Collections and Collection Development

Collecting Policies

Princeton’s subject selectors are responsible for developing Princeton’s collections based on teaching and research needs. Documentation for these processes of acquisition for and development of these collections takes the form of collection policies. These policies describe how subject collections are developed and how each collection supports the University’s teaching and research needs in these areas. They are constantly evolving and are based on an ongoing dialogue with faculty and students. The Policies also explore subtle and dramatic differences in collecting level, formats, languages and other criteria among collections at Princeton and with cooperative collecting programs with other research institutions.

The Library is in the process of updating these policies. Until they are available for public review, we invite you to select the subject or area of interest from our list of Subject Specialists responsible for the collection for more information.

New Acquisitions

Each year, Princeton University Library has the opportunity to add very special items to its holdings of print, digital, non-print and manuscript material either through acquisition or as gifts to the Library. We have chosen some of these titles added this year to highlight. They may also be found by searching the Library’s Online Catalog.

View Our Highlights

New Acquisitions in Graphic Arts