A patron who wishes to request the reconsideration of library material for any reason may speak with the Director of Collections & Discovery about items in the general collections, or, for physical or digital materials in the Libraries’ Distinctive Collections, with the Director of Distinctive Collections. If the patron wishes to file a complaint, they may complete the collection feedback form. The form must be filled out completely; incomplete forms will not be considered.
When requesting reconsideration of an item, the patron may request the Libraries take one of three actions:
- Removal of an item because it does not fall within the Libraries’ collection development policies, or
- Request the addition of a source to balance the collection by providing alternative views (in which case all items would follow the standard process for review and approval of patron requests).
- Removal or restriction of material because of legal concerns (for example, the presence of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protected information; or rights infringement) or significant risks to privacy (for example, exposed Social Security Numbers).
The University Libraries may agree to either take action or take no action at all. Challenged items will remain available to library users during the duration of the challenge; the one exception is for materials where legal questions are being raised, which will be taken down from the Libraries’ digital platforms or removed from public access while rights or privacy concerns are investigated.
Procedure for requests for content reconsideration
Upon receipt of the completed form, a review committee will be formed to consider the request. The University Libraries will respond in a timely manner with regular updates. The committee will have a minimum of three individuals and will include a library employee knowledgeable about collection development in the subject area of the resource and others with expertise in the format of the items in question or collection development. The review committee will make a written recommendation within 14 working days, which will be sent to the Dean of Libraries, who will make the final decision. The person requesting an action will be notified in writing by the Dean of Libraries of the decision and any action to be taken; they will be notified within four weeks of submitting the completed form. The Dean’s Office within the Libraries will retain documentation on reconsideration requests.