More Than Mere Documents: Examining the Roles of Collection Policies and Collection Strategies in Inclusive Collections in Canadian University Libraries

Collection policies and collection strategies are essential documents guiding the collection management practices of academic libraries. Despite the importance of these policy documents in shaping libraries’ collections, scholars have faulted the collections of North American academic libraries as lacking diverse voices. This study examined the roles of collection policies and collection strategies in sustaining and constraining the inclusion of equity-deserving groups in academic libraries’ collections. Using a qualitative research design, 44 policy documents were analyzed while 18 collection librarians were interviewed. The findings revealed the double-edged roles of collection policies and collection strategies in collection management as they ensure librarians’ agency, serve as documentation tools, promote accessibility and acquisition of resources for equity-deserving groups. Limitations such as lack of standardization, neutrality, and unclear responsibility and implementation also limit the usefulness of these policy documents. Recommendations were proposed to revive the waning interest in collection policies and collection strategies, including standardization, regular updating, alignment of policy documents with broader institutional goals, and deliberate actions to strengthen these policy documents.