Collection Policy

Collection development policy

Libraries write down what they collect so every librarian selects the same way. This is that policy for a librocat library. Apply it before ingest; it is the reason a library stays useful as it grows.

What belongs (accession)

Accession a concept when it is durable, decision-bearing, and not re-derivable cheaply:

• A decision and why (Decision): trade-offs, the option chosen, what it rules out.
• How to do a recurring task (Runbook): deploy, migrate, rotate, debug the known flaky thing.
• A fact about the domain a newcomer or a fresh agent would otherwise ask (Note, Reference): names, limits, conventions, who owns what.
• The shape of the system a file cannot state (Concept): request path, data flow, module boundaries.
• Instructions agents must follow every session (Note tagged instructions): coding rules, review rules, tone.

Do not accession: whole files or transcripts (summarize and link), anything the code already states line for line, chat small talk, secrets or credentials, or a duplicate of an existing concept — search first, then update the existing one.

At what altitude

One concept, one idea. If a title needs "and", split. Front-load the answer; details below. Aim for a description a reader can act on without opening the body. Bodies over a few screens should be split and linked; Cloud refuses bodies over 64 KB.

Types, tags, status

• Types are a small stable set: Note, Decision, Runbook, Reference, Concept, Code File. Run status and reuse by_type.
• Tags are the controlled vocabulary. Run status (by_tag) and thesaurus before coining one; add a synonym as use_for on the preferred tag instead of a new tag. Writes map synonyms onto the preferred tag automatically.
• Status: draft while writing, stable when it holds, deprecated when it no longer does — set superseded_by when something replaced it, so readers are sent to the successor.

Weeding cadence

Once a month, or whenever status shows broken links: run weed_report and review each list — deprecated (delete when history no longer matters), broken links, orphans (link them or question them), blank records (fill or delete), and in Cloud "not retrieved in 90 days" (question them; retrieval is evidence of use). Weeding is routine, not an event. In Cloud, Libro, the library cat, does the first pass weekly and files supersede / retire / merge-tag proposals on the review shelf; the human approves or dismisses them on the Overview. Your job is the judgment calls Libro leaves open.

Finding aids

After a large accession, run finding_aid (Local: write: true) so every directory has an index.md a human can browse in the repo or the export.

For plugin authors

If your plugin saves to librocat, save what this policy accessions and nothing else, and tell the user what you saved (id and title). One ingest with type, title, one-sentence description, tags, body.