From July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021, the DePaul University Library collection development policies for books, video, duplicate items, and course reserves will be temporarily changed to better match the university and library’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Summer classes will remain online only, and the majority of autumn quarter classes will remain online or in a hybrid on-campus/online model.
To provide the best possible access to the library’s resources, the Library will temporarily adopt an e-preferred policy. Collections Steering and library administration will revisit the e-preferred policy towards the end of autumn quarter to determine if the e-preferred policy will be lifted or remain in place for winter quarter.
E-preferred does not mean e-only. Under an e-preferred model, liaisons will be encouraged to select e-books over print books if an e-book version is available. Examples of exceptions include but are not limited to, print books specifically requested by faculty, when an e-book version does not exist or is not available to academic libraries, has limited print runs, etc.
Reasons for temporarily enacting an e-preferred policy include:
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- Technical Services staff will have greatly reduced on-campus hours to ensure the health and safety of staff. As a result of reduced in-person hours, extended shipping times, backlogs, material quarantine periods, and new library systems and workflows, Technical Services cannot provide timeframes for the purchase, receipt, processing, and availability of new physical materials to patrons.
- Handling of fewer physical items, especially reserve items with short loan periods and multiple course users, means minimizing staff and patron risk of exposure.
- Books cannot be sanitized without potentially damaging them, so returned items must be quarantined for 72 hours before another patron can check them out. This further reduces the time that patrons can access print materials.