Collection Development Policy
I. Purpose:
The mission of the 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:
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Provide a balanced collection of high-quality materials, in all formats, for undergraduate research and teaching.
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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.
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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 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, and audiovisual materials. Unless absolutely necessary, the Library will not collect obsolete formats such as filmstrips, record albums, VHS tapes, and slide presentations.
The Library staff is responsible for choosing the most appropriate format of material, including the purchase requests from faculty.
English is the primary language of the collection.
Basic scholarly and trade monographs, reference works of all types, and electronic 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.
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.