Library Info: Collection Development Policy

• General Statement
• Responsibility for Materials Selection
• Gifts
• Special Materials
• Multiple Copies
• Selection of Vendors or Jobbers
• Collection Development
• Collection Maintenance
• Copyright Statement
• Policy Revision
• ALA's Library Bill of Rights

1. General Statement
   1. Guiding principals
      1. Since Moye Library serves an undergraduate and graduate University student clientele, materials acquired will generally be within the comprehension range of undergraduate and graduate students. Some materials of a higher difficulty level or of a research nature may be added for special reasons. (Reasons may be to provide students with a sampling of the kind of materials to be encountered in the profession, or to provide adequate materials for a superior student.) In general, material useful primarily to the researcher or professional will not be acquired.
      2. In selecting materials to be added, major consideration shall be given to accuracy and authority, the reputation of the author, and social and/or artistic merit or importance. Evaluation shall be based on reviews in professional literature and on the professional judgment of the faculty and library staff.
      3. Although efforts are made to make available a representative collection of materials in as many areas of human knowledge as possible, primary attention shall be given to supporting the curricular needs of the University of Mount Olive. This does not preclude the library's obligation to make available, in limited numbers, materials of a general cultural and recreational nature that are unrelated to the curricula.
      4. The library supports the American Library Association's "Bill of Rights." A copy of this document is attached at the end of this document.
   2. Censorship

      Being that the University of Mount Olive is a private university, owned by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptist and governed by its own Board of Trustees, criticisms of library-owned materials or attempts at censorship originating outside the corporate structure of the University or supporting denomination will not be considered.

      The following policy shall apply in evaluating the criticism submitted by persons or groups legitimately related to the University. Such criticism must be submitted in writing to the library. A reconsideration form is available for this purpose and a copy is attached to this policy.

      1. In an effort to be a forum for the free exchange of all ideas in the pursuit of knowledge and truth, the library will make available to students and faculty materials offering a variety of viewpoints, regardless of the popularity or wisdom of these viewpoints or of the popularity or unpopularity of their authors.
      2. Selection of materials for the library will be based on the criteria stated above in part A regardless of the frankness of language or controversial manner an author may use in dealing with subjects of religion, politics, sex, social, economic, scientific or moral issues.
      3. In handling criticism of materials or attempts at censorship, the Director of Library Services will reply verbally or in writing to the person or group, referring to the above policy. Persistent or repeated criticism will be referred to the Academic Council of the University and ultimately to the President and Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees.
2. Responsibility for Materials Selection
   1. It shall be the responsibility of the faculty of each academic department or division to recommend to the library the purchase of materials in support of their subject areas and curriculum. Fulfilling this responsibility will help assure an up-to-date and balanced collection. The librarian reserves the right to regulate acquisition requests that demand a disproportionate amount of money in relation to courses offered and students served.
   2. As the librarians are in a unique position to observe the quality and balance of all subject areas and because the librarian is ultimately responsible for the overall quality and balance of the total collection, the professional library staff will select and purchase materials in all subject areas.
   3. Moye Library recognizes the importance that students can play in recommending materials for purchase and therefore, will welcome such suggestions. Suggested purchases will be handled under the policies in Section 1 (above). It is not expected, however, that such requests will always be made in support of a specific course or curriculum. Therefore, titles of recreational or special interest will receive just consideration.
3. Gifts

   Although many important materials have been added to Moye Library as gifts, much of what is offered is of little marginal value. Because such gifts often involve public relations concerns, a clearly stated policy on gifts is necessary. No commitments to accept gifts shall be made except by the Director of Library Services, and offers of gifts made indirectly shall be referred to the Director of Library Services. With respect to gift materials, the following policy will be followed:

   1. The librarian shall have the prerogative to refuse to accept materials that are felt to contribute little to the mission and purpose of the library or which do not measure up to the criteria in Section 1, A (above). Where necessary, the librarian's decision will be subject to review by the Vice President of Academic Affairs and President.
   2. With regard to gifts accepted, it shall be made clear to the donor that:
      1. The library staff will provide, upon request, a listing of materials received and added to the holdings of the library. The staff will aid the donor by suggesting qualified appraisers and providing catalogs of dealers, etc. to assist in the appraisal process. The appraisal of any gift (books or otherwise) to the library for tax purposes is generally the responsibility of the donors since he/she benefits from the tax deduction. To protect both the donors and itself, the library, as an interested party, should not appraise gifts made to it.
      2. The library staff will determine classification, housing, and circulation policies of gift items just as with purchased items.
      3. The library staff retains the right to dispose of duplicates and unneeded material as they see fit.
4. Special Materials
   1. Foreign language materials

      Except for materials acquired primarily for use in the modern language department, books and materials printed in languages other than English will not be acquired. Exceptions to this policy will be foreign language dictionaries for reference use and other materials determined necessary for collection development by the Director of Library Services.

   2. Textbooks

      University textbooks of a general survey nature published primarily for classroom use will generally not be added to the collection. Exceptions will be made by the librarian in consultation with faculty or departments involved. In some cases such general survey works may be added in areas not in the curriculum in order to have available some materials should individual interests or projects be pursued. Copies of textbooks currently in use at the University are not purchased by the library.

   3. Popular Literature Collection

      Newly-released, recreation reading titles will be added to the collection. Most of these books will be acquired through the Baker and Taylor Leasing program and will rotate out of the collection when popularity wanes. Occasionally, the library will purchase a new fiction title and add it to this collection if demand and special circumstances warrant it.

   4. Non-book Materials

      Audio and visual non-print materials will be acquired by the library as needed to support curricula and faculty needs. Such will be selected under the same criteria as printed materials. Whenever possible, the library will purchase video recordings in DVD format. Non-book material created primarily for group or laboratory use will not be acquired. Some cross-campus curriculum use will be a guiding principle in selection. Non-book materials requiring the use of specialized auxiliary equipment not generally available to borrowers will not be acquired except as that material and equipment may be necessary for in-library use only. Computer-based materials are judged for their compatibility with existing systems, ease of use, information retrieval power, and convenience.

      Microforms will only be actively acquired to meet a need for the Free Will Baptist Collection or specific faculty request. Microforms acquisitions are for items deemed critical to research but are unavailable in paper or electronic form, unusually expensive in another format, or difficult to acquire and maintain in print or electronic form.

      Electronic resources are collected when the electronic form is the best format for the particular item, due to availability, accessibility, or interactivity of the electronic resource. The library is increasingly adding eBooks to the library’s collection to increase access to library materials.

      While traditional criteria apply to the selection of most electronic titles, the management of this format is more complex. Additional criteria to consider include: access restrictions; licensing requirements; ease of use; currency of the information and update schedules; duplication of content with other products; spread of disciplinary coverage among selected titles; and appropriate retrospective and current coverage. Periodically, library staff will review electronic books resources (excluding NC LIVE resources) to determine if weeding of older materials is necessary.

   5. Paperback books

      The type of binding on a book will not be a consideration in the decision to purchase or not purchase. The library staff will exercise judgments of economy when a book is available both in paper and cloth bindings, selecting format based on projected use and time before material will be dated or superseded.

      Paperback monographs for the regular collection are acquired when hardback editions are not available or when there is a significant price difference between the hardback and paperback editions to increase the purchasing power of the materials budget.

   6. Materials of unusual cost

      Sets, series, or individual titles costing more than $100 will be subject to review before purchase by the librarian in consultation with the person making the request. Likewise the librarian will consult with the department or division persons before purchasing such materials that he has question about. (General encyclopedias are exceptions, of course.)

   7. Periodicals

      Suggestions for new periodicals from faculty and students will generally be held until September of each year, at which time a general evaluation of all holdings and subscriptions will be made. Short-term subscriptions will generally be avoided. Serials differ from monographs in that a serial subscription is an ongoing financial commitment. In addition, serials prices have historically increased at a rate that far exceeds such standard economic indicators as the Consumer Price Index and great care must be taken to ensure that the Library’s ongoing commitment to serials does not consume a disproportionate share of the total acquisitions budget. Price may be a factor that determines whether a new serial is purchased and whether it is acquired in print or electronic format. Standing Orders of Reference materials will be carefully reconsidered periodically to make sure that these resources continue to best meet the needs of library users.

      The following criteria will be used in evaluating additions to periodical holdings:

      1. Importance of the title to the curricula of the University;
      2. Number of titles currently received in the subject area;
      3. Level of readability of the material presented;
      4. Access to contents through indexing media.
   8. Rare books and manuscripts

      Subscriptions requested by departments or specific faculty will be dropped only after consultation with the Department Chairman or faculty member most directly concerned.

   9. Out-of-Print books

      Out-of-print books requested by faculty and students will be acquired from various out-of-print dealers after requesting availability and price quotations. Orders not filled within a year will be canceled unless the requester insists upon further efforts.

5. Multiple Copies

   As a rule only one copy of a title will be purchased. If faculty members intend to make broad and long-range requirements of specific titles, more than one copy may be necessary, but additional copies (maximum of 3 copies) will be purchased in paperback, if available, to fill the need. The library cannot be expected to supply several copies of a book which is in actuality serving as a textbook for a course.

6. Selection of Vendors or Jobbers

   The selection of sources for the purchase of library materials will be left to the discretion of the librarian.

7. Collection Development

   Evaluation of holdings as compared against standard bibliographies and check lists in different subject areas is done on an on-going basis by the library staff. (All relative CHOICE "In the Balance" bibliographical essays and lists are checked systematically against collection holdings.) The results of these surveys are generally referred to the appropriate divisions or individual faculty members for their evaluation and suggestions.

   Periodically "in-depth acquisitions" in a particular subject area (i.e. Black studies, Faulkner) is undertaken in an effort to build depth and quality. These areas are chosen through mutual agreement of the librarian and a division or department.

8. Collection Maintenance

   The library does not automatically replace all lost, damaged or worn out materials. Factors such as duplicate copy availability, existence of adequate subject coverage or similar materials and demand are considered before replacement is decided. The same factors are considered when a decision is necessary regarding binding of paper material, re-binding of worn materials, whether purchased, gift, or government depository acquisitions.

   An ongoing program of in- house book and binding repair is regularly practiced in order to help maintain the appearance and utility of the book collection. This program is also intended to eliminate a large volume of professional rebinding. Paperbacks judged to be heavily used are purchased with some form of prebinding or cover/spine reinforcement to extend their lives. The bindings/spines of all paper items not prebound are reinforced in house when use merits.

   Weeding is an important aspect of collection maintenance. A systematic program of weeding superseded editions and broken files of unindexed journals is carried out routinely by the library staff. The faculty is requested periodically through department heads to review their areas of interest and instruction and to suggest for removal obsolete and worn materials. The library staff also makes periodic reviews of various sections of the collection in order to weed and remove such materials. However, no material is ultimately discarded without consultation with faculty most directly concerned with those materials. Final disposal of such materials (sale, exchange, discard or storage) rests with the librarian.

   In order to facilitate the matter of routine weeding the following guidelines may provide help in making withdrawal decisions.

   1. Physical condition
      1. Book is worn or damaged beyond repair or rebinding;
      2. Paper may be yellow, brown or brittle.
      3. Bad formats - small print, cramped margins, poor illustrations.
   2. Content
      1. Information is obsolete, inaccurate, or poorly written.
      2. Newer edition is available in library or may be ordered. (In some cases older editions may be kept if they contain information not in newer editions or if use is determined to merit keeping old edition.)
      3. Material is sexist, harmful, and useless.
   3. Age

      Generally the age of a book should not be the determining factor unless it falls within other guidelines for weeding. However, the following guidelines may be useful in making decisions.

      1. Ordinary texts over 10 years old.
      2. Science and technology after 10 years.
      3. Travel books after 10 years (except Badeaker).
      4. Business books between 5 - 10 years.
      5. Humanities may be candidates after 10 -15 years.
   4. Language

      With the exception of dictionaries, materials in a language not taught in curriculum should not be retained.

   5. Duplicates

      Generally only one copy of a title is purchased/added unless anticipated use warrants.

      1. Unneeded duplicate titles (based on use patters, assignments, etc.)
      2. Paperbacks in poor condition unless demand merits keeping.
      3. Editions in languages other than English unless language is taught.
   6. Special cases that may be considered
      1. Materials replaced or available in another format (e.g. microforms to replace periodicals in hard copy or little used individual titles.)
      2. Old general or school dictionaries.
      3. Old grammars (except for historical comparison, etc.)
      4. Materials which no longer relate to academic curriculum or extra curricula enrichment.
      5. Older purely inspiration literature, popular self-help psychology, and textbooks.
   7. Use patterns

      In general, use, like age, should not be determining factor for weeding unless material falls also within other guidelines for withdrawal. The following criteria may be useful in making decisions if lack of use should become a key factor.

      1. Books that have not circulated at all unless considered references or are a standard or classic title.
      2. Books that have not circulated for last 10 years unless a standard or classic title.
   8. General guidelines for keeping a title
      1. Listed in a standard bibliography (BIP, EGLI specialized subject bibliographies or indexes such as Poetry Explication)
      2. Rare items
      3. Local history, author, or interest item
      4. Circulation record merits
      5. Only material on a subject in library or available.
      6. Sequels or books dependent or related to other works being kept
      7. Research value
9. Copyright Statement

   Moye Library adheres to all provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law (17 U.S.C.). The library actively promotes compliance by the University community. Library staff produce guidelines and other literature to aid University students, faculty, and staff in the changes in Fair Use guidelines. Moye Library supports the Fair Use section of the Copyright Law which permits and protects citizens’ rights to reproduce and make other uses of copyrighted works for the purposes of teaching, scholarship, and research.

10. Policy Revision

    A periodic review of this selection policy shall be made by the Director of Library Services in cooperation with the Library Committee.

    Revised in part 10/83; 3/84; 2/89; 2/90; 11/93; 11/99; 11/09; 8/11; 3/14; 2/22

Revised: June 26, 2023