Library Services & Policies: Collection Policies

The Greenfield Library supports the mission of the college, and seeks to reflect its philosophy of education. The majority of acquisitions for the library are primary sources and original texts.

Collection Development Levels

• The primary collection development emphasis is on acquiring various editions and translations of works written by St. John's College Program authors. The primary focus in collection development is to acquire those works constituting the core readings.
• Secondly, the library collects complete works by Program authors in their original languages and translations.
• The third collection development focus is to acquire secondary works related to the Program authors. 
• The fourth collection area is that of notable authors outside the Program area. Works studied in preceptorials, study groups, and works that support students who pursue graduate work are collected.
• Recordings and typescripts of lectures, sound recordings of Program books, and language learning materials are collected.
• Current class manuals used in tutorials are available for immediate use on reserve.
• Periodicals are collected for the purposes of news and current events awareness, for keeping abreast of scholarly writing that has direct relevance to the program, and for providing scholarly and professional literature for students interested in pursuing graduate education.

Refer to the Donation policy for acceptable donations. 

Special Collections and Archives: New acquisitions to the special collections are acquired by selected and solicited donations. Rare books are acquired and added to the collection as the budget allows. The college archives consist of records related to the history of St. John's College and all official records deemed permanent and valuable to the various college offices. Guidelines for office record retention have been set forth under the record management program overseen by the library director.

The collection development policy of Greenfield Library is tightly focused to support the unique great books program at St. John's College, Annapolis. Likewise, the library guidelines for the acceptance of donations are thoughtfully structured. Unsolicited donations may or may not be acknowledged. The library director is responsible for the decisions concerning all book donations. The library accepts scholarly and literary books that support the mission of the college, and that are compatible with the college's library collection development policy. The library does not accept donations of magazines, periodicals, textbooks, popular paperbacks, or books in deteriorated condition.

It is the responsibility of the donor to count and to list the book titles to be received by the library. It is also the responsibility of the donor to deliver, or to arrange delivery with the library director of, the donated books as well as to cover the costs of shipping and transport. Delivery in person must be made during the regular work hours (Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.). Anyone wishing to donate books should contact John Jewitt, Public Services Librarian, at john.jewitt@sjc.edu or 443-482-6582, or Catherine Hines, Library Director, at catherine.hines@sjc.edu or 410-626-2550.

The library reserves the right to decide the future use of all donations. These uses include but are not limited to the integration into our collection, inclusion in our book sales, or in some circumstances, trades with other libraries.

The I.R.S. requires that the college as recipient take no part in appraising the donation's value. All potential donors are encouraged to have an appraisal performed for tax purposes prior to delivery of the books. If a donor wishes to have an appraisal performed, the library director will be able to provide names of appraisers in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area. However, in providing these names, the college endorses no appraiser, takes no responsibility in the appraisal, nor provides funds for such. All appraisals must be complete prior to the transfer of the donation to Greenfield Library.

It is requested that potential donors provide all the information they will need regarding the status of their donation before the transfer of any books. If an official receipt is desired, the donor is requested to advise the library director before the donation. This receipt will be issued from our Advancement office.