Collection Guidelines for Disposal of Library Items | National Tsing Hua University Library

The scope of library collection elimination includes books, journals, and audio-visual materials. Collections with special value are excluded.
Elimination principles
- General Rule
  - Missing pages, damaged, or unable to be used
  - Has too many copies
  - Content outdated or has no reference or usage value.
  - Has an updated version or electronic copy that includes the original version.
  - Library materials that have been reported as lost by borrowers and for which compensation procedures have been completed.
  - Items in the library that have been inventoried and searched for but remain unaccounted for and their whereabouts have been unknown for a period of 1 year.
  - Library materials that are in violation of copyright laws.
- Journals
  - Leisure journals or non-academic journals
  - Published by the government or school and can be obtained by other means.
  - Can be obtained by bought-out e-journals or replaced by full text databases.
  - The compilation covers the full single journal.
- Audio-visual materials
  - Material is unable to be played by any equipment in the library.
  - Material is an annex of a scrapped book.
The disposal of the library collection that has been phased out in this library follows the following procedures.
- Notation: The collection management unit reviews and confirms that the collection to be disposed of complies with the elimination principles outlined in this policy and makes a notation in the system.
- Compilation: The circulation department regularly exports a report of the collections earmarked for disposal from the system and prepares a list of the disposed items. The list is then submitted for review by the cataloging unit and the respective collection management units.
- Approval: The circulation department submits an application for the disposal of the library collection, which is signed by the archival and accounting departments, and presented to the principal for approval. If necessary, approval is also sought from the Ministry of Education and the auditing agencies, in accordance with the "Graded Approval Amounts for Scrap Materials of Various Government Agencies" provided by the Executive Yuan.
- Account Cancellation: The circulation department submits a book and property depreciation report to the archival and accounting departments to carry out the necessary procedures for depreciation. The library system records of the disposed items are then canceled.
- Announcement and Donation: Depending on the condition of the waste materials, donation procedures are carried out.
- Destruction of Defective Items: Waste materials resulting from the disposal process are handled through transportation and destruction operations.
- The disposal of library collections is typically carried out once a year, but may be adjusted based on actual needs.
According to the 14th regulation of the Library Law, the NTHU Library may not eliminate more than 3% of the Library's collection each year.