Guiding Principles for Collecting

The John Hay Library is committed to building its collections through professional, transparent, and ethically sound practices. As an institution dedicated to research and teaching, acquisitions decisions are guided by the strategic collecting directions outlined in this policy, campus curricular needs, and the following guiding principles.

1. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Brown University’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is articulated in Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion: An Action Plan for Brown University. The Hay understands that collections have a profound role in these necessary matters, both in terms of scholarship and in creating an inclusive, welcoming climate. Recognizing systemic, structural, and institutional racism, the Hay is applying an anti-racist framework to its collecting activities, which requires a continual evaluation of new and existing collections, modes of collecting, and the impact of collections on our community. Without purposeful and regular assessment as part of the acquisitions process, the Hay’s collections will (un)consciously uphold aspects of monoculturalism or only white-dominant culture and scholarship, thereby not achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion.

2. Native American and Indigenous Collections

The Hay, located on lands that are within the ancestral homelands of the Narragansett Indian Tribe, recognizes the impact of settler colonialism and the ways collection materials may have been acquired or extracted through historically asymmetric power relationships. The Hay recognizes the importance of Tribal knowledge, protocols, and cultural traditions; is committed to working with Tribal nations to appropriately steward collections; and is committed to initiating new modes of reparative and reciprocal relationship building with Tribal nations.

3. Sustainable Collecting and Stewardship

In conjunction with Brown’s Sustainability Initiative, the Hay is committed to sustainable collecting. Sustainability within special collections requires assessing the current and future environmental and fiscal impacts of acquiring, preserving, and providing research access to rare, unique, and fragile material in all physical formats. The energy consumption levels of digital preservation and storage also require thoughtful care and planning. Climate change is a critical issue, and the Hay seeks to be responsible in reducing its carbon footprint. The Hay will create sustainability metrics to thoughtfully assess acquisitions for strategic alignment with institutional goals and to not duplicate collecting efforts of other repositories. Sustainable stewardship extends to physical and digital management of collections, considering space needs, environmental controls, and mitigating processing backlogs. Timely accessions and strategic reappraisal of existing collections will also be key parts in moving toward a healthy and sustainable collecting ecosystem. This work will be guided by the Brown University Library’s Reappraisal, Deaccessioning, and Abandoned Loan Policy. Sustainable stewardship also requires attention to the changing weather and natural disaster patterns so that the Hay’s disaster plans are effective in safeguarding collections to the extent possible.

4. Community-Engaged Collecting

Community-engaged collecting is the process of working collaboratively with community groups locally at Brown, within Rhode Island and New England, and nationally and globally. Success requires building and sustaining mutually beneficial relationships between the Hay and diverse communities. As part of the relationship, community members may advise and guide collecting policies, practices, and access principles to determine whether their historical material remains within their community or under what terms collaborative stewardship of donated materials would operate. Community relationships may also require the Library to rectify situations that caused past harm to a particular community, and this collecting model will serve as a catalyst for the Library to reinvest in its community relationships.

5. Local Contexts

The Hay seeks to be an active member of the Rhode Island research community and to build collections, especially those related to Rhode Island and regional history, that complement — but do not compete — with peer repositories. Notable local research collections include the John Carter Brown Library, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Special Collections, the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, Providence Public Library, and the Rhode Island Historical Society.

6. Institutional Collaboration

The Hay recognizes the value of partnership with academic centers and departments within the University and strategic partnerships with external repositories and organizations. These partnerships provide intellectual guidance for collection development as well as theoretical, cultural, and other valuable insights that will improve the reputation and relevance of the Library and its collections.

6a. Brown University

The Hay is a ready partner for any academic unit on campus that identifies building collections of rare material (physical or digital) as a core part of its intellectual program for the purposes of research, education, and record-keeping.

Established Partnerships

• Africana Studies
• Brown Arts Initiative
• Brown Center for Students of Color
• Brown LGBTQ Center
• Center for the Study of the Early Modern World
• David Winton Bell Gallery
• Haffenreffer Museum
• Harambee House
• Inman Page Black Alumni Council
• John Carter Brown Library
• Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
• Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative
• Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity
• Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women
• Rites and Reason Theatre (Africana Studies)
• Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice
• Theatre Arts and Performance Studies
• Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs

6b. External

• American Antiquarian Society
• Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
• HBCU Library Alliance
• Ivy Plus Library Consortium
• New England Regional Fellowship Consortium
• Rhode Island Black Heritage Society