The educational mission of St. John’s College is to foster searching consideration of the most important human questions through reading and discussion of great books—works of philosophy, literature, history, science, mathematics, and music. Through the study of these works, the college seeks to free human beings from prejudice and unexamined opinion and to help students make thoughtful choices in public and private life. Meem Library exists to provide materials, facilities, equipment, and services in support of this mission. The primary patrons of Meem Library are the students and faculty of St. John’s College, and its collection development priorities focus on meeting the needs of this community.

• The library collects English translations of all Program works. Since the college does not generally endorse specific translations of Program readings, the library offers a variety of translations. When particular translations are recommended or required by tutors, the library maintains a proportionally higher number of those volumes in its collection.
• The library collects critical editions of the works of Program authors, in both original language editions and in translation, with an emphasis on the author’s full corpus.
• The library collects secondary sources related to Program works and authors.
• Since the number of Program works and authors we read is limited by the time constraints of our degree programs, many other authors of note do not appear on our regular reading lists. Works by these other authors are, however, often read in preceptorials, Summer Academy, Summer Classics, faculty study groups, and student-organized guerilla seminars, and the library also collects these as comprehensively as possible.
• The library collects language learning materials, with a particular focus on the six languages (Classical Greek, French, Sanskrit, Classical Chinese, Hebrew, and Arabic) currently studied in the tutorials of our academic programs.
• The library collects all class manuals used in our tutorials and laboratories, with a copy of each current manual kept on reserve at the Circulation Desk.
• The library collects music CDs and DVDs that directly support our various academic programs.
• The library collects newspapers and periodicals for the purposes of news and current events awareness, for keeping abreast of scholarly writing that has direct relevance to the program, and for providing scholarly and professional literature for students interested in pursuing graduate education.
• The library collects audio recordings and transcripts of college lectures when available.
• The library collects copies of books published by tutors of both the Santa Fe and Annapolis campuses for its Faculty Collection. These books are not intended for general circulation but can be accessed for in-library use with the assistance of a librarian. A duplicate copy of these books is often also available in the library’s circulating collection.
• The library collects current editions of standard reference resources such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, etc. based on their support of the curriculum and independent study.
• The library provides access to online scholarly databases to support the reference and research needs of the college community. The particular databases provided are determined by use, interest, and cost.
• After its primary commitments to the collection categories and priorities above have been satisfied, the library collects books in support of the college’s various extracurricular programs and the college community’s reading interests (e.g., art, Southwestern history and literature, local trail and field guides, etc.).
• The library welcomes recommendations from the college’s faculty and students. Any recommendations will be evaluated according to the guidelines of this Collection Development Policy and fulfilled at the discretion of the Library Director, based on the availability of funds and shelf space.
• Since Meem Library has a specialized collection designed to support the academic pursuits of the St. John’s College community, we also encourage patrons to utilize the collections of other libraries (e.g., the Santa Fe Public Library) when seeking materials that go beyond the scope of our own collection. Faculty and students may request a Library Passport Certificate giving them borrowing privileges with the New Mexico Consortium of Academic Libraries, which includes the University of New Mexico. Current students, faculty, and staff may also request items we do not have in our collection from other institutions through the library’s Interlibrary Loan service, which is provided at no charge.
• Donated materials are evaluated according to the same guidelines used when purchasing materials.