Collection Group Designation Definitions (CGD) and Policies

Collection Group Designation Definitions (CGD) and Policies

In all cases, ownership of the item remains with the accessioning institution.

  • Shared Collections: 
    • Borrowing: Available for borrowing by all Partners. 
    • Use: Restrictions on use may apply (e.g., the item is requestable/borrowable as In-Library-Use-Only but cannot circulate). 
    • Retention: Shared Collections are subject to an 'in perpetuity' retention commitment and all other policies agreed to by the Partners for this category of collection designation. The owning library may withdraw the item from ReCAP or convert from Shared to another CGD only with permission from all other Partners and with an attempt to replace their Shared copy with another one (either from their own collection or from another Partner's). 
    • CGD Assignment Process: Generally, the Shared CGD is applied when an item is the first such copy to be accessioned into ReCAP not already in the Shared or Committed Collections (the matching algorithm does not check for existing ReCAP copies in Open, Uncommittable, or Private Collections). Generally, there should be no more than one copy assigned a Shared CGD.    
  • Open Collections: 
    • Borrowing: Available for borrowing by all Partners. 
    • Use: Restrictions on use may apply (e.g., the item is requestable/borrowable as In-Library-Use-Only but cannot circulate). 
    • Retention: Open Collections are not subject to a retention commitment or other Shared Collection policies; the owning institution may withdraw the item at any time without notice to other Partners. 
    • CGD Assignment Process: Items designated as Open are usually identified by the owning Partner as eligible for a Shared CGD and retention commitment upon their accession into ReCAP, but because the matching algorithm identified an existing duplicate already with a Shared or Committed designation the successive copy was assigned a CGD of Open. Open items may be converted to Shared if the original Shared copy becomes inaccessible (e.g., withdrawn from the ReCAP facility; Shared copy is being flipped to another CGD; damaged/lost/missing and no other replaceable copy can be found by the owning institution).
  • Committed Collections: 
    • Borrowing: Available for borrowing by all Partners. 
    • Use: Restrictions on use may apply (e.g., the item is requestable/borrowable as In-Library-Use-Only but cannot circulate). 
    • Retention: Committed Collections are subject to an 'in perpetuity' retention commitment and all other policies agreed to by the Partners for this category of collection designation. The owning library may withdraw the item from ReCAP or convert from Committed to another CGD only with permission from all other Partners and with an attempt to replace their Committed copy with another one (either from their own collection or from another Partner's).
    • CGD Assignment Process: Items designated as Committed are those that have been acquired through or identified in cooperative collection agreements. The owning institution assigns the Committed CGD upon accession. Generally, there should be no more than one copy assigned a Committed CGD.
  • Uncommittable Collections: 
    • Borrowing: Available for borrowing by all Partners. 
    • Use: Restrictions on use may apply (e.g., the item is requestable/borrowable as In-Library-Use-Only but cannot circulate). 
    • Retention: Uncommittable Collections are not subject to nor will they be eligible for a retention commitment or other Shared Collection policies; the owning institution may withdraw the item at any time without notice to other Partners. 
    • CGD Assignment Process: Items designated as Uncommittable are generally those that the Partner is unable to place a retention commitment on (e.g., the item is available for borrowing/use but is on deposit, not "owned" by the Partner). The holding institution assigns the Uncommittable CGD upon accession. The matching algorithm does not search against the Uncommittable Collection.
  • Private Collections: 
    • Borrowing and Use: Available for recall/use by the owning institution only; not available for borrowing by other Partners. 
    • Retention: The owning institution may withdraw the item at any time without notice to other Partners.
    • CGD Assignment: The owning institution assigns the Private CGD upon accession. The matching algorithm does not search against the Private Collection.

One of three categories of materials held at the ReCAP facility consists of materials that the owning libraries commit to manage according to agreed shared collection policies including retention in perpetuity. These shared materials are general collections, consisting primarily of print monographs and serials. The other two categories of materials held in the ReCAP facility are the open collection (general collection materials eligible to be used by all Partners but not subject to retention requirements, such as duplicates) and the private collection (special collection materials with access restricted to the owning Partner). Each Partner is responsible for the costs associated with maintaining its Open and Private collections.

 Key policy considerations for the Shared Collection include:

  • Ownership: Items in the ReCAP Shared Collection will remain the property of the original owning Partner.
  • Retention: The owning Partner agrees to maintain collection materials for the duration of the ReCAP Consortium Agreement (i.e., indefinitely) and seamlessly accessible to the other participants of the program.
  • Duplication: Duplicate items will not be added to the Shared Collection, but may be added to a ReCAP Partner’s open or private collections.

Disclosure: ReCAP libraries will report Shared Collection holdings (including retention commitments) to OCLC and other registries and will monitor and adopt, as appropriate, emerging national standards and guidelines related to shared print collections.