Hilton M. Briggs Library Collection Development Statement

I.                   Forward

 

This document brings together policy statements, staff memoranda, acquisitions guidelines, departmental policy and existing practice into a single comprehensive collection development policy for the Hilton M. Briggs Library.  It will serve as a guide in selecting, acquiring, and maintaining the library's collection.

 

          The authors reviewed the policies of several other university libraries in the creation of this document, most particularly those of the University of Kansas, Vanderbilt, University of Michigan, University of Nebraska, and the University of Cincinnati.  The statement prepared by Iowa State University, and modified for use elsewhere, served as a model.  Its organization, content, and in some instances its phraseology have been used with adjustments and additions to suit the local situation.

 

          Because collection development is a dynamic process, this policy will be reviewed and modified regularly.  Text updates will be issued as needed to reflect changing policy.

 

II.                 Introduction

 

The South Dakota State University Library is both a collegiate library and a research library.  It is collegiate in its provision of books and other documentary records to support undergraduate programs of instruction and to encourage the habit of reading.  Like most college libraries, it provides materials for use by faculty members in the preparation of their courses and by the staff of the institution in the performance of their administrative and executive responsibilities.

 

          But as a land-grant university library, it does more.  It also provides materials to support a wide range of graduate offerings at the Master's and (to a lesser extent) the Ph.D. level, as well as advanced professional curricula in nursing, pharmacy, engineering, family and consumer sciences, and education, plus auxiliary programs such as the Agricultural Experiment Station, Engineering and Environmental Resource Center (EERC), and Cooperative Extension Service.

 

          As a university library, it supports not only programs of teaching but research as well.  Therefore, the library collects in depth in many subject areas.  Not only are basic treatises, primary source materials, and journals obtained, but the library also collects a substantial portion of relevant thought in those subject areas in which graduate degrees are offered.  The university community also expects the library to provide materials for recreational purposes and for pursuit of non-academic interests.

 

          In order for the library to respond appropriately, the administration must stay informed of forthcoming research and degree program changes.  Fortunately, South Dakota State University has long recognized this necessity and has provided for library representation on the Academic Senate, the Academic Affairs Committee, and the Graduate Council where curricular changes originate.  In addition, all class II and III curricular requests are submitted for library evaluation and comment before being referred to appropriate university committees.

 

III.              Policy assumptions

 

Any collection development policy must embrace certain basic principles.  First, library collection development reflects the long-range goals of the university.  This inevitably means that library collections must be built on historic strengths rather than weaknesses.  In the absence of unlimited financial resources, a disregard for this principle will result in a sacrifice of current strengths to establish new areas of research.  Any collection building in areas of weakness must proceed gradually.  If rapid building in these areas is called for to meet the needs of a new program, then additional general university funding will be needed.

 

Secondly, acquisitions policy must take into consideration the fact that Briggs Library is part of a national system of research libraries.  The total U.S. scholarly publishing output--to say nothing of the rest of the world--has reached such proportions that it is beyond the ambition of any, except the very largest research libraries, to approach completeness even in limited subject areas. Even the largest national and research libraries now depend on interlibrary loan systems for borrowing infrequently used materials that are not available locally.  The library of South Dakota State University will continue to rely on state, regional, and national interlibrary loan networks for little used or esoteric research materials.

 

 

IV.               Selection responsibility

 

Teaching faculty and librarians share the responsibility for selection of library materials. 

Historically, the library divides its allocable book funds between the academic departments and the library staff on a 75/25 basis.  That is, approximately three-fourths of uncommitted book funds are annually allocated to instructional faculty in the various academic units.  Faculty members then choose books they deem important and useful within their disciplines.

 

          The Library retains approximately one fourth of the book budget for adding works of general interest, highly recommended titles which may escape the faculty's attention, monumental sets, reference works, etc.  The Acquisitions Librarian holds primary responsibility for selection of materials which fall in the general category and the reference department selects materials for the reference collection.  Subject bibliographers assigned to each academic department hold responsibility for selection in that area. In addition, two persons specifically select titles included in the Essay and General Literature Index and in certain other anthologies.  All library faculty members are encouraged to participate in the book selection process in their particular area of expertise but due to the limited number of library staff some bibliographers are assigned to departments without expertise in that area.

 

          Over the years, Briggs Library has benefited greatly from the dedication of a number of true bibliophiles among the instructional faculty.  Indeed, some of the library's best collections have resulted from their devoted efforts.  While this sharing of book selection responsibility between the instructional faculty and the library faculty is desirable, the library staff carries the final responsibility for areas neglected by the faculty.  Librarians must seek to achieve a balanced collection and to coordinate the resource development of the library as a whole.  The ultimate responsibility for acquisition directions and policy decisions, including adequacy and quality of selections, rests with the Dean of Libraries.

 

V.                 Bibliographic assignments

The twelve designated bibliographers select materials for the collection based on the following department/subject breakdown:

 

Vickie Mix  - Education, Geography, Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Pharmacy

 

Danielle Becker  - Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Visual Arts

 

Carlene Aro - Apparel Merchandising & Interior Design, CAP Center, General Engineering, Human Development, Consumer and Family Sciences, Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences

 

Mary Caspers-Graper - Biology/Microbiology, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Communication Studies & Theatre, Horticulture, Forestry, Landscape and Parks, Journalism & Mass Communication, Psychology,

 

Elizabeth Fox - European Studies, Modern Languages, Music, Physics

 

Clark Hallman - Mechanical Engineering, Rural Sociology

 

Mary Kraljic - Nursing, Nutrition, Food Science & Hospitality

 

Lisa Lindell – Economics, English, Mathematics,

 

Nancy Marshall – Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering, Animal & Range Science, Dairy Science, Journalism & Mass Communication, Plant Science, Veterinary Science

 

Stephen Van Buren - Chemistry, Counseling & Human Resource Development, History, Philosophy & Religion

 

Laura Wight – American Indian Studies, Latin American Studies, Political Science, Women Studies

 

For additional information about bibliographic assignments see the Library Representatives and Bibliographers web page (http://lib.sdstate.edu/Lib19/repbib.htm).

 

These bibliographers select materials that departmental representatives neglect, striving to maintain a balanced collection in their respective subject areas.

 

VI.                Library obligations

 

The library’s responsibilities are outlined in the introduction; here they are enumerated more specifically. Within its financial capabilities, the library will endeavor to obtain learning materials (books, periodicals, microforms, newspapers, maps, pamphlets. Governments, etc.) required to meet the following four obligations:

 

1.                  To procure or provide access to materials needed for all instruction and extension programs of the university

 

2.                  To procure or provide access to materials required by students and faculty members in their research.

 

3.                  To procure or provide access to library materials of general information in subject areas not covered by instructional, research and extension programs.

 

4.                  To preserve important materials relating to the history and development of the university. This includes not only official records and reports of the university, but also materials on any subject authored or published at SDSU.

 

Finally, the library has an obligation to inform book selectors, both designated departmental library representatives and library bibliographers, of newly published materials in their areas of specialization, by acquiring and distributing various “current awareness” services (i.e., Choice cards, Blackwell Books Services Approval Slips, etc.)

 

VII.            Limitations

 

          Recognizing that it is not always possible, for financial reasons, to achieve fully above the objectives, the library observes the following general guidelines:

 

1.                  English language publications will be given higher priority, except for materials acquired in support of foreign language instruction

 

2.                  Current publications of lasting and scholarly value will be given priority over older and out-of-print materials.

 

3.                  As an alternative to purchasing, consideration will be given to procuring infrequently used research materials on interlibrary loan.

 

4.                  Materials will be acquired in another suitable format if originals are not available or are too expensive.

 

5.                  If the Library owns the material in microform or provides access electronically, paper copy will not be purchased unless sufficient cause is shown.

 

6.                  Duplicate copies will be purchased only by justification of heavy and continued demand.

 

7.                  The library will not normally duplicate specialized research materials.

 

8.                  Variant editions of a held title will be acquired only if they are “standard” editions or contain substantial changes and are needed for research purposes.

 

9.                  The library will not purchase extensive in-depth materials for specific theses topics of graduate students or for short-term research projects of faculty unless the library’s acquisitions policy specifies intensive collection development in the area.

 

10.              The library will make no special effort to collect materials in non-English languages, even in the subject areas of comprehensive coverage, if there is no sizable number of researchers with facility in that language.

 

VIII.          Gifts

 

The library solicits and encourages gifts and donations of useful materials or money to purchase them provided they meet selection guidelines and provided there are no restrictions attached. The SDSU library has been greatly enriched by such gifts in past years.

 

          The library will not accept gifts with conditions as to their disposition or location except by express permission of the Dean of Libraries. Presidential and Regental approval is required for acceptance of large gift collections which may have significant space requirements.

 

          The library is free to dispose of any unneeded publications in compliance with state regulations, regardless of how the materials were acquired.

 

The staff may assist donors in estimating the value of materials donated to the library. Legally the library cannot appraise gifts for tax or inheritance purposes.  However, if a substantial collection is involved the library may help the donor procure a professional appraiser.

 

The acquisitions department is responsible for acceptance and processing of monographic materials; the serials department is responsible for gifts of journals; and the documents department has this responsible for government documents. The subject bibliographers may be called upon to assist in determining the suitability of individual items for permanent retention in accordance with the stated collection policy. 

 

IX.               Exchange

 

Exchanging publications among libraries is another means of acquiring library materials. The library will enter into exchange agreements with other institutions whenever the desired publications are available only on exchange and whenever such exchange of publications is advantageous to the library. Publications received on exchange will be added provided they meet selection guidelines. Exchange agreements will be established after consultation with the Acquisitions Librarian and approval of the Dean of Libraries.

 

          The library maintains exchange agreements with land-grant institutions in the following states for their Agricultural Experimentation Station publications:

 

California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

 

          The library has also made arrangements for two copies of each SDSU Agricultural Experiment Station publication to be sent to the National Agricultural Library.

 

X.                 Collection intensity levels

 

Requirements for library materials vary with discipline and subject area. The library has identified five levels to guide collection decisions.

 

Level 1: BASIC LEVEL­—Subject areas, which are outside the scope of the University’s curricula and in which there is little interest or activity. Collecting will be highly selective and will include only materials necessary to introduce and define the subject.

 

Level 2: INITIAL STUDY LEVEL—Subject areas which are part of the undergraduate curricula. Materials acquired at this level should include surveys of the subject, standard works, major journals, reference and bibliographic tools, and should support all undergraduate courses.

 

Level 3: ADVANCED STUDY LEVEL—Subject areas which are part of the masters level of curricula. In addition to the materials collected under level 2, an attempt will be made to acquire materials which support coursework and research at the masters level.

 

Level 4: RESEARCH LEVEL—Subject areas which are part of doctoral programs. Acquisitions in these areas will include a wide range if published material required for dissertation and independent research. All important reference works, a wide selection of specialized monographs and an extensive journal collection will be developed.

 

Level 5: COMPREHENSIVE LEVEL—All significant works in a particular field will be obtained. This level aims at exhaustiveness. An area so designated will most likely be a “special collection.”

 

XI.               List of subjects

 

In the Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal outlines below, subjects are coded as follows:

 

Level 1 - *

Level 2 - **

Level 3 - ***

Level 4 - ****

Level 5 - *****

 

A                 GENERAL WORKS

AC      **      Collections, Series, Collected Works.

AE      ***     Encyclopedias (General)

AG      ***     Dictionaries, other general reference works

AI       **      Indexes (General)

AM      *        Museums

AN      **      Newspapers

AP      **      Periodicals (General)

AS      *        Academies, Learned Societies

AY      **      Yearbooks, Almanacs, Directories

AZ      *        History of Scholarship and Learning

B                 PHILOSOPHY, PSYCHOLOGY, RELIGION

B        **      Philosophy

BC      **      Logic

BD      **      Speculative Philosophy

CJ       *        Numismatics

CN      *        Inscriptions, Epigraphy

CR      *        Heraldry

CS      *        Genealogy

CT      **      Biography

D                 HISTORY: GENERAL AND OLD WORLD

D        **      History (General)

DA      **      Great Britain

DB      **      Austria

DC      **      France

DD      **      Germany

DE      **      Mediterranean region

DF      **      Greece

DG      **      Italy

DH-DJ *       Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg

DJK     **      Eastern Europe

DK      **      Russia, Poland, Finland

DL      **      Northern Europe, Scandinavia

DP      **      Spain, Portugal

DQ      *        Switzerland

DR      **      Eastern Europe, Balkan Peninsula, Turkey

DS      **      Asia

DT      *        Africa

DU      *        Oceania, Australia, New Zealand

DX      *        Gypsies

E & F            HISTORY: America

E   **           America (General)

     **           North America

     **           Indians of North America

     **           Discovery

     **           Negroes

     **           Colonial History

     **           Revolution

     **           Revolution to Civil War

     **           Civil War

     **           Late Nineteenth Century

     **           Twentieth Century

     **           United States Local History

     *****      South Dakota

 

F   **           Canada

     **           Mexico

     **           Latin America

     **           Central America

     **           West Indies

     **           South America

 

G                 GEOGRAPHY, ANTHROPOLOGY, RECREATION

G        ***     Geography (General)

GA      ***     Mathematical Geography, Cartography

GB      ***     Physical Geography

GC      **      Oceanography

GF      ***     Human Ecology

GN      **      Anthropology

GR      *        Folklore

GT      *        Manners and Customs (General)

GV      ***     Recreation

          **      Outdoor life

          ***     Physical Training

          ***     Sports

*        Games and Amusements

          **      Dancing

*        Circuses, spectacles, etc. (Including Rodeos)

 

H                 SOCIAL SCIENCES

H        **      Social Sciences (General)

HA      **      Statistics

HB      ***     Economics

HC      ***     Economic History and Conditions, National Production

HD      ***     Land, Agriculture, Industry

HE      **      Transportation and Communication

HF      **      Commerce

HG      **      Finance

HJ       **      Public Finance

HM      ****   Sociology

HN      ****   Social History, Social Problems, Social Reform

HQ      ***     Family, Marriage, Women

HS      *        Societies, Clubs

HT      ****   Communities, Classes, Races

                   Urban Sociology

                   Regional Planning

                   Rural Sociology

                   Social Classes

                   Races

 

HV      **      Social Pathology, Social Welfare, Criminology

HX      **      Socialism, Communism, Anarchism

J                  POLITICAL SCIENCE

J                  Official Documents (SEE GOVERNEMNT DOCUMENTS SECTION)

JA       **      Collections and General Works

JC       **      Political Theory

JF       **      Constitutional History and Administration

JK       **      United States

JL       **      British America, Latin America

JN      **      Europe

JQ      **      Asia, Africa, Australia, Oceania

JS       **      Local Government

JV       **      Colonies, Colonization, Emigration, Immigration

JX       **      International law. International relations

K                 LAW

K        **      Law (General)

KD      *        Law of England and Wales

KE      **      Law of Canada

KF      **      Law of the United States

          ***     South Dakota Law

L                  EDUCATION

LA      ***     History of Education

LB      ***     Theory and Practice of Education

LC      ***     Special Aspects of Education

LD      ***     United States

LE       ***     America, except United States

LF       **      Europe

LG      **      Asia, Africa, Oceania

LH      *        College and School magazines and papers

LJ       *        Student fraternities and societies, United States

LT       *        Textbooks (SEE TEXTBOOK SECTION)

M                 MUSIC

 

M       **      Instrumental Music

                   Vocal Music

                   Sacred Vocal Music

ML      **      Literature of Music

MT      **      Music Instruction and Study

N                 FINE ARTS

N        **      Visual Arts (General)

                   History of Art

NA      *        Architecture

NB      **      Sculpture

NC      **      Drawing, Design, Illustration

ND      **      Painting

NE      **      Print Media

NK      **      Decorative Arts

NX      **      Arts in General

                   Including works dealing with two or more of the fine arts

 

P                  LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

 

P        **      Philosophy and Linguistics (General)

 

PA      **      Classical Languages and Literature

                   Greek

                   Latin

 

PB      **      Modern European Languages

 

PC                Romance Languages

          *        Italian 

          **      French

          *        Catalan

          **      Spanish

*        Portuguese

 

PD      *        Germanic Languages

*        Scandinavian

 

PE      ***     English

 

PF      *        Dutch

*        Flemish

*        Friesian language and literature

**      German

 

PG      *        Slavic, Baltic, Albanian languages and literature

PH      *        Finno-Ugrian, Basque languages and literatures

PJ       *        Oriental languages and literatures

PK      *        Indo-Iranian

PL       *        Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania

PM      *        American Indian Languages

PN      ***     Literature

PQ      **      Romance literatures

PR      ***     English Literature

PS      ***     American Literature

PT      **      Germanic Literature

PZ      **      Fiction and juvenile belles lettres

Q                 SCIENCE

Q        **      Science (General)

          **      Cybernetics, Information theory

QA      ***     Mathematics

QB      **      Astronomy

QC      **      Physics

QD      ****   Chemistry

QE      **      Geology

QH      **      Natural History (General)

QK      ***     Botany

QL      ***     Zoology

QM     **      Human Anatomy

QP      **      Physiology

QR      ***     Microbiology

R                 MEDICINE

RA      **      Public Aspects if Medicine