Collection Development Policy

Monographs, Serials, and Electronic Collections

I. INTRODUCTION

This policy is intended to be a statement of the guidelines used for acquiring and maintaining materials for the library collection at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. These guidelines are based upon the ALA | Guidelines for University Library Services to Undergraduate Students. This document is intended to provide a flexible framework within which library staff can create collection development decisions and procedures. Rising costs of library materials, increases in publishing output, and an increase in demand for information in a wide variety of formats necessitate careful materials selection.

Collection development is a process which includes the selection of materials and the systematic, ongoing collection review process. All acquisitions, whether purchased or donated, will be considered in terms of the standards stated in this document. In cooperation with library faculty liaisons and university teaching faculty, the Acquisitions Librarian is responsible for developing the monographs collection; coordinating the collection review process; and acquiring library materials, excluding serials and electronic collections. The Serials & Electronic Collections Librarian is responsible for developing and maintaining the serials and electronic collections. University faculty are expected to take an active role in selecting library materials. However, no member of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University community is excluded from participating in the collection development process. Students, staff and administrators are also encouraged to make recommendations for materials to be purchased, using the Suggest a Book Form.

 

II. OBJECTIVE

The primary objective of collection development activities at Southwestern Oklahoma State University is to develop and maintain library collections that supports the university’s educational and research mission. To the extent that the budget permits, the Library will select materials that meet the cultural, intellectual and recreational needs of the university. As a supporter of the statements in the ALA | Library Bill of Rights, the Library strives to provide information that represents the diverse and varied background of the University community. In no case will the library refuse purchase of materials on the basis of the editor/author/publisher’s race, nationality, political, or religious views, nor will any titles of factual authority be prohibited or removed from the library shelves because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

III. UNIVERSITY LIBRARY COMMITTEE

To ensure that selected materials do meet the educational mission of SWOSU, the Library Committee, including one representative from each academic department or school, serves in an advisory capacity to the Library. Communication from the Library regarding ordering, as well as reviewing the collection, is channeled to the representative. Requests for library materials from individual faculty members are submitted to the department’s representative who then submits them to the Library.

 

IV. LIAISONS

To enhance communication between the academic departments and the Library and to facilitate collection development, a liaison program was established. Each librarian serves as a liaison to more than one academic department. Liaisons work closely with departments in matters of selecting new library materials and in reviewing the Library’s
collection.

 

V. FUND ALLOCATIONS

To fulfill the Library’s collection development objective, each academic department is allocated a specific portion of the Library’s book budget to be used by that department for the purchase of monographic materials. The determination of allocations is based upon a formula consisting of seven variables: number of faculty, number of majors, number of student credit hours, matriculation rate, average costs of books, circulation, spending history, and the department’s reliance upon books. Once funds are allocated, the library representative is responsible for dividing allocations within individual departments.

Some funds from the Library’s book budget will be used by librarians for purchasing reference materials, developing collections in new programs, and expanding existing subject collections to meet curricular changes.

 

VI. GENERAL SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS

Although the Library attempts to provide materials to support the basic research needs of faculty, staff and students, it is impossible to meet every research need with library holdings. The use of InterLibrary Loan is encouraged to supplement library resources for research needs that are not met by library holdings.

All material types will be purchased in the English language, unless foreign language titles are needed for language instruction and teaching or for reference purposes.

Missing library materials are not automatically replaced. Potential replacements are evaluated using the same criteria in selection as regularly purchased items.

 


VII. MATERIAL TYPES

Monographs

Selection Considerations:
  • Although the Library purchases primarily books and DVDs, other formats may be purchased if they will enhance the teaching and learning experience at Southwestern.
  • Although the Library strongly encourages and seriously considers requests from faculty, it has the right to refuse the purchase of items that exist only in an unusable format, will create shelving problems, or have licensing issues that cannot be resolved.
  • The Library does not purchase music scores, audio books, music CDs, or required and/or supplementary textbooks.
  • To conserve space and monetary resources, only one copy of a title is purchased unless heavy and continued use is demonstrated. An electronic copy of an item is considered a duplicate; therefore, the Library will not purchase the title in paper format if the electronic format is already owned, unless the requester can justify the usage of both the electronic and paper formats.
  • The purchase of in-print publications will have priority over out-of-print publications. The Library will always try to find an in-print item, but if an appropriate one cannot be located, an out-of-print one will be purchased, if available.
  • The most current edition of a requested title will be purchased unless faculty have requested otherwise.
  • The Library will purchase all items in a hardback binding if available. If a hardback binding is unavailable, the best paperback binding will be selected.
Other Selection Considerations for Monographs:
  • Cost
  • How the item will be used
  • Length of time it will be useful
  • Who will use it
  • How much it will be used

Reviews:

It is always preferable to order materials which have been favorably reviewed by authoritative sources, such as Choice, Booklist, and Library Journal. If reviews cannot be located for requested items, the Library will still order them if enough bibliographic information can be gained. Except in rare cases in which ordering information does not exist, an attempt will always be made to purchase requested items.

 

Standing Orders:
The Library maintains standing orders for monographic materials, such as sets in progress and annual publications. Multivolume sets may be purchased through the Serials and Electronic Collections Department if they are available through the serials vendor. The Collections Team reviews standing orders on a periodic basis, and standing orders remain in effect until cancelled upon request by the library liaison or the faculty library representative, the publication is cancelled, or the set is completed.

 

Periodicals

Selection Considerations:

  • Although periodical requests may be submitted at any time, the Serials and Electronic Collections Librarian, in cooperation with library faculty liaisons, selects periodicals only at specified time(s)during the year, usually toward the end of the fiscal year.
  • All departments and library faculty liaisons are notified concerning the order status of their periodical requests.
  • Retrospective purchasing is usually restricted to departments where the material is needed for department-wide research or program accreditation.
Other Selection Considerations for Periodicals:
  • Cost of subscription, as well as the rate of historical subscription price increase.
  • Title should meet definite curricular needs, especially in areas of known or anticipated program growth.
  • Availability of favorable reviews from librarian/faculty evaluations.

  • Indexing in both traditional and electronic indexes and abstracts. Non-indexed titles will be selected only if they are essential to support a program or research need that cannot be filled by an indexed title.

Retention Considerations:

When the decision is made to retain a title, the decision is also made whether to archive it in print, microform, electronic format, or not at all. When deciding in which format to archive a specific title, the following questions need to be considered:

  1. Will researchers need access to color images, graphs, and /or illustrations?
  2. For electronic subscriptions, is SWOSU guaranteed perpetual access to material even after the subscription is ceased or the title is sold to a new publisher?
  3. If preserving the material in print, will it be bound? If so, how often?
  4. If preserving the material in microform, how long will the paper format be retained?

Cancellations:
Upon regular evaluation, Serial and Electronic Collections subscriptions may be cancelled. If cancellations are under consideration, the librarians evaluating the material will look at the following variables:

  1. Total annual subscription cost
  2. Usage by researchers
  3. Cost per use
  4. Historical percentage price increase
  5. OKULS Holdings
  6. Academic department’s accreditation status
  7. Storage availability and online accessibility

Periodical Formats
Journals
Paper journal subscriptions have historically been the standard at the Al Harris Library. If the material is used heavily in undergraduate research, the most recent 5 years of the publication should be kept. The Library acquires journals in microform primarily to conserve space or when paper format or an affordable electronic format is unavailable.

 

Newspapers
The Library subscribes to national, regional, local, and Oklahoma newspapers in accordance with the general selection criteria. Some newspapers may be discarded after a specified period of time. The Library subscribes to microform reproductions of most of the national and regional newspapers that are selected in print. Back issues of many newspapers are provided in microform.

 

Format Selection Guidelines


Print or Microform
The Library may subscribe to a microform reproduction of a periodical if usage or preservation considerations warrant it. Usually, the Library does not subscribe to both the print and microform formats.


Print or Electronic
If a periodical is available as a full-content electronic journal via the Internet at a cost comparable to a print subscription, and the publisher has licensing which supports the long-range research goals of SWOSU researchers, then the Library may subscribe to the electronic format instead of the print version.

When the electronic format of a periodical for which the Library carries a print subscription is available free to print subscribers, the Library will make the electronic version available only if access to the electronic version is controlled by IP address recognition, not a username and password system.


Electronic Formats

The Library acquires electronic resources which support the educational needs and research needs of the university community. Such resources may include general or specialized monographs, reference works, indexes and abstracts, full-text periodicals, or informational databases in physical formats or as remotely accessed resources. Electronic formats of monographs or reference works may be purchased if costs and predicted use make it more feasible to do so. However, the Library may not purchase some electronic formats for reasons such as prohibitive costs, the inability to provide usage statistics, system requirements, and licensing requirements. The Library does not collect general purpose application software which is usually available in computer labs or required for a course. Licensing agreements should be read and understood prior to the payment, processing and cataloging of electronic materials.

Electronic Format Options and Guidelines:
  • CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, Computer Diskettes
  • The Library must provide the required hardware on which to run CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs and computer diskettes.
  • Licensing must allow the material to be circulated to the public or to be available on a public stand-alone computer. The Library has tried to move away from stand-alone and LAN databases, unless the information is unavailable in any other format.
  • Licensed Commercial Web-Based Resources
  • The Library must provide the required hardware on which to view the web-based resources.
  • Internet resources are the preferred method of access for electronic materials. They will be purchased via continuing library subscriptions, one-time purchases, or through membership to AMIGOS, OCALD or other consortia.
Other Web Sites or Electronic Text Resources
  • Other websites and electronic material are added to the catalog as it relates to the research needs of the SWOSU community.
  • Linking and retention of records are to follow the guidelines established by the Cataloging Team.
General Selection and Evaluation Guidelines for Electronic Resources:

The Library recognizes the many advantages of web-based resources and strives to identify web-based resources that may replace or enhance materials currently available only within the library building.The following variables must be considered prior to acquiring an electronic resource:

  • Availability: All SWOSU libraries must have the technology necessary to access the electronic resource, although either library may decide not to make a particular electronic resource available. The resource should be compatible with a wide variety of platforms. Preferred access methods are listed by priority:
    1. Web based with remote access
    2. Stand-alone (mounted on a local hard-drive or installed on demand)
  • Online Delivery: The electronic resource must be accessible to users at one of the SWOSU libraries. If the resource is not selected for use at the Al Harris Library, the Serials and Electronic Collections Librarian, as well as the Director of Libraries, need access for regular evaluations and statistical gathering. Web-based resources should have identical functionality when accessed with browsers that are standards compliant.
  • Licensing/Rights: No electronic resource, except those in the public domain or that fall under Fair Use, may be included in the collection unless the right to distribute the electronic resource through the SWOSU network has been obtained.
  • Cost: Consortia pricing is preferred. If one format is substantially more expensive and is selected for acquisition, the reason for selecting that format needs to be documented. Reasons for selecting the more expensive format may include, but are not limited to, the following: accessibility, accreditation, availability of format, and guarantee of archival access.
  • Evaluation: The item must be evaluated on the following criteria:
    1. Demonstrated need of the electronic resource by the primary user group and, if appropriate, secondary user groups.
    2. Demonstrated need can include, but is not limited to, accreditation, class curriculum, and departmental research.
    3. Demonstrated use of trial subscriptions through database statistics and reviews.
    4. Intention of faculty to have library instruction for more specialized resources in a given discipline.
    5. Faculty, student and librarian response to and evaluation of the resource concerning accuracy, scope and usability.
    6. Continued development of technology that makes resources ADA accessible.
    7. Reliable and regular database usage statistics.
    8. Evidence that the electronic resource is authoritative and current.
    9. Evidence that the electronic resource is recommended by instructors, cited in student work, or cited in faculty publications.
    10. Evidence that the electronic resource meets a defined cost/benefit target to be based on the Serials and Electronic Collections Department allocation formula.

VIII. GIFTS

The Library accepts and acknowledges donations of materials for its collections, using the same criteria for selection as regularly purchased items. The Library may refuse any gift that does not contribute to the mission or purpose of the Library. The Library will not appraise materials for tax or other purposes. Any materials given to the Library become the property of the Library, and the Library retains the right to dispose of duplicates and any other unneeded materials as it deems appropriate.

 

IX. SOUTHWESTERN MATERIALS

The Library has the responsibility of selecting and preserving materials concerning the history and development of Southwestern Oklahoma State University. These types of items, including yearbooks, photographs, and other Southwestern memorabilia, are collected on an ongoing basis, usually by donation. These materials are located in the Southwestern Room. If these types of materials must be purchased, the funds to do so are taken from the book budget.

 

X. RECONSIDERATION OF A BOOK

Because the Library attempts to acquire materials representing a wide variety of viewpoints and some users may find some materials offensive, a process is in place for reconsideration of materials. A Request for Reconsideration of a Book form may be provided upon request. The completed request will be considered and a response sent to the requestor by the Director of Libraries. It is the responsibility of the library to present all viewpoints when a controversial issue arises.