Scoping and selection – General criteria

Selection or Exclusion Policies?

Each national bibliographic agency is responsible for developing its own selection criteria. The information in the sections below provide examples from which NBAs might frame selection policies and present a positive approach to the selection process. However, when establishing selection policies, it can also be instructive to consider what not to exclude.

It should be borne in mind that a national bibliographic agency may have decided to archive resources, but may determine not to list them in the national bibliography (see for example section 3.4.1, last paragraph).

An effective NBA collects all relevant resource formats that will enable it to provide its users with comprehensive content that reflect its selection criteria. These may include:

• Geographical or Cultural Selection Criteria
• Financial Criteria
• Importance of Content
• Issues Specific to Digital Resources
• Exclusion Criteria for Digital Resources
• Examples of National Selection Polices