The Brown University Library, in support of the University’s educational and research mission, is the local repository for and the principal gateway to current information and the scholarly record. As such, it is simultaneously collection, connection, and classroom, primarily for the current and future students and faculty of the University, while also serving other colleagues in the University community and our regional, national, and global communities of learning and scholarship.
In support of this mission, the Library acquires information resources in a variety of formats: e.g., books, journals, newspapers, CD-ROM’s, video and audio tapes, digital files. We also acquire access to information, through direct licensing from authorized providers, establishing connections to free resources, or making consortial or exchange agreements with publishers, libraries, or other organizations. This document will refer to all of these resources as the Library’s collections, whether they are owned, leased, or borrowed, and whether or not they reside physically in the Library.
The Library selects resources for its collections primarily in support of the current and anticipated curriculum of the University, and secondarily in support of the current and anticipated individual research needs of our faculty and students. Beyond these goals, we seek to maintain the vitality of particular collections of notable strength in relation to other regional, national, or international collections.
In additional to collecting these resources, the Library is called to promote their use among the Brown community and outside of it, through cataloging the collections as well as more focused outreach to potential users. We are also charged with the ongoing maintenance and preservation of those resources that may be of long-term usefulness for our selected fields of research.
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