Collaborative Collection Management in a High-density Storage Facility

This case study reviews selected collection management issues encountered in a collaboratively managed high-density remote storage facility. In 2000, four Colorado institutions—the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Colorado at Denver, the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and the University of Denver—opened a shared high-density storage facility. This mix of public and private institutions agreed to collaborative collection management, including a nonduplication policy and the granting of direct access to stored materials for nonparticipating institutions through a statewide union catalog. Ownership of stored materials, selection of items for storage, operational management, and online and physical access proved to be challenging policy issues requiring committees, patience, and compromise to resolve.