I. Purpose:
The mission of Nash Library is to
support teaching and research at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
(USAO). The Library fulfills that mission, in part, by maintaining an
effective, up-to-date audiovisual, electronic, monograph, and periodical
collection.
The main purpose of the general
Library Collection Development Policy is to establish guidelines for the planned
development of a quality collection of materials to meet instructional,
curricular, and research needs of USAO faculty and students. The Policy has
three general goals:
-
Provide a balanced collection of
high-quality materials, in all formats, for undergraduate research and
teaching
-
Provide consistency among those who
have responsibility for developing the collection and to provide a tool for
evaluating and improving materials for all subject areas
-
Provide general guidelines for
allocating funds fairly
This Policy is intended to be
flexible enough to respond to long- and short-range objectives of Nash Library
and USAO. Periodic review of this Policy will ensure that it reflects any
important changes to the academic programs.
Responsibility for
Selection:
Official responsibility for budget management
and materials selection is delegated to the Director of the Library. The USAO
faculty are responsible for requesting selections in their fields. Each faculty
member is allotted $300 for materials that can be ordered with the Library's online request form. The
Library staff is responsible for selecting a core collection of materials in all
areas.
II. Selection
Criteria
The Library collection includes all
current media forms such as books, periodicals, microforms, audiovisual
materials, CD-ROMs, and computer software. Unless absolutely necessary, the
Library will not collect obsolete formats such as filmstrips, record albums, and
slide presentations.
The Library staff is responsible for
choosing the most appropriate format of material, including the purchase
requests from faculty. Softbound volumes are generally preferred for
library use because the cost of the paper volume is substantially less than the
cost of the hardbound volume
The Library normally cancels
the subscription of any hard-copy journal that is available in electronic
format.
English is the primary language of the collection.
Emphasis is on the United States and Europe.
Basic scholarly and trade monographs,
reference works of all types, and electronic formatted materials are
emphasized. Older editions are rarely acquired. Advanced, scholarly research
materials such as proceedings of conferences, symposia, dissertations, letters,
diaries and specialized government documents are only rarely
purchased.
Older standard works are purchased only as required.
Out-of-print books are generally sought only when justified by the high
circulation of older copies. An effort is made to keep only the most recent
edition of any given work.
III. General
Collection Priorities
The proportion of Nash Library
expenditures in any subject area will generally match the percentage of USAO
students in the major. The Library’s four priorities in for purchases
are:
Specific Requests From USAO
Faculty
Each faculty member receives $300 per
year to purchase both materials. Unless absolutely necessary faculty purchases
will conform to the selection criteria outlined above. Faculty will submit the
request directly to the Library Director, via the Library's online request form.
Award-Winning Monographs in the
field
Nash Library acquires award-winning
monographs to help build a solid monograph collection suitable for the subject
area and to assure that USAO gets the most value for its expenditures. As a
general rule, Nash Library will acquire the award winners dating back to 1990,
if the item is still in print and if the Library has the necessary funds.
Electronic Resources
Nash Library subscribes to
third-party electronic resources that are suitable for an undergraduate
education to assure that USAO gets the most value for its expenditures; and to
complement its audiovisual, monograph, and periodical holdings. As a general
rule, Nash Library will subscribe to Web-based electronic resources that provide
full-text searching and downloading, and allow for at least four simultaneous
users.
Other Selections
When funds are available, the Library
will make additional selections for the collection. The selections will balance
cost, strengths and weaknesses of the current holdings, and changing research
and teaching needs.
