The greater part of the book funds is spent on materials selected from among the current production. An attempt is made to purchase duplicates of material much in demand or constantly in need of replacement. Books put on Reserve are duplicated if demand or its importance warrants, and there is money available. Relegation and Weeding Rare editions, and fragile material in the open stacks is transferred to Archives and Special Collections when found. Weeding is limited to discarding of perished books and unused duplicates.
Paperbacks are generally preferred unless a book is only available in hard cover.
An attempt is made to subscribe to the important publications. The Libraries generally rely on the holdings of other institutions in Metro Toronto and Ontario for foreign language materials. At present, selection is limited to strengthening the teaching collections already in place in selected nineteenth and twentieth century authors, such as the Victorian popular writers, the Sitwells and Somerset Maugham. Canadian church history is actively collected as well. Other areas of the collections have for some time relied on donations, and transfers from the open stacks.