 
  • Preserve the scholarly record via access through various formats and by working with other institutions to ensure access continues.
• Transparency
  • Show how we make our decisions and the reasons behind them. Use data to drive decisions, and share that process on our website. Provide insight into how we make our decisions to keep the community informed and demystify the process.

The purpose of OSU Libraries’ collection is to support researcher and learner success. As stated in OSULP’s Mission and Vision, the Libraries seek to “engage with the OSU community and the people of Oregon in their pursuit of knowledge, thereby advancing the role of OSU as a nationally recognized land grant university.” Our collection activities support the widest possible accessibility to materials and contribute to the development, management, and preservation of knowledge. We are committed to stewarding a collection through collaborative approaches to collection development. A collection that supports local needs, builds an intellectual environment, and enhances discovery. 

We  build collections that reflect the diversity of the global human experience and we seek to provide equitable access regardless of a person’s background or views. We strive to uphold ALA’s Core Values of Librarianship, and so we endeavor to ensure “all information resources that are provided directly or indirectly by the library, regardless of technology, format, or methods of delivery, should be readily, equally, and equitably accessible to all library users.”

OSU Libraries support the principles of intellectual freedom and oppose censorship of library resources. It is our responsibility to provide resources and information, and we challenge censorship in fulfilling that goal. We believe that resources should not be restricted due to the history or affiliations of the author.

OSU Libraries support the right to privacy and confidentiality of all people regardless of origin, age, background, or views. OSU Libraries protect to the best of our ability all library use data and personal information and advocate for privacy. 

These resources informed our Ethics and Values statement: OSULP’s Mission and Vision Statement; the American Library Association’s Core Values of Librarianship, Library Bill of Rights, and The Freedom to Read Statement; Society of American Archivists’ Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics; University of Washington Libraries’ One Library: Three Campuses, a Statement of Operating Principles; The Claremont Colleges Library Collection Policy

Reviewed: 05/25/22