Library Policies

Swisher Library's vision is to inspire and facilitate academic excellence and a  life-long dedication to learning through innovative programs, services, information resources, tools, and partnerships that prepare our students for service and success in a rapidly changing world .

The Library seeks to acquire resources that support the university’s teaching, research, and public missions, in alignment with the Library’s collection development philosophy and vision.

In accordance with the modern needs of Jacksonville University’s students, staff, and faculty, and in alignment with accessibility tools currently available, the Swisher Library instituted an e-preferred policy in 2020. To learn more about this policy, please contact library@ju.edu. 

Please Note: Due to an agreement between the Barnes & Noble bookstore on our campus and Jacksonville University, the Swisher Library is not able to purchase currently assigned course textbooks in any format to add to the Library’s collection(s) at this time. For more information, please contact the Library at library@ju.edu. 

The eBook marketplace continues to evolve and present an increasing number of publishers, platforms, pricing, content, and access models. The following principles and criteria guide the library's acquisition of eBooks:

Access and discoverability

• eBooks provide simultaneous access by an appropriate number of simultaneous users.
• eBooks are accessible to authorized Library users, walk-in users, and via scholarly and resource sharing.
• eBooks are indexed in major databases and discovery tools.
• Vendors can provide the Library with quality catalog records in a timely and accurate manner to facilitate discoverability of content.

Function and accessibility

• eBook platforms support screen-readers and other assistive technologies so that the Library can comply with legal standards university policies, and internal efforts to provide adequate access to as many of our patrons as possible.
• Content is accessible across a variety of devices (mobile-responsive).
• Users can navigate cleanly among chapters and easily move between endnotes/footnotes/bibliography and main text.
• eBook platform supports IP authentication (including the right to provide remote access to authorized users) or single sign-on via CAS authentication.

Ownership and cost

• eBooks should be purchased in perpetuity and not leased, if possible.  
• Providers allow for perpetual access rights including the ability to locally host content.
• eBooks costs are appropriate in accordance with the Library’s budget.
• Providers can provide usage statistics on a regular basis. 

Streaming Video 

• The Library subscribes to a collection of streaming videos through Kanopy. If a member of JU faculty or staff wish to individually license streaming videos outside of this subscription, the Library will not assume the costs of those licenses.
• Licenses for streaming videos usually cost between $100.00 to $300.00 per year, per video. The Library will facilitate the ordering, access, and statistic gathering for any videos that faculty members or departments wish to fund licenses for in Kanopy or another academic library streaming video vendor (if applicable and available).
• Screening films and videos outside of classroom settings requires consideration of the copyright owner's Public Performance Rights (PPR). Showing films in meetings, club or group events, training exercises, etc. requires you to have a Public Performance Rights license. The Swisher Library does not obtain individual PPR licenses for films.
• For more information, please visit the Swisher Library’s Streaming Media Guide.

Faculty-Authored Books and eBooks

• The Swisher Library processes submitted Acquisition Suggestion Forms for faculty-authored materials in the same manner as all other suggestions. These items are evaluated for collection suitability, availability, and format as described on this webpage. If purchased by the Library, all faculty-authored materials are subject to the same circulation policies and collection development decisions as any other materials in our collections.

Requests: 

• Requests from patrons for specifically physical or print materials (DVDs, physical monographs, etc.) will be taken into consideration by the Swisher Library. The ultimate decision on additions and on formats rests with the Swisher Library in alignment with our Acquisitions Policy and selection criteria, as stated above.

Availability:

• An appropriate institutional license is unavailable for an electronic format.
• There is a significant delay between the print publication and the electronic edition.

Access model:

• eBook is only available to lease, i.e. no perpetual access or with simultaneous user limits that are deemed inappropriate or inconvenient for expected patron use. 

Function:

• The platform does not meet library function and accessibility as noted above. 

Content: 

• The print has unique images, graphs, charts, or other important visual content unavailable or significantly different in e-form.
• The Library has the consortia responsibility to acquire a print copy. 
• Jacksonville University faculty-authored books are not subject to this policy.

This information was last reviewed and updated 5/15/2023.