Skip to Main Content

SDSU Library Collections

About SDSU Library Collections 

Contact us with questions about library collections at librarycollections@sdsu.edu

Request forms

About SDSU Library Collections

The Library supports SDSU students' general, cultural, and intellectual formation through its collections. San Diego State University Library collections provide the information resources necessary to carry out the University's teaching programs and to support the research of its students and faculty. The Library adheres to these principles expressed in the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights. "Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval."

SDSU Librarians select collection materials. Assigned to subject areas, the librarians coordinate collection development by spending and monitoring book funds assigned to each curricular subject and assigned to Special Collections. Committed to prompt acquisition of current materials, the Library also acquires retrospective materials where curriculum-based usage justifies the purchase. The University appropriates library collections funding. The library also relies on library endowments, gifts, and grants.

Any member of the academic community, including faculty, students, staff, and the Friends of the Library, may recommend collection resource purchases.

The library's acquisitions team in the Content Organization and Management (COM) unit processes aquisitions orders for all library collections materials across formats. Format selection depends on cost, space, and standards for that format's preservation and accessibility.