Collection Development Policy

A collection development policy is a written framework and parameters used to guide how staff and users work in a library (Johnson, 2014). The collection development policy will be developed for an Academic library, research level. The Academic Library has two separate libraries namely the medical and law libraries. The Academic library serves a population of at least 36,000 student users. Of all these users, a quarter of them are postgraduate students in physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, literature, languages, and philosophy.

The main purpose of libraries is to have an area where people can access materials containing different information on various areas of study. In addition to this, libraries also serve as a storage facility where the collected resources are maintained in order to support instructional and research needs (Johnson, 2014). A collection development policy is put in place so as to provide a link between the library’s mission, community assessment and long-term plan on the management of the affairs of the facility (Gregory, 2011). This policy will help the library select pertinent donated and purchased materials for the library.

Mission statement

The mission statement for the library is “To motivate a culture of scholarship and learning among library users in Medicine, Law, physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, literature, languages and philosophy”. The academic library encourages interdisciplinary scholarship in law as well as medicine. Because of this, the library is open to the users and affiliated members. The academic library strives to provide a wide range of information and resources for research in the field of law to the students, faculty, and staff. These categories of readers make up the user community for the Academic library.

User Community

Students

Faculty members and researchers

Staff

Current and Future Collections

In order to live up to the library’s mission, the library stocks a wide range of resources that are updated on a timely basis to best serve the needs of the community in facilitating learning and access to justice. The academic library has collections in law, medicine, physics, chemistry, engineering, languages, biology, literature, and philosophy. The Academic library has both electronic and print collections. In order to update future collections, the library gets engaged in the local research, regional, and national programs on resources collection sharing and development (Johnson, 2014). The library also liaises with other research libraries to ensure that relevant legal literature is provided.

Objectives or Goals for Collection Development Policy

The policy for selection serves four purposes namely:

To provide guidelines on the process of selection and de-selection of materials and resources in the library.

To provide documentation on the policies, regulations, and practices for the libraries.

Help in planning for the future and determining priorities. This has to do with proper allocation of funds and protecting resources through a proper explanation of the rationale behind acquisition bids.

Public relations - the document makes case for users, administrators, and funding bodies.

Selection Criteria and Process

Selection Criteria

In the criteria, the librarian considers the following factors:

The subject area in terms of the importance of the material, the potential use of the resource and frequency of use, relevance to the law and medicine curriculum, and the value addition.

Request for materials

The need to meet the collection objectives.

Whether the resources will have unique coverage of the selection area or do the material duplicate items in the library.

The authoritativeness of the title, publisher and reputation of the author.

The available alternative formats such as electronic formats.

Cost of material

Space available for library materials

Scope

The Academic library avails all information in the fields of study it specializes in. these fields of study include: law, medicine, chemistry, physics, biology, languages, literature, philosophy, and engineering and other relevant documents. The materials are also wide scope as required by the needs and education curriculum in the various areas of study. The needs of the users are put into consideration when determining what to collect. Academic library website provides updates on new study areas from time to time and the librarian looks at these updates for guidance on what should be collected. Since publications happen from time to time, the librarian is expected to stay on the lookout for any new relevant material (Gregory, 2011).

Responsibility for Selection

A librarian is a primary person in a library and most of the work involves him or her. The responsibility of the librarian is to provide a wide range of reviewed selection of materials in law, medicine, chemistry, biology, engineering, languages, literature, and philosophy. Also, the librarian has the responsibility of ensuring that all suggestions and recommendations from users and legal community are abided by. Also, the librarian has a duty to ensure that the library abides by the established guidelines.

Library Clerk or Administrator

The clerk or administrator has the responsibility of performing all administrative duties. For example, the administrative officer has the role of supporting in accounting and costing of the various material and processes. Recording and other office work is done by the clerk.

Procedure for Selection

Tools

Through the collection service department, the library is able to get updates on publications, book reviews from different sources different tools as named below. It is crucial to note that these tools are used depending on applicability in the areas of law, medicine, chemistry, physics, engineering, biology, philosophy, literature, and languages.

Yankee Book Peddler’s GOBI program among others.

Booklist

Book reviews

Library Journal

Hornbook

YALSA

Catalogs availed by publishers in the various areas of study

Award lists

Publishers’ weekly updates

The collection service department also liaises with the publishers so as to get updates and maintain an updated collection. The various local and national programs and consortia also help with the selection process (Gregory, 2011). The librarian conducts material reviews on the various areas of study in medicine and law, chemistry, physics, engineering, biology, philosophy, literature, and languages individually or in group meetings and this provides guidance on the development of library collection. Various elements are considered in the selection procedure as discussed below.

Material Format

In selection, a consideration is made on the formats in which information on the different study subjects will be availed in the library. These formats can include electronic, print or microform. It is crucial to note that the academic library provides an electronic resource for user accessibility of the broad range of information available. This means that the catalogue also has to be updated and all formats of information available indicated for easy retrieval. The Academic library is also highly digitalized and therefore, the librarian has to consider the most appropriate format for a particular resource. For instance, there are some resources that can be availed in electronic form when printing is expensive and cumbersome. Additionally, other factors like price, preference, and ease of access are considered when determining the format to be availed (Gregory, 2011).

Microforms

The microform materials are collected very keenly for materials that are not used frequently mostly as a duplicate format and provide permanent access to various resources such as documents from the U.S government, briefs, legal newspapers and documents from international organizations on medicine, for example, WHO. The Academic library notes that some material can be unavailable electronically if they are expensive or are less frequently used and stocking them in print would result to their deterioration (Gregory, 2011). Therefore, the materials are collected in microform to avoid having items that are too bulky and are less frequently used, or deteriorates over time.

Audio and Video Material Type

The teaching staff, students, and researchers frequently use audio and video materials by making a request with the librarian prior. The librarian, therefore, obtains the video and audio materials through the media services collection and avails them to the users as need arises. The academic library can also purchase the CD or DVD copies of material online at a reasonable cost.

Periodicals and Treatises

The periodical and treatises in the various fields of study are availed for use in print or electronic format depending on the faculty needs, preference, availability of a particular format, and ease of access. Periodicals are also availed through the online databases for easy access.

Material Replacements

Replacement is done from time to time to replace materials that are destroyed, missing or outdated. The librarian considers a number of factors when doing the replacement and these include the importance of the title, other titles available in the collection with a similar title, and duplication of titles in other formats (Gregory, 2011).

De-selection

The Academic library engages in the process of acquiring, retaining and withdrawing materials from the collection. The de-selection process involves reviewing a material to determine its relevance and use so that it can be withdrawn or relocated. This process is carried out so as to maintain an updated legal information collection in all formats (Gregory, 2011).

Duplication

Duplication of materials in various formats can occur in the Academic Library or within the collections of other libraries. Therefore, duplication is checked from time to time and cleared. However, the Academic library can maintain duplicated materials if they are popular, important, or due to a request by the faculty.

Gifts and Donations

In many libraries, people and companies give donations and gifts in the form of electronic or print format materials. The Academic library welcomes people to give their donations and gifts to enrich the knowledge and information in the collection. The materials received are also reviewed systematically so as to avoid duplication. Also, the librarian considers the value the material adds to the collection, condition of the materials being received as gift and donations, donor affiliation, and whether there will be a need for future updating of the material (Gregory, 2011).

It is also crucial to note that the library has a policy that there will be no conditions attached to giving or receiving gifts and donations at any of the libraries (Johnson, 2014). The terms of use of gift books and materials are determined by the Academic library in terms of circulation, storage location, and disposal at any time and in whichever way deemed appropriate. Monetary donations are also welcomed and are used to expand the collection in various areas of study.

Types of Collections/Priorities

Various factors determine the priority collections in the Academic library and some of these include best sellers, reference resources, and local, federal, international law materials, and advancements in fields like medicine. The various forms of materials are also considered in prioritizing the collections. The priority areas are discussed in detail below.

Reserve and Reference Desk Collections

This is the collection area most prioritized by the Academic library. The librarian has the role of adding various types of print materials to the permanent reserve and reference desk collections. This means that reserve and reference collections have to be frequently updated to the most current editions and publications. The reserve collections are made up of the current research and writing materials in medicine, law, engineering, chemistry, biology, physics, languages, literature, and philosophy fields. (Johnson, 2014). The course reserve is also maintained in the library for some time to support course instruction in the various fields of study. The reserve and reference desk collections are requested by the library via communication to the librarian as required from time to time. The number of materials collected varies depending on the class size and frequency of use. Some materials are also complimented by electronic resources where possible for easy access to students and faculty members. Ready reference materials such as directories, citation manuals, dictionaries, medical manuals and other information materials are stored in a small connection (Johnson, 2014).

Archives

This section is also important in the collection since it contains the archives in law, medicine, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, languages, literature, and philosophy materials produced by and about the Academic library. These materials include catalogues, bibliographies, periodicals, course listings, directories, alumni newsletters, and ephemera among others.

Office and Personal Copies

The Academic library keeps a limited collection of copies of titles for faculty office use because of the high cost. Also, faculty members can order for personal copies through the library and reimburse the library for the order. A special request can also be made through the library director for the purchase of a particular title for the different schools of study.

Accountability for Budget Decisions

Funding for all library operations is well budgeted and accounted for. The library gets its funds from the government, grants and donations from private foundations, and friends of the library. All the funds received are regulated by the Library Director on expenditure. The Library Director at the Academic library also has oversight over the responsible use of funds based on the library’s priorities and accountability for all funds. Reports on expenditure are also availed to the Library Director on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis.

The academic library uses two budgeting methods namely needs-based budgets and lump sum allocation (Johnson, 2014). For a research library, needs arise from occasion to occasion. The needs based budgeting is preferred because it serves the needs of the researchers as they arise. The lump sum allocation budgeting can also be considered where is a considerable amount of funds (Johnson, 2014). For example, lump sum allocation budgeting can be considered where there is need to enrich various areas with materials or in an area where an upgrade had not been done for a long time and money is available.

Weeding and Retention Process

This is a process in which materials are removed and withdrawn from the library collection on the basis of:

Becoming obsolete

Are worn out or extensively damaged

And surplus materials that are no longer in high demand (Johnson, 2014).

If the library wishes to weed off the last copy of a work, it has to consider:

The local interest

Author or publisher reputation

Importance as indicated in standard bibliographies

The uniqueness of its content for research (Johnson, 2014).

Reconsideration Policy

The reconsideration process will be done through the library manager and staff delegated to receive reconsideration requests. An individual wishing to recommend the removal of a particular material from the library makes a written request to the library manager. The library manager reviews the request and is expected to by tasking the staff to provide a detailed review. The library manager can then give a response to the individual requesting removal of a material within no more than 40 days. The process is well documented on a form that a person who wishes to table a request for reconsideration can fill out and submit to the library staff. Reconsideration is important because it allows users to participate in the process of collection development. User participation is very crucial and this calls for consideration of all the reconsideration requests made (Johnson, 2014). In addition to this, people should be encouraged to make considerations where necessary and forms should be placed on areas they can easily be seen by library users.

Serve as a training document for librarians

The librarians use this document as a source of information on how to run the library’s day to day activities. Therefore, it serves as a training document. The collection development policy offers guidelines for the library staff on how to undergo various processes. For example, the policy provides how reconsideration is done as per the Academic library guidelines. The policy is also reviewed and revised on a periodic basis to accommodate any changes and time updates. These changes also keep the library staff updated on the changes happening in the library management field (Johnson, 2014). The policy also serves as a reference point where the library staff can always refer to get guidelines on how to handle various processes. In conclusion, a collection development policy is important in helping with the running of the Academic library. The policy is important for use by the library workers who are responsible for creating, maintaining, and weeding off collection materials.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the collection development policy helps the management of the library operations and resources. In addition to this, the policy helps in planning for the future in terms of ensuring that the necessary materials are availed for use in the library. With the policy, all the library staff knows the guiding principles of the operation processes. The development collection is a long one that involves making critical considerations of the various areas of study for which materials must be provided. Also, every field of study has to be adequately covered depending on the number of users and the frequency of use of materials by these users. The development collection process also involves liaising with other players in the field so as to get updates and insights on collection. Finally, a librarian or library director has to be keen on new developments in any area of study so as to make considerations on change or improvement of the collection.

References

Gregory, V. L. (2011). Collection development and management for 21st century library collections: an introduction. New York, NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Johnson, P. (2014). Fundamentals of collection development and management. American Library Association.