Library Policies

Everett Library continues to build a relevant and necessary collection of print, digital, and archival materials to support the curriculum of the university, to enhance students’ educational experiences, and to assist faculty research. In addition, the library provides supplemental collections of social relevance and provides timely and popular materials for patrons.  

Acquisitions are primarily patron driven, based on recommendations from faculty and students. Library staff determine relevant acquisitions for purchase as well as recommendations from faculty, students, and the university community. The appropriateness of content to support the academic curriculum of Queens University of Charlotte is the major criterion for evaluating potential items for inclusion in the collection. Everett Library provides subscriptions to academic e-book databases and works directly with NCLive and the Carolina Consortium to leverage purchasing power for these contracts. Vendors currently include Proquest and Ebscohost, among others. At present, more than 90% of the materials acquisition budget is targeted to purchase of electronic journals, databases, and other content delivered online. Acquisitions that do not fall into existing collecting areas sometimes may be made in anticipation of a new curricular focus. While the library strives to provide a top quality collection, factors in new acquisitions include cost, quality, physical format, duplication, and condition as well as any fiscal budgetary constraints.

Ongoing maintenance and evaluation of the library collection are integral processes to ensure a relevant and up to date collection of scholarly resources.  Library staff, in consultation with teaching faculty, perform regular and on-going efforts to evaluate and update the library collection. 

Everett Library accepts a limited number of gifts to its collection of books and audio visual materials. Gifts must be unconditional and must be made with the understanding that the library will sell or discard unwanted gift items at its own discretion.Gift books are reviewed for inclusion in the collection by librarians, in cooperation with faculty as needed. Only those items that directly support the university's curriculum and conform to the library's collection development policy will be added. In general, the library will not add a duplicate copy of items already in the collection. More information on donations to the library can be found here.

Materials that relate to the history of Queens University of Charlotte and to its environment, activities, and achievements of officials, faculty, students, alumni, and benefactors will be considered for inclusion in the Archives collection. Decisions as to appropriateness of materials to be included will be made by the University Librarian in consultation with librarians, faculty, and other stakeholders. More information can be found on the Archives pages.