Library Collections and Displays

The collections of Holy Family University Library and LRC are developed primarily to support Holy Family's curriculum, and secondarily to support the broader information needs of our students, faculty, and staff. To honor the principle of academic freedom, and to support the needs of researchers, we strive to collect materials from a variety of viewpoints on controversial subjects.

It is true that Holy Family's administration, individual instructors, and/or the Catholic Church may hold definite positions on many issues, and it is important to respect those positions. At the same time, it is one of the primary functions of a library to provide research materials on all sides of an issue so that students may compare arguments and evidence. For similar reasons library displays of books, DVDs, and so forth will usually offer multiple viewpoints on a theme.

We always strive to collect titles by authors who are reputable and support their facts with solid research. However, the presence of a particular title on the shelves or in a display does not imply the University's endorsement of the author's opinions.

If you would like to recommend a title for addition to the library's collection, please use our online form to "Suggest Items for the Library".

Making Donations
We are glad to accept used books and other materials on the understanding that their disposition is determined by the Library and LRC staff. Current materials that are in good condition, meet our collection parameters, and are not already duplicated in our collections, will be added to the Library or LRC. Other materials may be re-gifted to other libraries, sold in the Library's used book sale, or de-accessioned in other ways. Because of the volume of donations, it is impossible for us to hold and return books to donors if titles are not added to our collection. Also, we do not issue receipts for tax purposes or assign a dollar amount to the books' value, but we do send an acknowledgement with a count of items donated.

Donations may be dropped off anytime during our open hours at the Circulation Desk of the Northeast Philadelphia campus Library or at the Newtown LRC. Please leave a contact name, address, and phone number with your donations. We are unable to pick up donated items.