General Collection Evaluation Project

Project Summary

Our goal is to ensure the collection remains relevant to the curriculum and research at Smith College
Regular collection review is common best practice
Space is expensive and finite

Smith College Libraries is launching a multi-year project to evaluate physical materials within the Smith College Libraries (SCL) general collection using the guidelines established in the Collection Development Strategy. The goal of the project is to ensure that the materials in the collection remain relevant for the Smith College community. This process is an important part of the overall collection lifecycle and aims to allow for flexibility as well as continued growth within the collection. The initial phase of the project will focus on materials that are in the Annex collection which are duplicated within SCL, Five College Repository or within other Five College Library collections. This will allow us to gain the needed space not only to ensure future growth but to allow for the movement between the Annex and the campus locations envisioned as part of the Neilson Library renovation without losing access to content.

The evaluation process will include available metrics, the expertise of SCL stakeholders as well as input from the Smith College community with a particular focus on Faculty feedback. Additionally it will take into consideration preferred formats by discipline as well as availability and retention commitments in local, regional and national library collections. Faculty will be given an opportunity to review materials selected for withdrawal. Lists will be linked on this webpage and if you note materials that are important to your teaching and research needs, please contact your subject librarian. Materials flagged by faculty members will be given an additional review.

Project Timeline

Date	Action
Spring 2026	Project outline presented to Committee on the Library members and Faculty Chairs
Summer 2026	Material review lists are developed
November 1, 2026-January 31, 2027	Initial lists of materials to review are posted
February 1-15, 2027	Flagged materials will receive a secondary review
February 19, 2027	Final lists will be submitted to Dean of Libraries and Library Leadership Team
Spring/Summer 2027	Selected materials will be withdrawn from the collection

Additional rounds of materials to review may be added as the project progresses.

Collection Review Lists

Monograph (Books) Review Portal

Login into the Smith College Collection Review Portal with your Smith email and password
Select a specific group of materials to review, click on the circled number at the top of the page to select/deselect and click “Update results”
Use the filters on the left to further narrow your selections by Publication Year, Classification or Publisher
If you identify materials that you would like to flag for review, click the check box to change the item from “Unreviewed” to “Keep” and include a note explaining your request
Your selections will automatically be saved
Detailed instructions can be found here: Directions for General Collections Review Process (PDF)

Journal Review Lists

Please review the provided lists and contact your subject librarian if there are titles that should receive a secondary review. These lists are in call number order to allow for easier subject area review.

This list includes journals that are fully available within JSTOR and are held in the Five Colleges Repository collection. If our materials fill gaps in the Repository collection they will be transferred rather than withdrawn.

Annex Serials in held in JSTOR_ReviewCopy

This list includes journals where SCL holds less than a 10 year run and the materials are duplicated in the Five Colleges Repository collection. If our materials fill gaps in the Repository collection they will be transferred rather than withdrawn.

Journals: Under 10 year run, held in FC Repository_ReviewCopy

VHS Review List

This list includes VHS tapes at the Annex that are available in other formats, widely held in other collections or are out of scope for our collection Please contact your subject librarian if there are titles that should receive a secondary review.

VHS Tapes to withdraw_Review Sheet

Term	Definition
Annex Collection	Materials in the Smith College collection that are stored in the off-site high density storage facility in Hatfield
Call Number	Provides detailed information on the subject of the book or journal (ex. QD 241-441 indicates materials on organic chemistry)
Classification	Used to indicate the general subject of the book or journal (ex. TR indicates materials on Photography). Subject Librarians can provide information on the best classification to review for your subject area
Five College Collections	Materials that are part of UMass Amherst, Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College or the Five College Repository Collection
Five College Repository	Materials that are part of the Five College Repository collection which is managed by Five College Inc rather than the individual colleges. Materials in this collection are stored at the Annex and in the Amherst Bunker
Holding(s)	Indicates that a book or journal is part of a library collection
Monographs	Books in the Smith College collection
Retention Commitment	Materials that other libraries have committed to retain for a set period of time. Materials in the Smith collection with retention commitments are not up for review
Transfer	For this project, “transfer” indicates that the material (primarily journals) will be transferred to the Five College Repository collection to fill gaps in their collection
Worldcat	Large online library catalog which provides detailed information about materials as well as the ability to see holdings in other library collections

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