The Reference Collection Development Policy and its selection criteria are aimed at the students, faculty, and staff of the Notre Dame community as well as at the research processes attendant thereto.
Priority is given to English language materials.
Titles in a foreign language are selected only if they are superior to, complement, or cover an area not covered by the English works available. The aim, however, is to acquire and retain works which are currently the most authoritative in their fields. Superseded editions are either transferred to the research tower or withdrawn. Selections of materials is not geographically, but topically based, in that all areas relevant to the University's learning and research process are considered for inclusion in the collection. There is a slight emphasis on materials published in and concerned with the United States.