LibAnswers: Library Policies

Summary

The Collection Development Policy of Noel Memorial Library governs the acquisition, condition, placement, and retention of materials by guiding collection development, management, preservation, and deselection decisions in order to enhance and simplify access to print and electronic resources which support and enrich our users’ teaching, learning, and research.

The purpose of Noel Memorial Library’s main collection is to support current core studies, interdisciplinary work, student success, and subject-specific research needs of the LSUS community, with an emphasis on serving the research and educational needs of students and faculty. Library resources serve these patrons through access to excellent scholarly material; access is made possible through traditional purchasing as well as subscriptions to electronic resources, open access materials, and other appropriate means.

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Scope and Funding     Goals      Responsibility for Selection     Selection Guidelines     Collection Maintenance     Gifts

Scope and Funding

This collection development policy applies to the main collection of the Noel Memorial Library. Special collections (including Government Documents, University Archives, and NWLA Archives) are governed by their own collection development policies.

This policy is intended to guide the library in supporting the University’s overall goals of delivering high quality education, enhancing student success, and expanding knowledge through research, scholarship, and creative activity.

Goals

NML’s collection development policy aims to assist the library in

• meeting current users’ needs (including education of students and research needs of faculty and staff)
• maintaining a sustainable, holistic, and flexible collection plan within allocated budgets.

NML demonstrates a strong commitment to evidence-based decision-making by continually assessing the collections and their impact on learning and research.

Collection Development goals include:

• To provide an excellent user experience with an emphasis on access and discoverability.
• To facilitate big-picture design of the collections with input from all stakeholders.
• To apply new technologies to the wise stewardship of funding and materials.

Responsibility for Selection

The library is responsible for developing its collection through a combination of selection practices, including approval plans, individual title selection, and requests from the LSUS community. Ultimate responsibility for the development and maintenance of the main collection rests with the Dean of the Library and the Director of Resource Management and Discovery. However, delegated responsibility for coordinating the collection as a whole lies with the librarians, who represent the needs of the students and faculty.

Selection processes are cooperative. Teaching faculty members play a pivotal role in recommending relevant and diverse materials for the library collection to support the curriculum and research mission of the University. Subject librarians curate and select materials based on their knowledge of the collection and curriculum, expertise with collection tools and resources, and understanding of the information and resource needs of the library’s community of users. Additionally, resource management and collection development librarians have the responsibility of assessing and analyzing the collection as a whole to maintain a balanced, relevant, and accessible collection.

Students are also encouraged to recommend resources to support their study and research.

Selection Guidelines

The library will provide access to materials in all appropriate formats and subject areas, and provide appropriate means of discovery. Collection development decisions shall be based on objective and subjective evidence via continuous assessment of the collection in regards to relevant user needs, including research and curriculum. Exceptions to the stated guidelines will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis as necessary.

A. General Selection Guidelines

The following guidelines apply to physical and electronic resources.

• Support for curriculum and research: Materials should relate to the teaching and research of current LSUS students and faculty. The Libraries’ materials budget will support access to and/or discovery of materials available for use by students.
• Lasting value: Longevity of the content, including but not limited to:
  • Interdisciplinary resources that can be used by many researchers.
  • Anticipated value to the current patron population based on predicted need, demonstrated by evidence such as feedback from trials.
  • Quality of scholarship (the information in the resource logically pertains to its apparent subject; the information is reliably accurate, demonstrably factual and reasonably comprehensive or complete within the context of the subject; and the citations or links within the resource are valid).
  • Uniqueness of content or treatment. Interdisciplinary resources that can be used by many researchers are favored, although more specific treatments of subjects are not necessarily excluded.
  • Appropriateness of the level of treatment (depth, breadth, etc.). Full-text access is preferred to indexing services.
  • Objectivity (the information presented is open to verification and validation within the context of the subject).
  • Currency of information and/or frequency of updating, as assessed within the context of the subject. The library focuses on adding recently published materials to the collection that are authoritative and/or ground-breaking in their fields; however, librarians are able to make retrospective selections in order to fill gaps or respond to requests with consideration according to selection guidelines
  • Quality of the physical condition of the product, if applicable.
• Organization: how the information is organized and retrieved; quality of indexing or MARC records.
• Usability and accessibility: Noel Memorial Library avoids purchasing materials for individuals and when appropriate and possible, avoids single-user access. Noel Memorial Library will purchase materials that meet accessibility standards for users. Noel Memorial Library also prioritizes selecting materials in English, although materials in other languages may be selected when appropriate.
• Cost and terms: When purchasing, Noel Memorial Library will consider overall cost, purchasing method, predicted cost-per-use.
• Strength of present holdings in subject areas or similar subject areas.
• Authoritativeness of the author and/or reliability of the publisher, compiler, producer, vendor, etc.
• Format: The Library seeks to purchase resources in the format that will be the most useful to our faculty and students. This decision will be based on availability and projected use.
• Consortial holdings: Holdings consortia with which Noel Memorial Library has cooperative agreements must be considered when making selection decisions. Consortial or system agreements may override local requests for ownership. Exceptions may be made in the case of proven heavy use (i.e. required course readings).
• Multiple copies: Noel Memorial Library does not generally purchase duplicates; however, exceptions can be made by the Dean. Library holdings should be referenced before purchasing to avoid duplication in the collection. Purchasing an electronic version is preferred to purchasing multiple print copies.
• Consumable materials: Noel Memorial Library will not purchase materials intended to be consumed (e. g. workbooks, tests, software, etc.).
• Textbooks: Noel Memorial Library does not actively purchase or maintain a print collection of currently adopted textbooks for coursework. Faculty may provide print materials to be placed on reserve for students.
  • The library may, however, purchase e-books that have been adopted as textbooks when appropriate and affordable. These purchases shall be governed by the libraries Policy for e-Textbook Purchases.
• Student Success: The library may also collect materials which support students’ development in academic skills, interpersonal relationships, resiliency and other areas which lead to student success.

B. Electronic Resources

Electronic resources shall be selected based on the following characteristics in addition to those stated above:

• Remote access availability and number of simultaneous users allowed. Resources restricted to a specific location will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• Usability: Standards for the proper functionality of the resource include but are not limited to:
  • Absence of additional non-standard or proprietary technology,
  • Absence of additional fees or registrations,
  • Absence of barriers for accessing text directly in order to change displays for alternative methods of viewing.
  • Accessibility for patrons with disabilities;
  • Ease of use for novices;
  • Device compatibility;
  • Adequate help resources;
  • Adequate output options (printing, downloading);
  • Adheres to established standards for readability and usability;
  • Availability of digital archiving rights; and
  • Ease of archiving, replacing, or preserving.
• Network hardware and/or software compatibility.
• Quality and usability of retrieval/search engine.
• Availability and quality of vendor support.
• Compliance with minimum standards for licensing and contract terms. Licensing considerations include, but are not limited to:
  • State, system, and university contract requirements;
  • InterLibrary Loan rights;
  • Right to include in course packs;
  • Patron privacy protections; and
  • Restrictions on other activities such as resource sharing and data mining.
• Treatment of graphics, formulae, and other nonstandard characters.
• Availability of standardized usage statistics.
• Other technical manageability concerns.

C. Continuing Resources

Serials selections and purchases will be guided by the following guidelines as well as those stated above:

• Electronic access is preferred to print access.
• Current serial subscriptions are reviewed annually by the Head of Resource Management and Discovery and subject librarians for continued appropriateness to the University’s and the Libraries’ mission;
• to ensure the most efficient use of library funding; and
• to meet consortial or system agreements.

Collection Maintenance

A. Deselection

Any weeding from the collections will be the joint responsibility of subject librarians in consultation with appropriate teaching faculty, library departments and/or unique collections. Types of materials that might be considered for deselection include, but are not limited to, media in obsolete formats, superseded materials, surplus materials, irrelevant materials, or deteriorated materials. Continuing resources (journals) may be deselected when digital archives are purchased or if less than 10 volumes are held by the library.

B. Placement of Materials

The default placement of materials should be the location which allows the most access by students and faculty. Materials which will be heavily used by a large number of patrons may be placed on reserve (this may include required or recommended readings for courses).

Materials may be considered for placement in a secured location or reserves for the purposes of preservation or security. The Director of Resource Management and Discovery is responsible for making placement decisions for these purposes. The Head of Resource Management and Discovery will consult with heads of unique collections before placing items in those collections.

C. Retention

The Library focuses on retaining materials that enhance the curriculum and meet the research needs of the University community. We are committed to securing long-term, perpetual access to the print and electronic content on which our patrons depend.

The library will prioritize for retention the following materials:

• Regional materials covering Northwest Louisiana, the Ark-La-Tex region, and the state of Louisiana
• Books written by LSUS Faculty Members
• Classics, core materials, and works of historic value in their diciplines (unless a more accessible format is made available)
• Critical editions of literary classics
• Primary Sources

Gifts

Noel Memorial Library receives gifts on behalf of the Friends of the Noel Memorial Library. The processing of gifts and the determination of their inclusion in the collection is governed by the Friends’ donation policy and this collection development policy.