Drew University Libraries curates collections appropriate for Drew University’s community, which includes faculty, staff, and enrolled students pursuing undergraduate and graduate-level educations. Empowered by our Mission and driven by our Values, the Library seeks to establish inclusive and well-curated collections that support the diverse interests, research needs, and educational goals of our college community. An essential part of supporting intellectual freedom within our community includes providing access to materials, even if they may be controversial or offensive to some. Controversial materials have scholarly/research value, and therefore our collections may contain such material. The inclusion of this material in the collection does not indicate endorsement of the ideas by Drew University.
Formal challenges to items in our collections will be handled on a case-by-case basis and may only be made by currently enrolled students and employees of Drew University. Once challenged, library materials will only be removed upon review by Drew University Library Committee on Faculty (LCOF). The item will be reviewed against the collection development guidelines and principles and its supporting documents, including but not limited to such factors as currency, relevancy, curricular value, and accuracy. Also informing the final decision are the library and university’s mission, vision, values, guiding principles, and strategic goals. The library will not exclude materials because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation. Drew University Libraries reserves the right to make the final decision on the deselection or retention of all items within our collections.
Any challenges or complaints about items in the library’s collections should be made to the Director of the University Libraries, who will lead the assessment of the validity of the challenge in light of the collection development policies and practices and formally respond to the challenger.
