Visual materials can fulfill many purposes and enhance many disciplines. Their potential is illustrated by the way in which visual resource collections in colleges can be organised and extended to serve the college as a whole.

An expansion project to serve disciplines other than art history must begin with an assessment of the existing collection and of pockets of materials that exist elsewhere on campus. Thorough knowledge of the availability of materials, coupled with an understanding of what areas can be enhanced by the use of visual materials, can enable the visual resources librarian to devise plans and to budget for broader collection development. Ease of access should be the guiding principle in the integration of new materials in the collection. Promoting use can be accomplished by publicizing new holdings and by conducting information literacy presentations. Good record-keeping, and the response of teaching staff in the college, are the two most important factors in evaluating the success of a new program.