Gifts often come from Villanova faculty or alumni, but they also come from non-Villanova scholars or collectors residing in the region. To restrict the overall numbers, not all gifts that are offered are accepted, nor are all volumes donated added to the collection. Many of the volumes not added are bought by area book dealers. The department also strives to maintain the collection. Some books that are circulated never return, and decisions must be made whether to replace them.
Some titles just vanish from the stacks.
Other materials that are not circulating and have less value are weeded to make room for newer items or newer editions. Occasionally, books returned to Falvey Library have gotten wet during their circulation, or they have been roughly handled and some pages are torn, loose, or missing. In other books the paper has become brittle due to heat, light, and many years spent in the Library's stacks. The goal of the preservation program is to make cost effective decisions to retain the information content of damaged books through binding, minor repair, replacement, and reformatting. Preservation is everyone's job.