Collection Development Plan

The collection development plan of the University of North Alabama libraries seeks to provide specific and general guidelines for the acquisition of new material, whether by purchase, by donation or through remote access. In addition, it establishes parameters for the preservation and/or removal of material where appropriate. This plan has been developed in accordance with the American Library Association's guidelines found in its Guide for Written Collection Policy Statements, 2nd edition, 1996. Faculty chairpersons/liaisons have been consulted for specific collection development criteria and emphases in their respective disciplines. The plan is intended to create a framework for collection development activity which will support the mission and goals of the university libraries and, by extension, those of the University itself.

1.1 Description of the University and select goals

The University of North Alabama is a comprehensive regional state university comprised of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education, Business and Nursing and Allied Health. Bachelor's degrees are offered in all departments, with Master's degrees available in the areas of education, counseling, business administration and criminal justice. Preprofessional preparation is offered for many programs, such as engineering, law and medicine. According to its Bulletin, the University "seeks to …meet the students' needs for academic advancement, vocational attainment, responsible citizenship, and personal fulfillment; …to provide a quality university environment …which supports and complements academic preparation, and which extends the student's opportunities for intellectual, personal, ethical, and social development; …to provide support to individual and institutional basic and applied research;" and "…to provide extended access to the University's public service resources and programs…." It is a goal of the University "to provide library/informational resources and other support functions which include the technologies, materials, facilities, and services needed for quality teaching, research, and public service."

1.2 Mission and select goals of the library

The mission of Library Services is to provide materials and services in support of the teaching, research, and public services commitments of the University of North Alabama. The Library Services unit seeks to provide a strong in-house collection and accessibility to remote resources that support the University's on-campus and distance learning instructional programs, that promote scholarship and independent learning, and that meet the broad information needs of the university community. (Approved by Library Faculty, 11/4/98)

Collection development related goals are as follows:

…to develop, organize, and preserve well-rounded scholarly collections of materials and information in appropriate formats representing a variety of viewpoints.

…to provide efficient, effective organization for bibliographic identification, bibliographic control, and access to materials within the libraries' collections.

…to provide access to instructional, informational, and research materials beyond those in on-campus collections via such means as online/networked resources, cooperative resource sharing agreements and networks, and interlibrary loan/document delivery services.

1.3 Censorship and challenged materials

University libraries support the policies adopted by the American Library Association in the Library Bill of Rights (Appendix A) and other statements on intellectual freedom (Appendices B-D). In the event existing library material is challenged, the steps delineated in Procedures for Dealing with Challenged Library Materials (Appendix E) will be followed.

1.4 Brief history and overview of collections

The University of North Alabama dates its origins to LaGrange College, founded in 1830 in Colbert County. In 1855 the school was relocated to Florence and renamed Wesleyan University. Little is known about the early library collection. It is noted in Susan Vaughan's The History of State Teachers College Florence, Alabama that during the Civil War "library books were hastily distributed among the citizens to prevent their use for kindling fires." In 1872 the college was reconstituted as a state normal school for training new teachers. Vaughan quotes the 1895-96 catalogue as saying, "The Library has a moderate supply of reference books and miscellaneous works. Its tables are furnished with the cream of current literature, popular, professional and scientific." By 1900 the library consisted of 2000 volumes housed in a small room created from part of a hallway. In 1908 the library was moved into a large room in a newly constructed four-story building. The collection had increased to 6000 volumes and 27 periodical subscriptions by 1911. By the time it was moved into Bibb-Graves Hall in 1930, the library had grown to 19,000 volumes, 152 periodicals and 50 newspapers. A separate library building was completed in 1940 for a collection size of approximately 40,000 volumes and 200 periodical subscriptions. Library facilities were expanded in 1961 and again in 1983, at which time the collection totaled over 200,000 bound volumes, 1200 subscriptions and additional microforms, audiovisual materials, and government documents.

At present, university libraries consist of the main library (Collier), the education- centered Learning Resources Center, the Music Library, and the Kilby Elementary School Library. All libraries are located on the main campus. Centralized ordering and processing are done through the technical services departments in Collier Library.

1.5 Organization and responsibilities of collection development program

The Collection Development Librarian is responsible for implementing a coordinated and effective program for balanced collection development. Each academic department or college designates a library liaison through which needs are communicated to the librarian, and to which the librarian can report the status of a particular department's order requests or budget allocation. Reference librarians have individual responsibilities for selecting new material in specified fields from Choice magazine as well as for perceived needs in Reference or the collection at large.

1.6 Budget structure and allocation policy

Funds for library materials acquisitions are divided into three categories: (1) monographs, standing order serials, and audiovisuals, (2) periodicals and microforms, and (3) preservation (binding). A significant portion of the monograph budget is allocated for the various academic departments to purchase books and non-print items in their respective areas of instruction. These departmental allocations are determined by a formula employing factors such as weighted credit hours, publishing output, and average price per volume in the respective disciplines. Credit hour production is the principal factor in the formula. Graduate credit hours are given three times the weight of undergraduate hours. The library solicits book requests from all faculty members and encourages each department/college to use its allocation. Funds unused by March 1 of each year revert to the library general fund. After that date, the library will attempt to expend the unused funds in support of the appropriate part of the curriculum. However, consideration may be given to pressing needs in other areas. The cost of standing orders for a department is deducted from its succeeding year's allocation. The budgets for periodicals, microforms, and technology resources are not allocated to departments. The cost of periodicals and most electronic resources in all formats are paid from these non-allocated funds. The preservation budget is used for binding periodicals and books as needed and may also be used for the purchase of preservation supplies.

1.7 Cooperative resource sharing/interlibrary loan

Due to escalating prices and tremendous publishing output, academic libraries can no longer expect to be self-sufficient in meeting all patron needs. UNA's participation in OCLC, SOLINET, and the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries (NAAL) facilitates cooperative resource sharing with libraries throughout the state and nation. Through the interlibrary loan system UNA patrons may access and borrow materials that are not owned locally. This arrangement greatly expands the resources available to UNA students and faculty. Consortium pricing negotiated by NAAL for electronic resources, such as indexes and full-text databases, has also had a tremendous impact on the amount of material accessible to patrons while achieving significant cost savings. In addition, providing access to the library catalogs of the major academic institutions in the state, as well as national and international libraries, has been very beneficial to researchers.

1.8 Preservation and weeding

Preservation activities are centered in Collier Library's Periodicals Department. Periodicals retained permanently are bound at regularly established intervals. A Library Binding Institute certified commercial bindery is used to ensure quality performance. Print issues not retained are usually replaced with microforms, with the exception of ephemera and some non-indexed titles. Books and periodicals in need of repair are brought to the attention of Periodicals Department personnel at the point of use or by students reading shelves. Items are sorted for re-binding or mending, depending on the condition of the material. A trained student worker does mending under the guidance of the Periodicals Library Technical Assistant.

Weeding is an important facet of the collection building process. As new editions are received, older editions are evaluated by the Collection Development Librarian for possible discard. The Reference Coordinator makes this decision for material in the reference section. Faculty members are encouraged to bring outdated or useless material in their disciplines to the attention of the Collection Development Librarian. When appropriate, weeded materials may be offered as a lot to other publicly supported libraries. Otherwise, discards will be disposed of according to state regulations. Individual items may not be given to students or faculty for their personal use.

2. GENERAL COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES

2.1 Content and quality

Materials selected should meet high standards of quality in content, expression and format. Accepted aids to selection, such as Choice magazine, reviews in standard area professional journals, and recommended subject bibliographies should be consulted. Materials should support the stated goals of the library in providing diverse, well-rounded collections for the curricular, informational, research and recreational needs of students and faculty.

2.2 Editions

Selected material should usually be the latest editions available. However, editions should be those best suited to the students who will use them and not necessarily the most scholarly or definitive. Old editions and out-of-date works generally will be withdrawn from the collection as they are superseded.

2.3 Language

Material selected should generally be in the English language except for basic collections of foreign literatures taught at this university and some reference works unavailable in translation. Foreign films should be in the original language with yellow subtitles when possible.

2.4 Out-of-print material

Out-of-print materials are usually difficult and expensive to acquire and should be requested only when essential to instruction. When requested, the library will attempt to locate such material by listing it with an OP book dealer or searching the Internet.

2.5 Departmental materials

All materials purchased from library funds will be cataloged and will remain accessible to the university community. Materials to be kept in departments exclusively for classroom or laboratory use should not be requested from the department's library allocation.

2.6 Multiple copies

Requests for more than one copy of a title or particular edition are discouraged. If a title is expected to receive heavier than normal use, it should be placed on reserve. (See also section on textbooks.)

2.7 Standing orders

Standing orders are maintained for important reference sets and continuing series. In addition, comprehensive memberships in selected organizations are maintained in order to assure receipt of all publications.

3. SPECIAL CATEGORIES

3.1 Electronic resources

The proliferation and expense of electronic databases require that careful consideration be given to selecting those that will be most beneficial to UNA students and faculty. The Collection Development Librarian bears the ultimate responsibility for this but will make decisions in consultation with reference librarians. The following factors will be considered in selecting electronic resources:

a. Content: Is the database appropriate in content and at the appropriate scholarly level to support university academic programs? Is full-text included?

b. Affordability: Is the cost justified by either the number of potential users or by other materials the resource replaces? Is the database subsidized or available with consortium pricing, either through NAAL or another agency?

c. Accessibility: Does the license permit sufficient simultaneous users to justify the expense? Does the license permit remote access for off-campus/distance learning students? Is the resource available on the world wide web as opposed to CD-ROM only? Can a web resource be accessed through IP address validation instead of passwords?

Priority will be given to resources that meet the above criteria in the affirmative. Electronic resources are cataloged in UNACAT with appropriate links to the Internet.

3.2 Non-print/audiovisual materials

Suitability of materials for inclusion in the collection is determined primarily by content rather than by format. Videocassettes, videodiscs, audiocassettes, compact discs, computer software, etc. may be acquired when these materials are consistent with the purpose and mission of the library. Such materials will be housed in university libraries and remain fully accessible to the university community, subject to normal circulation restrictions of individual libraries. Further information concerning audiovisual material may be found in Appendix F: Selection of Audiovisual Resources: A Policy Statement.

3.3 Pamphlets and other ephemeral material

Materials of an ephemeral nature are not generally purchased by the library due to the expense that is required to process them. Those received by other means are evaluated for possible use in the library in accordance with the library policy for gifts (see Section 5.1).

3.4 Paperbacks

Hardback editions are generally preferred whenever available because of their greater durability. Quality paperbacks may be purchased when no hardback edition is in print or when warranted by the price differential. Except for the Popular Reading Collection, the purchase of mass market paperbacks is discouraged due to poor paper quality.

3.5 Periodicals

Periodicals are purchased from a general library fund which is not allocated to individual departments. Requests for new subscriptions and backfiles are judged by various criteria such as indexing, cost and potential usefulness to the greatest number of students and faculty at UNA. Other considerations include a journal's availability in a full-text database and space requirements. Periodicals may be acquired in microform in order to save space and money. Duplicate microform subscriptions are also maintained for some titles which are oversize, in newsprint, or subject to frequent mutilation. Electronic journals may be acquired as requested and are subject to the above criteria. Those received on a paid subscription basis will be cataloged with links to the web address. Free e-journals as a rule will not be cataloged but may be listed under an appropriate web page category. Newspapers are received from various towns in north Alabama, major Alabama cities and key regional areas of the United States. Selected foreign newspapers may be acquired if funds permit. Print copies of newspapers are not retained permanently.

3.6 Textbooks

It is not the responsibility of the library to provide classroom texts for students. These should be ordered and purchased through local bookstores. Purchase of non-classroom textbooks is also discouraged unless they cover an area of interest for which there is no other general material available. Faculty donations to the library of publisher-supplied complimentary textbooks will be accepted in accordance with the Alabama Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 1155 (Appendix G). Retention of such gifts will be determined by the Collection Development Librarian.

4. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

4.1 Reference

A separate allocation from the general library fund finances the purchase of reference materials. Selections are usually made by the reference librarians with input from other librarians and faculty members. Faculty members may also request reference materials from their respective departmental library allocations. Material selected should focus primarily on subject areas reflecting the University's curricular offerings. Priority is given to electronic and print formats. Reference materials are selected by perusing standard review sources such as Choice, Library Journal, Reference & User Services Quarterly, as well as publishers' announcements. The print collection is weeded on a continuing basis to maintain currency.

4.2 Government documents

Collier Library is a selective depository for federal government publications. Documents are chosen which support the needs of UNA students and faculty, or which may be useful to the general public. Government publications not received as depository selections may be requested by faculty in the same manner as other library materials. In the absence of an Alabama state depository system, available state documents are collected whenever possible and integrated into the Alabama Collection.

4.3 Alabama Collection

Books about Alabama and Alabamians are routinely acquired and placed in the Alabama Collection. Books by Alabama authors, but not relating to Alabama subjects, are generally acquired and placed in the regular stacks.

4.4 Maps

Collier Library acquires sheet maps, atlases, globes and charts featuring physical, political and special topics of interest to UNA's students and faculty. As a selective U.S. Depository library, maps are received from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Defense Mapping Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency.

4.5 Archives

The purpose of the University of North Alabama Archives is to collect, preserve, index, and make available to researchers records of the history of north Alabama. The first priority of the collection is material directly relating to the University of North Alabama-its administration, faculty, students and physical plant. The histories of the Quad-Cities (Florence, Sheffield, Muscle Shoals, and Tuscumbia) are the second priority of the collection. Coverage is thorough, but not as comprehensive as for the University. The third priority of the collection is historical material pertaining to Lauderdale and Colbert counties. The focus of the remainder of the collection is in the following descending order: northern Alabama, Alabama-statewide, and the neighboring states of Mississippi and Tennessee. The Archives Librarian is responsible for determining the suitability of materials not covered by these guidelines and the addition of such to the collection.

4.6 Popular Reading collection

Collier Library purchases works of contemporary fiction and non-fiction for this collection. Selections are made primarily from current bestseller lists in the New York Times and Publishers Weekly and from reviews of new books in these and other sources. Recommendations from faculty, staff and students are welcomed.

5. DONATIONS

5.1 Gifts

Collier Library accepts gifts of materials which are appropriate for the needs of UNA students and faculty. Such gifts should, however, be consistent with the collection development policies outlined above. The Collection Development Librarian is responsible for deciding which materials will actually be cataloged and added to the collection. Most duplicates and items judged unsuitable for UNA libraries will be given to another library or discarded. Gifts to be included in a donor's income tax deductions should be accompanied by a descriptive list of titles and their current estimated value. The library will formally accept gifts by letter, if requested, but cannot provide an estimate of their value for tax purposes.

5.2 Memorial books

The library purchases books in memory of or in honor of individuals as requested by faculty, students or other individuals or organizations. The donor should make out a check payable to Collier Library indicating that it is for a memorial book. If the donor would like for the library to select a book in a particular subject area, this will be done within the limitations of the amount given. A bookplate is placed in each book indicating the person in whose memory the book is given and the person(s) or organization responsible for the gift. Written acknowledgement is made to the donor and also to the family of the person memorialized. Forms for use in requesting memorial books are available in the Acquisitions Department.

6. BRANCH LIBRARIES

6.1 Learning Resources Center

The Learning Resources Center enables students to see, hear, and experience teaching/learning activities in a variety of ways. It houses major resources needed by faculty and prospective teachers to examine, evaluate, and utilize instructional materials in learning and in preparing instruction. Materials selected should reflect the College of Education's commitment to excellence in teacher education in diverse and multicultural settings.

Appropriate materials include courses of study, curriculum guides, idea books (methods), elementary and secondary textbooks, accreditation reports, evaluation reviews and self-studies, etc. In addition, the LRC houses a children's literature collection, selection aids, bibliographies of materials, materials on current trends in and innovative approaches to teaching/learning. Materials in all formats are acquired, including books, games, multimedia kits, videocassettes, audiocassettes, slides, study prints and computer software.

Works on the philosophy, foundations and history of education and scholarly research materials are housed in Collier Library.

6.2 Music Library

The Music Library collects recordings, scores, collected editions and videocassettes on music topics for use primarily within the Department of Music. Other music monographs, reference works and periodicals are housed in Collier Library.

6.3 Kilby Laboratory School Library

The library of Kilby Laboratory School exists to support the goals and objectives of the school by providing support and enrichment for its curriculum. The library's collection includes materials for use by students and faculty of the school. Materials are available to, but not selected for, students and faculty of the University of North Alabama.

The faculty and administration of Kilby Laboratory School endorse the Library Bill of Rights, The School Library Bill of Rights, and the Freedom to Read Statement adopted by the American Library Association.

Ultimate authority for materials in the Kilby Laboratory School Library rests with the Dean of the College of Education. The Librarian has the day-to-day responsibility for the selection and maintenance of the library collection. The Librarian reports to the Principal of the school, who in turn reports to the Chair of the Department of Elementary Education, who reports to the Dean of the College of Education.

Recommendations and requests from faculty members of Kilby Laboratory School are given great weight in the selection process. These recommendations and requests will be routinely solicited from faculty members. Recommendations and requests from students of Kilby Laboratory School are also considered.

Appropriate selection tools such as Children's Catalog, Booklist, and School Library Journal are used to make choices for inclusion in the Kilby Library collection.

Books and other materials are purchased with funds from the school's budget and acquired through the Acquisitions Department of Collier Library. Materials are also purchased with State Library Enhancement or ECIA, Chapter II, funds and acquired through the Lauderdale County Board of Education.

Books, periodicals, and non-print materials are added to the collection of Kilby Library. A small reference collection is maintained for the use of students and faculty. Usually hardcover books are purchased. Paperback books for reference or circulation are acquired when no hardcover edition of the book is available. These are acquired and processed in the same manner as are hardcover editions. In addition, a small collection of paperbacks is maintained and shelved on a paperback rack; these are designated "paper" as part of their call numbers. An attempt will be made to replace each title designated "paper" before it is removed from the library catalog database.

Periodicals are chosen for student use and shelved in the main library room, or for faculty use and shelved in the professional collection. In addition to meeting the criteria of supporting the goals and curriculum of the school, periodicals will also be chosen based on their inclusion in the library's indexing tool, Children's Magazine Guide.

Non-print materials, including but not limited to videocassettes, recordings, study prints, and computer software, will be acquired and maintained under the same standards as are print materials. Equipment for the use of these materials will also be a part of the library collection.

Gifts of books or non-book materials must meet the criteria of usefulness to the goals and curriculum of Kilby School. Donations in honor or in memory of individuals are accepted under the same conditions. A plate will be attached to the book or other material to indicate the person donating the item, and the person in whose honor or memory the item is donated.

Requests from parents or other citizens for reevaluation of library materials in the collection of Kilby Library will be accepted courteously, but must be submitted in writing for a reevaluation to take place (see Appendix H: Citizen's Statement of Concern About Library/Media Center Resources). Materials under reevaluation will remain in use until the process is completed. Upon receiving a request for reevaluation of library materials, the Principal will convene a committee of three faculty members who will study the material in question, confer with the Librarian, read reviews and other pertinent documents, and submit a written recommendation to retain or withdraw the item. The Principal, upon receipt of the committee's recommendation, will notify the citizen requesting the reevaluation of the committee's decision, with any action taken. Appeals of the reevaluation may be made in the following order: to the Principal, to the Chair of the Department of Elementary Education, to the Dean of the College of Education.

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Collection Development Plan

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