In pursuit of the Mardigian Library's objective to provide access to high quality scholarly information, the librarians with collection development responsibilities will proactively seek to include information sources which allow for barrier-free access in addition to the traditional materials collected within the library.

Open access resources should meet the same criteria outlined in the general collection development policy of the Mardigian Library and should not be favored solely as a cost saving measure. They should also appear in the Library catalog alongside traditional materials, as well as be discoverable and accessible in a manner that appears seamless to the user.

In addition to the guidelines set forth for the general collection development policy (especially related to the lasting value of content, strength of present holdings, reputation or authoritativeness, and currency), care should be taken to ensure that the following evaluative criteria are met by selected open access materials.

• Quality/Accuracy - Indicators of quality can include peer reviews or librarian reviews of site and/or site content, the presence of an authoritative author or publisher, a professional look and feel, or evidence of continuing support of the resource such as archives; contact information is available for the author and publishing authority;
• Authoritativeness - Indicators of the legitimacy of the publishing domain is apparent (e.g. .edu, .gov, or .org are preferred to other types of domains), and the publishing agency is recognized as reputable and likely to persist;
• Objectivity/Purpose - the information is open to verification and validation, with minimal advertising or other nuisances that distract the user from the primary information in the resource;
• Currency/Timeliness - The publication date is clearly stated, and/or updated regularly as stated on the resource. The publication date is of the proper age to lend relevancy to the resource in contemporary research and educational needs in the subject area; and
• Functionality - any citations or links are correct and functional; no (or minimal) additional software beyond a standard web browser is needed to view the resource; the resource does not require any fees for access, and there is a preference that registration for access not be required; and if at all possible the resource offers options for text only, permits screen readers and allows changeable font and contrast to allow for maximum accessibility.

All materials collected within the scope of this policy shall be cataloged and made findable in a manner as similar to other types of materials collected by the Library as is possible and should be discoverable using the same methods by which other holdings of the Library can be found. This will allow these authoritative resources to be seamlessly integrated alongside the other resources which the Library has purchased. These open access materials shall be accessible from the discovery record, via the Internet, without fee, and with minimal or no barriers.

The collection of open access materials shall be regularly reviewed for accessibility and ongoing appropriateness in accordance with other weeding policies of the Library. The primary purpose of periodic review efforts is to ensure that URLs link to the expected resource. Secondary purposes of periodic review efforts include evaluation of resources for suitability and continued relevance to the curriculum of the university. Examples of types of materials to be considered for withdrawal include:

• superseded works;
• resources that have become obsolete;
• resources that cease to be available as open access; and
• resources that have vanished without successors, identifiable archives or other means to reestablish their viability as research resources.