Exemptions
Coventry University will not normally collect:
- Copies of original material (except where it may be used as a reference or secondary source)
- Loaned material
- Personal libraries
- Material from former members of staff or alumni that does not support the teaching and research activities of the university
- Material which is of a particularly specialist nature, requiring skills or equipment beyond the university’s resources to preserve, use or interpret.
Acquisition procedures
Records from internal sources within the university are already the property of the university (and are usually treated as transfers). Records received from other sources are normally only accepted as donations. The university does not normally purchase records or accept them on loan.
The university will carry out due diligence and make efforts not to acquire any item unless it can be satisfactorily agreed that it can acquire a valid title to the item in question, and to follow archival or other relevant legislation and guidelines.
Disposal or transfer
Coventry University aims to keep and care for permanent collections relating to its stated objectives. But donated material that does not relate to its objectives, or after appraisal is not thought worthy of permanent preservation, will be disposed of securely or offered to another archive. This also applies to duplicate copies of material already held.
This policy is made clear during the donation process.
Coventry University also reserves the right to retrospectively review its holdings if its collections policy is updated.