For the purpose of this policy, a textbook may be described as a book designed to be used in the classroom to introduce students to a subject or continue basic instruction at the intermediate or advanced levels of a subject. Commonly, although not always, textbooks include study questions, discussion topics, study guides or exercises at the end of each chapter and may be published in subsequent editions in order to update information in previous editions. Textbooks may be designed for use in undergraduate courses, graduate courses, or for use in professional programs. It is the expectation of the instructor that textbooks, when assigned to students in a particular course, are to be purchased by each student in the course.
It is the general practice of the Library to purchase a single copy of any book, textbook or otherwise, for the collection. This practice responds to issues relating to resources, space and mission. If the Library were, following general practice, to purchase a single copy of an assigned textbook, the Library would receive many complaints from students in the course for which the textbook has been assigned because only a single copy was purchased and immediately became unavailable because it was charged out to one student.
As a general policy, the University of Delaware Library does not add undergraduate-level textbooks to the collection, either as a purchase or when offered as a donation, especially textbooks that students are expected to purchase for use in a particular course. Graduate-level textbooks may be acquired selectively for the collection if they have some long-term research value or study value or if they cover a new or emerging discipline. In the exceptional cases, if a textbook is added to the collection, normally only a single copy will be added and without any implied commitment to acquire future editions of the textbook, should subsequent editions be published.
The policy applies also to Course Reserves.
However, a faculty member may, following the guidelines for Course Reserves (www.lib.udel.edu/ud/reserve/faculty.html), submit a personal copy of a textbook to be placed on reserve for a course. The policy may also apply to electronic textbooks or chapters from electronic textbooks requested for Electronic Reserves and for which the Library must pay a copyright fee. (The Library also may decline the payment of a copyright fee it considers excessive.) However, a faculty member can pay the required fee and the chapter can be placed on Reserve
Exceptions to the general policy may be made for a current textbook contributed to the Library whose author is a member of the University of Delaware faculty or staff.
Rev. 4/1/05
