Collection Development PolicyThe primary goal of collection development at The University of Montana Libraries is to build a collection in support of the curricular and research needs of the students, faculty and staff of The University of Montana (UM). This collection development policy reinforces the missions of both the Libraries and the University. The University of Montana and Community Profile The University of Montana—Missoula (UM) is a co-educational, doctoral institution, serving a student population of 13,000. Of these, approximately 10,500 are undergraduate and 1500 are graduate students. Faculty and staff comprise a population of 750 with a student/faculty ratio of 19/1. UM’s main campus sits on 200 acres with 62 buildings; the College of Technology occupies two sites in central and west Missoula. Founded in 1893, UM is part of the Montana University System and is located in the northwest part of the state in a community of 50,000. Collections at UM-Missoula exceed one million volumes and combined collections within the Montana Public Access Catalog of The Affiliated Libraries of The University of Montana are in excess of 1.6 million volumes. Purposes and Goals
The purpose of this Collection Development Policy is to provide guidelines that assure quality and relevance in the acquisition and retention of materials in a collection designed to support the mission of UM. The collection secondarily provides academic library service to Montana residents. In addition, the library serves as a regional US Government Documents Depository Library, receiving all publications distributed through this program.
* relevance to the curriculum and research programs of UM; These collections build on the principles outlined in the Library Bill of Rights (American Library Association) (Appendix A), the Freedom to Read Statement (American Library Association and Association of American Publishers) (Appendix B), the Freedom to View Statement (American Film and Video Association) (Appendix C), and An Affirmation to the Right to Information (Montana Library Association) (Appendix D). Reviews of materials included or excluded from the collection can be addressed by the following procedures.
1. Contact appropriate subject librarian. Selection Parameters Selection of materials is completed in one of two ways. * Library faculty subject librarians serve as liaisons to each department and program. In addition, all departments and programs have library representatives whose professional responsibility includes purchase recommendations in their respective disciplines. In collaboration, the subject librarians and representatives build the collections based on curricular and research needs. Final approval concerning acquisitions resides within the professional responsibilities of the subject librarians. * Library faculty subject librarians in collaboration with library representatives from a variety of departments and programs have developed Approval Plan profiles. These profiles provide a base for the expeditious and efficient acquisition of information resources from a competitive vendor. Final approval concerning acquisitions resides within the professional responsibilities of the subject librarians. General Selection Guidelines
* Depth and breadth of collections complement curriculum and research.
Acquisition requests for audio and visual materials in other dated or obsolete formats will be referred to the Media Resources Coordinator and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Gifts Gifts are a source of many valuable additions to the collection. However, the library will not accept gifts with any restrictions or conditions as to their disposition or location except by expressed permission of the Dean of Library Services. The library will not provide any valuation of gifts, in accordance with University policy. Non-library faculty or staff cannot accept gifts on behalf of the library. The subject librarians will review all new titles. All duplicate titles will be reviewed for replacement of currently owned volumes in collaboration with the subject librarians and the acquisitions staff. All of the general and detailed policies, that apply to purchased materials, also apply to gifts—monographs, media and serials. This includes the physical condition as a factor in assessing gift acquisitions. The costs of repair and processing, and the binding of serials must not be ignored. Processing time must also be evaluated when considering the acceptance of large collections in any format. Serials, in particular, require additional evaluation when they are to be received as gifts. For a serial subscription, the continuity of the gift is mandatory. When received from an organization, ongoing intent to donate should be verified before a final acquisition decision is made. Primary copies from an individual donor are not accepted unless the subject librarian expressly permits it. Runs of serials for which the library is not maintaining a continuing subscription will not be accepted unless the subject librarian expressly permits it. Collection Supplements Interlibrary Loan and Course Reserves provide access to a variety of resources not owned by the Mansfield Library. These resources are made accessible both electronically and in hard copy. Assessment Collection assessment is completed by subject librarians in collaboration with departments during accreditation reviews. Weeding, and Withdrawal Weeding and withdrawal are done at the express consent of subject librarians and within the parameters of collection guidelines. Archives and Special Collections The K. Ross Toole Archives is one of a small number of professionally staffed archival repositories in the state of Montana. Collecting is focused on materials that document the history, resources, activities and people of Montana, with particular emphasis on western Montana. Subject areas with strong representation in the Archives include business history, Montana journalists and writers, the forest products industry, political figures (particularly Montana congressmen), the City and County of Missoula, and The University of Montana. There are several hundred oral history recordings and over 70,000 images in the collections. While the Archives welcomes donations, it reserves the right to refuse a proposed collection that falls outside its collecting scope, exceeds its financial and material resources to care for it, or has too high a maintenance cost in proportion to probable research benefits. The Archives does not generally collect artifacts and accepts computer-dependent electronic records only with the authorization of the Archivist. Special Collections are preserved in a locked area because the items in them fit one or more of the following criteria: they are rare, valuable, fragile, especially likely to be stolen or mutilated, or because of donor restrictions, as in the case of the Phillips Collection. Items are added to Special Collections rather than to one of the circulating collections when they are purchased or donated based on the criteria listed, and items may be transferred into or out of Special Collections from the circulating collections as appropriate if they are identified as meeting or not meeting these criteria.
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Appendices Appendix A: Library Bill of Rights (American Library Association) Appendix B: Freedom To Read Statement (American Library Association and Association of American Publishers) Appendix C: Freedom To View Statement (American Film and Video Association) Appendix D: An Affirmation Of The Right To Information (Montana Library Association) |