Jump to content

Enjoy a CovidSafe visit to the National Library. Read more

Close alert

National Library of Australia

National Library of Australia
  • Collections

    Collections menu

    • What we collect
      • Recent acquisition highlights
      • Archived websites
      • Asian
      • Dance
      • Ephemera
      • Indigenous
      • Manuscripts
      • Maps
      • Music
      • Newspapers
      • Oral history and folklore
      • Pacific
      • Pictures
    • Preserving our collections
    • Building our collections
      • Collecting multicultural Australia
      • Acquisitions wish list
    • Selected Library collections
    • Collection statistics
    • History of the collection
    • Processing and describing our collections
  • Using the Library

    Using the library

    • Getting started
      • Ask a Librarian
      • Get a Library card
      • Getting started videos
      • Frequently asked questions
    • Research tools and resources
      • Family history research
      • Research guides
      • Published guides and bibliographies
      • Private researchers and valuers
      • Australian Joint Copying Project
    • Learning
      • Digital Classroom
      • Learning sessions
      • School and teacher programs
    • Reading rooms
      • Using the reading rooms
      • Main Reading Room
      • Special Collections Reading Room
      • Petherick Reading Room
    • Copies and interlibrary loans
      • Copies and interlibrary loans for individuals
      • Copies and interlibrary loans for libraries
      • Supply1 for libraries
      • Copyright in library collections
    • Services for publishers
      • Legal deposit
      • Prepublication Data Service
      • ISBN
      • ISMN
      • ISSN
    • Services for libraries
      • Libraries Australia
      • NSLA eResources
      • Australian Libraries Gateway
      • Australian Interlibrary Resource Sharing (ILRS)
  • Stories

    stories menu block

    • Newsletter
    • Media centre
    • Video
    • Blogs
    • Podcasts
    • News
    • NLA Publishing
  • What's on
  • Visit

    Visit us

    • Opening hours
    • Getting to the Library
    • Bookplate and Paperplate cafes
    • Bookshop
    • Venue hire
    • Facilities and access
  • About us

    About us

    • Who we are
    • Jobs at the Library
    • Fellowships, Scholarships and Grants
    • Corporate documents
    • Tenders
    • Our building
    • Contact us
  • Support us

    Support us

    • Give to the 2020 appeal
    • Make a bequest
    • Our patrons
    • Friends of the Library
    • Volunteer
    • Support fellowships and scholarships

You are here

  1. Home /
  2. About us /
  3. Corporate documents /
  4. Policy and Planning /
  5. Collection development policy

Collection Development Policy

Collection Development Policy

  1. Introduction
  2. Principles
  3. How we collect
  4. What we collect
  5. Selective collecting: overseas publications

Read the Library’s Collecting Strategy, 2020-21 – 2023-24 and our statement on Collecting Direction and Focus.

Access a PDF version of the National Library of Australia's Collection Development Policy (PDF, 404KB).

 

In this section

  • Introduction

  • Principles

  • How We Collect

  • What We Collect

  • Selective Collecting: Overseas Publications

About us

  • Fellowships, Scholarships and Grants
    • Community Heritage Grants
      • Projects funded by CHG
      • Guidelines and application form
      • Grant recipients
        • Community Heritage Grants recipients 2020
        • Community Heritage Grants Recipients 2019
        • Community Heritage Grants Recipients 2018
        • Community Heritage Grants Recipients 2017
        • Community Heritage Grants Recipients 2016
      • Significance assessments
      • Preservation needs assessments
      • Conservation activities and collection management
      • Useful resources
        • Preservation and Collection Management Training Workshops 2018
        • Preservation and Collection Management Training Workshops 2017
        • Preservation and Collection Management Training Workshops 2016
      • Contact us
      • 2019 Community Heritage Grants Assessment Report
    • Fellowships and Scholarships
      • National Library of Australia Fellowships
        • National Library of Australia Fellows
      • Creative Fellowships
        • Creative Arts Fellowship
          • Creative Arts Fellows
        • National Folk Fellowship
          • National Folk Fellows
      • Asia Study Grants
        • 2018-2021 Asia Study Grant recipients
        • 2011-2017 Japan Study Grant recipients
        • 2008-2010 Japan Study Grant recipients
      • Summer Scholarships
        • Summer Scholars
          • Summer Scholars 2011-2015
          • Summer Scholars 2006-2010
          • Summer Scholars 2002-2005
      • Past Fellowships
        • Harold White Fellowships
          • Harold White Fellows 2011-2014
          • Harold White Fellows 2001-2010
          • Harold White Fellows 1991-2000
          • Harold White Fellows 1986-1990
        • Japan Fellowships
          • Japan Fellows
  • Corporate documents
    • Annual Reports
    • Charter of Library's Audit Committee
    • Corporate Plans
      • Corporate Plan 2020-2021
        • National Library of Australia 2030
        • Collect
        • Connect
        • Collaborate
        • Capability
        • Operating context
        • Risk management
      • Corporate Plan 2019-2020
        • Collect
        • Connect
        • Collaborate
        • Capability
      • Corporate Plan 2018-2019
        • Collect
        • Connect
        • Collaborate
        • Capability
      • Corporate Plan 2017-2018
        • Environment
        • Performance
        • Build the nation's memory
        • Make access happen
        • Lead, partner, connect and excel
        • Capability
        • Risk oversight and management
      • Corporate Plan 2016-2020
        • Aspirations
        • Environment
        • Performance
        • Strategic priority 1
        • Strategic priority 2
        • Strategic priority 3
        • Capability and risk management
      • Corporate Plan 2015-2019
        • Aspirations
        • Environment
        • Performance
        • Strategic priority 1
        • Strategic priority 2
        • Strategic priority 3
        • Capability and risk management
    • Digital Library Infrastructure Replacement (DLIR)
      • DLIR Program details
    • Enterprise Agreement
    • Freedom of information
      • Freedom of information disclosure log
    • Information Publication Scheme
      • Agency plan for the National Library of Australia
    • Policy and Planning
      • Borrowing material for Exhibitions
      • Code of conduct for readers and visitors
      • Collecting Strategy
      • Collection description policy
      • Collection development policy
        • Introduction
        • Principles
        • How We Collect
        • What We Collect
        • Selective Collecting: Overseas Publications
      • Collection digitisation policy
      • Collection disaster plan
        • Part 1: Disaster preparedness and prevention policy
        • Part 2: Disaster actions
      • Copyright position statements
      • Digital preservation policy
      • Disability Framework
      • Environmental policy
      • Events and education policy
      • Exhibitions Loans Policy
      • Exhibitions policy
      • Guidelines for the discard and retention of library material
      • Indexed List of File Titles
        • Jan-Jun 2020 List of File Titles
        • Jul-Dec 2019
        • Jan-Jun 2019
        • Jul-Dec 2018
        • Jan-Jun 2018
        • Jul-Dec 2017
        • Jan-Jun 2017
        • Jul-Dec 2016
        • Jan-Jun 2016
        • Jul-Dec 2015
        • Jan-Jun 2015
        • Jul-Dec 2014
        • Jan-Jun 2014
        • Jul-Dec 2013
        • Jan-Jun 2013
        • Jul-Dec 2012
        • Jan-Jun 2012
        • July-Dec 2011
        • Jan-Jun 2011
        • Jul-Dec 2010
        • Jan-Jun 2010
      • Information and research services policy
      • Information technology strategic plan
      • Mobile Strategy
      • National Library of Australia Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan
      • Onsite Volunteer Program policy
      • Policy on the illumination of collection material on display
      • Preservation policy
      • Privacy Policy
        • CCTV footage privacy notice
      • Publications policy
      • Social media policy
      • Standards
        • Australian METS Profile
          • <div> TYPE attribute vocabulary
          • Australian Sound Recording METS Profile
        • Digitisation guidelines
          • Image capture standards
      • Technology Roadmap
      • Visitor access to and use of, medications and other personal medical equipment in the Library
    • Portfolio Budget Statements
    • Privacy Impact Assessment Register
    • Public Interest Disclosures
    • Staff papers
      • 'Oh, you wanted us to preserve that?!' Statements of preservation intent for the NLA's digital collection
      • 'To Elevate the Tone of Moral and Intellectual Attainment': the Braidwood Literary Institute and its Subscribers, 1858-1862
      • A new mandate for the digital age: implementing electronic legal deposit at the National Library of Australia
      • AskNow chat reference: trendsetter service bows out
      • Collaboration Strategies for Digital Collections: The Australian Experience
      • Collaboration across the collecting sectors
      • Collected Content / Distributed Meanings
      • Collecting Government Web Content at the National Library of Australia
      • Creating a vision for mobile service delivery
      • Defining File Format Obsolescence: A Risky Journey
      • Designing Metadata for Resource Discovery
      • Developing Trove; the policy and technical challenges
      • Developing a rights management system for the National Library of Australia's collections
      • DigCCurr 2009 Digital Curation Tools and Demos II - Mediapedia and Prometheus
      • Digging deep in Trove: Success, challenge and uncertainty
      • Digital Best Practice: a Library Viewpoint
      • Digital library economics: international perspectives -The Australian perspective
      • Digital preservation for ongoing access
      • Disaster Preparedness at the National Library of Australia
      • Easy as ABC - A triumph of re-usable metadata
      • Explaining Pres Actions: a Working Document
      • Exploring the Roles of Digitisation and Microfilming in Preserving Australian Newspapers for Permanent Access
      • Facing the Challenge of Web Archives Preservation Collaboratively
      • From portals to platforms: building new frameworks for user engagement
      • Getting the whole picture: Finding a common language between digital preservation and conservation
      • How to utilise Trove in your organisation
      • I Say Emulate; He Says Migrate - Are Emulation or Migration Feasible Preservation Strategies?
      • Identifying Researchers Using People Australia
      • Impact of technology on archival programs: the National Library of Australia
      • Implementing Digital Preservation Techniques into Next-Gen Operating Systems
      • Internet Content as Research Data: challenges and options for collecting and preserving
      • Jean Whyte Memorial Lecture
      • Libraries Australia Document Delivery: A System for a Variety of Users
      • Many Hands Make Light Work: Public Collaborative OCR Text Correction in Australian Historic Newspapers
      • Media Matters: developing processes for preserving digital objects on physical carriers at the National Library of Australia
      • Mediapedia: Managing the Identification of Media Carriers
      • Mediapedia: managing physical format media
      • Mobile Services Survey: summary findings
      • Music Australia: Building innovative partnerships for online access to music made, played and recorded in Australia
      • Now we’re getting somewhere – adventures in Trans Tasman interlending
      • PANDORA past, present and future - national web archiving in Australia
      • Powered by Trove: Opportunities and Challenges for Queensland Libraries
      • Preserve or Preserve Not, There is No Try: some dilemmas relating to Personal Digital Archiving
      • Preserving Access: Making More Informed 'Guesses' About What Works
      • Prometheus: managing the Ingest of Media Carriers
      • RESTafarian-ism at the NLA
      • Reading Locally, Learning Globally: creating a universal experience – a National Library view
      • Relevance ranking of results from MARC-based catalogues: from guidelines to implementation exploiting structured metadata
      • Resource Description and Access
      • Resource Description and Access: Structure, Content and the Development Process
      • Resource sharing in Australia: 'Find' and 'Get' in Trove - Making 'Getting' better
      • Setting a New Standard in Resource Description and Access
      • Shooting to Computing
      • Singing for their supper: Trove, Australian newspapers and the crowd
      • Single Business Discovery Project
      • The Australian METS Profile – A Journey about Metadata
      • The Australian Newspaper Plan (ANPLAN)
      • Those Mad Men from the Antipodes: Presentation Intent at the National Library of Australia
      • Trends in Use of the Pandora Archive
      • Trove and the world
      • Trove: Bringing Australian resources to Australian
      • Trove: More than a treasure? How finding information just became easier
      • Trove: The first year January 2010 - January 2011
      • Trove: staging of a social media pilot
      • Volunteering – maximising the benefits for all
      • Web archiving in a Web 2.0 world
      • What is the Mediapedia?
      • ‘If a tree falls in the forest’: recording and sharing digital preservation knowledge at the NLA
      • ‘Improving organisational performance through visitor feedback’
    • State of the Service Report
    • Statements of expectations and intent
  • Jobs at the Library
    • Current vacancies
    • Information for applicants
      • Staff engagement
    • Temporary employment register
    • Workplace diversity
    • Indigenous employment
      • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Strategy 2013–2018
      • Indigenous employee profiles
      • Indigenous community connections
  • Publishing guidelines
  • Who we are
    • Organisational structure
    • Library Council
      • Chair The Honourable Dr Brett Mason
      • Deputy Chair Ms Janet Hirst
      • Director-General and Executive Member Dr Marie-Louise Ayres
      • Member Mr Julian Leeser MP
      • Member Mr Douglas Snedden
      • Member Ms Alice Wong
      • Member Dr Shane Simpson AM
      • Member Ms Rosalie Rotolo-Hassan
      • Member Dr Bennie Ng
      • Member Mr Richard Price
      • Professor Don Markwell
      • Senator Catryna Bilyk
    • Service Charter
    • Facts and figures
    • History of the Library
  • Staff papers
  • Tenders
    • Annual Procurement Plan
    • Current approaches to market
    • Previous approaches to market
    • Contracts for current reporting period
    • Contracts for previous reporting periods
      • Senate Order for entity contracts listing relating to the period 1 July 2017 - 30 June 2018
      • Senate Order for entity contracts listing relating to the period 1 July 2018 - 30 June 2019
      • Senate Order for entity contracts listing relating to the period 1 January 2017 - 31 December 2017
      • Senate Order for entity contracts listing relating to the period 1 July 2016 - 30 June 2017
      • Senate Order for entity contracts listing relating to the period 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019
  • About this site
    • Website accessibility
    • Copyright for this website
    • Privacy
    • Social media and online community guidelines
    • User feedback
    • Takedown requests
  • eBooks
  • Our building
    • Heritage
    • History of our buildings
    • Building art
      • Artwork around the foyer, exterior and grounds
      • Artwork in the Main Reading Room
      • Artwork in the Special Collections Reading Room

Acknowledgement of Country

The National Library of Australia (NLA) acknowledges Australia’s First Nations Peoples – the First Australians – as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of this land and gives respect to the Elders – past and present – and through them to all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Contact us

+61 (0)2 6262 1111
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Opening hours
More contact information

Connect

  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Instagram
  •  YouTube
  •  Newsletter
  •  

Quicklinks

  • Jobs at the Library
  • Awards and grants
  • Copies Direct
  • Libraries Australia
  • Websites A–Z
National Library of Australia
  • Feedback
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Accessibility
  • Catalogue
  • Trove
  • eResources