The collection development policy of the University Libraries guides the development and management of the Libraries' collections. This policy is for the use of Libraries' staff and the Libraries' users. The policy will be updated as needed. The University Libraries apply the principles and policies of the American Library Association and of the Association of Research Libraries regarding intellectual freedom and copyright. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored.
Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas.
To this end, copyright assures authors the right to their original expression, but encourages others to build freely upon the ideas and information conveyed by a work. This result is neither unfair nor unfortunate. It is the means by which copyright advances the progress of science and art. The roles libraries play are shaped by copyright law. Copyright in its origins and in the way it has evolved in the United States has always involved a balancing of interests.