Think Global, Act Global: Collection Development in STEM Across an International Academic Institution

In an age where more and more universities are expanding their campuses to other countries, libraries must attempt to deliver a consistent experience in their services, policies, and access to information resources. Within New York University’s Division of Libraries, collection development and electronic resources librarians along with subject specialists across the STEM disciplines regularly meet to procure information resources for the benefit of all of their respective scholarly communities. The librarians and specialists liaise with the schools of engineering, mathematics, medicine, nursing, and the arts & sciences across campuses in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai. Although this approach is similar to how state university systems act in consortia to share licenses, the librarians in NYU’s virtual science consortium accomplish this on a global scale—supporting the institution’s growing scholarly communities and spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration. This commentary reflects on the challenges and successes that have accompanied building a global library collection spanning over a dozen global sites and two portal campuses. It will address familiar issues around rising publishing costs, resource sharing/licensing, and the weeding/vetting of electronic resources from a global perspective. Finally, the members of the consortium will share their forecasts for the future of collection development and libraries in globalized higher education.