The following guidelines should be taken to apply to issues of journals which are offered to the Library by donors, and to issues available to the Library through exchange lists. The Library does not regard itself as an archival repository for materials whose age renders their use unlikely.
Guidelines vary according to the subject area of the gift journal issues, as detailed below.
Exceptions may also be made for issues which are judged to have genuine historical interest, and therefore potential research use. Issues which are in poor physical condition should not be added, though damage to an issue's cover may not be of consequence if it is to be bound. If the microfilm in question is damaged or of a quality so as to make the legible reproduction of paper copies impossible, this constitutes an additional reason to make the replacement with paper, but anticipated use levels and the age of the issues must continue to be carefully considered. If microform is available as a gift to replace paper holdings, and the level of use of the available issues is anticipated to be low, it would be advisable to acquire the microfilm in order to conserve space. At present, and for the foreseeable future, space for housing journals is at a premium.