Health Sciences Library Plan 2017-2020

Health Sciences Library Collection Policy

Framework

• The Health Sciences Library takes an evidence-informed and holistic approach to developing and sustaining collections to advance health-focused research, professional clinical education, and scholarship at McMaster University.
• Our priority is to provide an electronic collection that serves learners and researchers in a distributed environment, in order to provide the most equitable and efficient access to health information.
• Our digital collections focus on the most current information, and they are not static. We do not guarantee long-term preservation for every item.
• The library’s print circulating collection is not static, and most clinical subjects are reviewed for out of date material in order to ensure best practices in healthcare.  We do not retain every item purchased in perpetuity, though items accepted into the  History of Health and Medicine or the Archives collections are retained in accordance with their own collecting mandates.

The Health Sciences Library has two types of collections

1. “Collections of Use” that support McMaster research, health professional programs, and study in the area of health. They are:

• Evidence-based in support of health curriculums and learning for patient care
• Broad-based to support a wide range of health research, scholarship, and learning
• Easily discoverable, accessible and compatible with tools that clinical learners and scholars use in their everyday lives
• Built and managed through several means:
  • Local collections (purchases, licensed subscriptions, locally preserved digital collections, donations)
  • Networked collections (consortially licensed content via OCUL, CRKN, open Internet collections)
  • Borrowed collections (through ILL)

2. “Collections of Record” that are selectively curated for the long term stewardship of Faculty of Health Sciences contributions to scholarship.

The Health Sciences Library plays a critical role in upholding intellectual freedom:

We strive to acquire and make available the widest variety of materials, including those that may be considered unconventional, unpopular, or unacceptable.

As a member of Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) the Health Sciences Library supports the Statement of Freedom of Expression in Research Libraries (adopted by CARL membership, ca. 1987):

All persons in Canada have a fundamental right, as embodied in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Bill of Rights, to have access to all expressions of knowledge, creativity and intellectual activity.

It is the responsibility of research libraries to facilitate access to all expressions of knowledge, opinion, intellectual activity and creativity from all periods of history to the current era including those which some may consider unconventional, unpopular, unorthodox or unacceptable.

To this end research libraries shall acquire and make available, through purchase or resource sharing, the widest variety of materials that support the scholarly pursuits of their communities. (Source: CARL Guiding Principles – Freedom of Expression)

Health Sciences Library Collection Guideline

Format

The Library prioritizes the purchase of electronic format for new resources. Requests for the print version may be submitted to the Collection Team for consideration.

Languages

The Library acquires English-language materials, though non-English journals may be available through subscriptions to journal packages.

Access

The library normally maintains unlimited user access for journals. Access to books may be unlimited or limited by the number of users at one time.  Requests to increase the number users for a title may be requested through the Collection Team. The majority of our resources are accessible remotely via McMaster ID and password.

Donations / Gifts

The Library does not accept donations for the general collection, however we accept donations of material that fall within the scope of our History of Health and Medicine areas of interest.

For information on donating materials to the library, please see the Health Sciences Library Donation Policy.

Weeding

Evidence-based weeding of materials in all formats is an essential component of the Library’s collection management responsibilities, in order to:

• Ensure that the overall collection is current for patient care
• Relevant and useful to McMaster researchers and students
• Eliminate outdated and worn-out materials
• Replace content with updated formats
• Maximize shelf and floor space
• Make materials more accessible and easier to find

Weeding occurs:

• On a day-to-day basis, as staff handle/process materials (ie. Removing older editions of ebooks)
• Annually in the summer
• On a project basis, as needed

Types of Materials Acquired for the Collection

Ebooks

• Our priority is to purchase barrier-free (Digital Rights Management-free), unlimited user access
• Single user access ebooks are acquired selectively when the multiple or unlimited access option is too expensive
• Access to ebooks is provided via multiple AODA-compliant platforms

Print books

• Print books are not actively collected in most subject areas, but are purchased when the ebook is not available
• In support of McMaster Children’s Hospital-Hamilton Health Sciences, the library will purchase core titles in print for the following subject areas: obstetrics & gynecology, women’s health, neonatology, pediatrics, and pediatric surgery.

Journals

• “e” preferred
• E -journal backfiles (to replace print) are purchased very selectively, as funds permit

Video

• The Library subscribes to selected online streaming sources in support of clinical learning

Acceptable Use of Electronic Resources Policy

The McMaster Health Sciences Library licenses content from a variety of vendors and publishers to provide students, faculty, and staff with thousands of electronic resources (e.g. databases, e-journals, e-books, etc.). These resources support our users’ learning, teaching, and research activities, and cost millions of dollars per year.

Use of these resources is governed by copyright restrictions and by contracts between the Library and the electronic resource provider. The negotiated license agreements stipulate how and by whom a given resource may be used. If license terms are violated by anyone, licensors may temporarily suspend access for the entire university community. In cases where a resolution cannot be reached, the vendor may have the right to permanently revoke access to the resource.

By using electronic resources licensed by the Health Sciences Library, users agree to review and comply with all applicable terms and conditions.

Acceptable

• Making a limited number of print or electronic copies for personal use
• Using materials only for personal, instructional or research needs
• Sharing content only with McMaster faculty, staff and students
• Posting links to specific content rather than sharing an electronic copy
• Showing videos only to a McMaster audience. Seek additional approval when showing more broadly.

Research poster, presentation, publications, theses

• Always seek permission from the publisher or vendor before using images, charts etc. Most large publishers or vendors have online submission forms to handle such requests.
• Always acknowledge your source on any document when you use data found on electronic resources.

Not acceptable

• Sharing resources with individuals not affiliated with McMaster University
• Providing access to someone outside of the university community, such as an employer or non-McMaster members of a research unit
• Posting (re-distributing) licensed content to the web or Listservs
• Using content such images, charts, etc in public presentations, posters, or publications without prior permission from the publisher or vendor
• Using electronic resources for commercial purposes or selling content
• Engaging in systematic or substantial printing, copying or downloading (such as entire journal issues or entire books), including use of any crawling or replicating software
• Modifying or altering the contents of licensed resources in any way
• Sharing your Mac ID and password with others. Your MacID is your personalized credential that allows access to licensed resources.

Grey areas

There is variation between licences. Some license agreements explicitly provide allowances for courseware, multiple copies for classroom use and interlibrary lending. Other licenses may prohibit one or more of these activities.

Specific license conditions may be shown on the website of a given electronic resource under such headings as “Acceptable Use”, “Conditions of Use”, or “Copyright”.  In addition, some of our license information is publicly available through the Ontario Council of University Libraries.

If you are unsure about permissions for use, contact the Health Sciences Library’s Technical Services Department.