March, 2002; revised July, 2008; January 2013

Introduction

The Five College Librarians Council adheres to the principle that the Depository is a trusted repository and that all collections transferred to the facility are considered persistent deposits. Designating the FCLD collections as persistent is intended to give all Five College libraries and Affiliate Members the assurance that they can withdraw duplicates of deposited items from their campus collections and rely with confidence on access to the copies placed in the Depository. 

The policies contained in this document have been developed and approved by the Five College Librarians Council. They provide the basis for the Five College Libraries to share an off-site periodical and book storage facility leased from and maintained by Amherst College. Items stored in the Depository by the University remain the property of the University. Items given to the Depository by the four colleges become the property of Five Colleges, Inc. Implementation of these policies is the primary responsibility of the Depository Manager, who is responsible to the Librarians Council. 

1. Governance

1.1 The Five College Librarians Council is the governing body for the Five College Library Depository.

2. Participation

2.1 Full participation in the Five College Library Depository is restricted to member libraries of Five Colleges, Inc. Libraries outside the Five Colleges may apply for Affiliate Membership (see 18. below)

3. Facility Leasing

3.1 Five Colleges, Inc. will lease indefinitely approximately 10,000 square feet from Amherst College, the owner of the Depository facility.

3.2 Expansion of Five Colleges, Inc. Depository space will be negotiated with Amherst College at that time when the Five College Librarians Council deems such expansion necessary.

4. Facility Maintenance

4.1 Amherst College is responsible for the physical maintenance of the Depository facility.

4.2 The Five College Librarians will establish standards for the maintenance of the Depository and negotiate with Amherst College for the adherence to such standards.

5. Operational Costs

5.1 Ongoing operational costs of the Five College Depository not covered by grants or outside agencies will be borne by the five colleges and apportioned on the “11ths” formula used by the Five College Librarians Council. This formula may be changed with the consent of the Five College Board of Directors.

6. Ownership of Deposited Material

6.1 Five Colleges, Inc. will assume ownership of materials deposited in the Five College Library Depository by Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College and will retain or dispose of such materials in accordance with guidelines approved by the Five College Librarians Council.

6.2 The University of Massachusetts Amherst will retain ownership of materials deposited in the Five College Library Depository.

6.3 All volumes deposited by Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College and the University of Massachusetts Amherst may be counted as being owned by each institution for the purposes of reporting statistics to national and regional organizations.

7. Deposit of Materials in the Depository

7.1 The Five College Library Depository will be used primarily for the storage of little- used periodicals and books owned by the Five College Libraries.

7.1.1  Requests to deposit Five College library materials other than little-used periodicals and books will be           considered, provided that the materials circulate normally and can be efficiently stored within the existing configuration of trays and shelving. Such requests will require the approval of the Five College Depository Advisory Group in consultation with the Five College Librarians Council.

7.1.2 The Five College Depository will not be used to store rare and valuable books and periodicals.

7.2 Selection of materials for deposit in the Depository will be made by each of the five libraries based on their local needs.

7.3 Materials infested by mold or in an advanced state of deterioration are not normally accepted for deposit.

7.4 No library will discard the last copy in the Five Colleges Libraries of periodicals, serials, or monographs in serviceable condition, and deemed to have intellectual/research value, but will send them to the shared depository. Serviceable condition will be defined as physically usable. Intellectual/research value will be determined by a library selector or other subject expert in the field.

8. Return of Materials from the Depository to the Institution of Origin

8.1 The University of Massachusetts Amherst will be able to return to its campus any materials it has deposited on either a temporary or a permanent basis.   The University agrees not to withdraw any materials returned back to them. 

8.2 Materials deposited by Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College will not be subject to be returned to the college of origin.

8.3 Please see section 19 for detail on the dissolution of the collection in the event that the facility closes. 

9. Duplicate Materials

9.1 Each of the Five College Libraries may at its discretion retain on its campus duplicates of titles deposited in the Depository by other members of the five colleges.

9.2 The Five College Libraries agree to send only volumes not already held at the facility.

10. On-Site Access

10.1 The Depository collection will be available to the general public for on-site use.

11. Hours of Operation and Services

11.1 Depository hours will be established and adjusted to meet the reasonable needs of the Five College community.

11.1.1 The Five College Librarians Council or its designee will determine appropriate hours of service for on-site access to the collection and general operation of the Depository.

12. Circulation

12.1 Periodicals will not generally circulate from the depository.  

12.1.1 Access to contents of periodicals will be through duplication and document delivery or on-site access.

12.1.2 Exceptions to this policy will be made at the determination of the Depository Manager and will be based on the nature of the request.

12.1.2.1 Five College Library staff may submit a request to borrow a defined run of a periodical from the Five College Depository Collection for an extended loan to meet an extraordinary curricular or research need at their campus.

12.1.2.1.1 The material loaned will be retained in a controlled-access environment such as reserves.

12.2 Books will circulate from the Depository.

12.2.1 The loan period for books will be established and adjusted to meet the reasonable needs of the Five College community and in harmony with existing Five College loan policies.

12.2.1.1 The Five College Librarians Council or its designee will determine appropriate loan periods for books.

12.2.2 Books may be circulated to Five College Libraries for reserve use.

12.2.3 Use of books in fragile condition may be restricted at the discretion of the Depository Manager or his/her designee.

12.3 Serials will circulate from the Depository.

12.3.1 The loan period for serials will be established and adjusted to meet the reasonable needs of the Five College community and in harmony with existing Five College loan policies.

12.3.1.1 The Five College Librarians Council or its designee will determine appropriate loan periods for serials.

12.3.2 Serials may be circulated to Five College Libraries for reserve use.

12.3.3 Use of serials in fragile condition may be restricted at the discretion of the Depository Manager or his/her designee.

12.4 Materials in Affiliate Collections.

12.4.1 Materials in Affiliate Collections will circulate only to Five College and Affiliate Libraries (according to the terms detailed in the Affiliate Agreement).

13. Document Delivery

13.1 Returnables

13.1.1 Requests for loans of returnable Depository materials will be initiated through the Five College library management system.

13.1.2 Delivery and return of returnable Depository materials will be accomplished using the existing Five College delivery service.

13.2 Non-returnable copies.

13.2.1 The process for requesting non-returnable copies of Depository materials will be established by the Depository Manager or his/her designee in consultation with the Five College Librarians Council or its designee.

13.2.2 Non-returnable copies will be delivered either in paper or electronic form or both in accordance with the Depository’s technological capabilities and the needs of the user.

13.3 Delivery Time Standards.

13.3.1 The Five College Librarians Council or its designee will determine service standards for document delivery requests.

14. Interlibrary Loan

14.1 Requests for loans of returnable items or copies of depository materials to other than Five College libraries will be processed through standard interlibrary loan procedures and will follow the National Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States.

14.2 The Five College Librarians Council or its designee will determine any fees for interlibrary loan services.

15. Use of Depository Materials for Reserve

15.1 Books may circulate to Five College Libraries for reserve use.

15.2 Articles from Depository periodicals for reserve use will be duplicated and delivered to the requesting Five College reserve service.

15.3 Requests for exceptional loans of periodical issues or volumes will be negotiated between Five College library staff and the Depository manager.

16. Lost or Damaged Materials

16.1 If the material borrowed from the Depository if lost or damaged, the Library that initiated the borrowing request will be responsible for replacing the item and sending the replacement to the Depository.

17. Statistics

17.1 Statistics will be collected regularly for the purpose of reporting to federal, national, and regional organizations and for internal management purposes.

17.1.1 Statistics will be shared with the Five College Librarians Council and other Five College library staff as appropriate.

18. Cooperation

18.1 Libraries outside the Five Colleges may apply for Affiliate Membership.

18.1.1 Affiliates may contribute volumes to fill gaps in selected collections held at the Depository (See Appendix C)

18.1.1.1 Affiliates relinquish ownership of any volumes they send to Five Colleges, Inc.

18.1.1.2  Affiliate collections are identified with a note in the 590 field of the Holdings record in Aleph.  In the event that Depository disbands, the Affiliate collection materials will automatically be sent to UMass.

18.1.2 Fees for Affiliate Members are set by the Five College Librarians Council.

18.2 At the request of the Five College Board of Directors, the Five College Librarians Council will explore ways to cooperate with other New England consortia in the development of regional or remote depositories.

19. Dissolution of the Five College Depository

19.1 In the event of the dissolution of the Five College Depository, materials designated as part of the Affiliate collections will automatically be sent to UMass as will any other materials contributed by UMass.  The Five College Collection Management Committee will recommend to the Librarians Council an appropriate distribution of the volumes owned by Five Colleges, Inc. to Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges. The Librarians Council will make the final decision about the distribution of volumes owned by Five Colleges, Inc.

20. Policy Revision

20.1 These policies may be revised by a unanimous vote of the Five College Librarians Council.

Adopted unanimously by the Five College Librarians Council, January 2013. This policy supersedes the March 2002, the May 2008 policy and the Copy of Record Agreement.