About the Collections

The UT Libraries collection is all information that the Libraries makes available to its users, by whatever means. Librarians acquire, organize, manage, and preserve information resources for access and use by the University community. Some information resources are purchased and retained in the local collection, while others are obtained through licensed remote access from a commercial vendor, or borrowed from other libraries. Information resources include materials in a variety of formats.

The UT Libraries primary clientele are the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The development of the Libraries collections is based on the needs of this clientele for support in instruction, research and public service. The collection is developed to meet local needs and in cooperation with consortial partners. The local collection supports most curricular needs, but cannot meet all research needs. The ability to lease or borrow resources is an essential complement to the in-house collection.

Allocation of funds for the University Libraries' information resources balances support for curricular needs and research, taking into account the varied nature of academic disciplines. While a major portion of funding will continue to support printed books and journals, the electronic component of the collection is growing as the amount of scholarly information available in electronic form increases.