This policy is a statement of the operating guidelines used by the Mueller Library in its acquisition and maintenance of materials. Rising costs, increases in publishing output, and relentlessly increasing demands for information necessitate careful materials selection, soundly based on an understanding of the immediate and future goals of the library, the institution, and the students it serves. A collection must be systematically shaped and developed in order to make the best use of the funds allotted it. The following are general policies which guide the process of developing the library’s collection. In this policy, the word "materials" shall be used to encompass all classes of materials which a library collects and makes available to its users.

II. OBJECTIVES

The primary goal of the Mueller Library is the support of the academic programs at Briar Cliff University. Objectives of the programs and of the library, in turn, are guided by the university’s mission statement:

Briar Cliff University is a community committed to higher education within a liberal arts and Catholic perspective. In the Franciscan tradition of service, caring and openness to all, Briar Cliff emphasizes quality education, combining a broad intellectual background with career development. The college challenges its members to grow in self-awareness and in their relationships to others and to God.

III. SELECTION RESPONSIBILITY

Ultimate responsibility for the development and maintenance of the library’s collection rests with the Library Director, who has delegated this responsibility to the Collection Development Librarian. All requests for materials are reviewed for their adherence to the selection guidelines (see Section V). It is hoped that faculty continually monitor their professional literature for appropriate library acquisitions, and that they make the library staff aware of library materials most useful for course requirements and for students’ research needs. Student and staff requests for acquisition of materials are also welcomed and encouraged; they are reviewed by the same standards as are the requests from all other sources.

IV. FUND ALLOCATION

It is the Library Director’s responsibility to allocate the materials budget in such a way as to fulfill the library’s collection development goals. The library’s materials budget is currently divided among monographs, serials, and non-print materials.

V. SELECTION GUIDELINES

The college’s mission statement, stated in Section II, must always provide the framework for selection. Quality of content and fulfillment of academic curricular need are the first criteria against which any potential item is evaluated. The library also endeavors to serve the needs of the faculty either by purchasing (if the materials can also be used by the student body) or by securing through interlibrary loan those resources needed for faculty study and research. Specific considerations in choosing individual items include some or all of the following:

• authoritativeness of the author or reputation of publisher
• strength of present holdings in same or similar subject area
• suitability of format to content
• cost
• lasting value of content

Other guidelines are also enforced:

• Textbooks are normally not purchased. Exceptions are those which have earned reputation as "classics" in their fields, or when a textbook is the only or best source of information on a particular topic.
• In instances where the cost of an item is high and the demand is low, the holdings of nearby libraries, Sioux City Library Cooperative (SCLC )and others, are considered in determining whether or not an order should be made.
• When there is an option of paper or hardcopy, the choice is based on expected use, lasting value of content, and cost differential.
• Majority of selections are current publications. The library recognizes the need for retrospective purchases, and at times may need to purchase older editions to fill gaps in the collection. However, in view of difficulty and expense in obtaining out-of-print materials, it is most important to spend funds for valuable current publications of long-term worth, thus preventing a future need for retrospective buying.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

This collection will include materials appropriate for preschool children through young adults. Emphasis will be placed on award winning titles and honor books, plus exemplary titles supporting a cross-curricular approach to teaching. Although the collection contains materials suitable for children, it is part of an academic library, and as such should be used by education students, teachers and faculty. Children wishing to use it need to be accompanied by an adult with a current Briar Cliff Library card.

CURRICULUM COLLECTION

Curriculum materials, while available to all patrons, are selected specifically to answer the needs of the education department. Copies of current textbooks covering subject areas in both elementary and secondary education constitute the majority of the collection. Educational games, media, computer software, etc., used in the elementary and secondary school curriculum are also collected and housed with the curriculum collection. Professional reading materials (books and journals) will be purchased, classified and cataloged for the main collection. Selections for the curriculum collection will be made in conjunction with the faculty of the education department.

VII. SERIALS

Because each periodical title does involve a prospective long-standing commitment, and because of increasing periodical subscription rates and limited funds, acquisition of a serial title requires, and receives, substantially more consideration than acquisition of a single monograph. Mueller Library presently subscribes to about titles, including serials, periodicals, newspapers, and indexing services. Patrons requesting the addition of new periodical titles are asked to complete a form describing the value of the title to the library’s collection. (See Appendix A for serial request form)

Some or all of the following criteria are used in evaluating serial titles for acquisition or cancellation:

• indexed in library-held indexes
• number of recent interlibrary loan requests for this periodical
• strength of the existing periodicals in this subject area
• support of present academic curriculum
• cost and/or projected availability of funds
• reputation of journal
• projected future use
• present use of other periodicals in this subject area if held in nearby libraries

VIII. NON-PRINT MATERIAL

Requests for non-print materials (audio and video tapes, CDs, slides, computer software, etc.) are evaluated on the same basis as are monographs, with special emphasis on the suitability of the format to the content, and on the quality and appropriateness of the production. Non-print materials are considered simply a different format of subject information. Evaluation, weeding and replacement of non-print items follow the same guidelines and procedures as for monographs, with one exception. Since non-print materials are used more often for classroom display, all items must be previewed by a faculty member before purchase, to insure the usability of the materials.

IX. GIFTS

Gifts are encouraged, with the understanding that the library may dispose of them or add them to the collection at its discretion. Gift materials will be added based on the same criteria as purchased ones. The library assumes no responsibility for appraisal of gift items, nor will the library accept gifts under restricted conditions.

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APPENDIX A. SERIAL REQUEST FORM

Title of periodical______________________________________________________________

Frequency of publication ___________________ Price _______________Starting date _________

Since limited funds and the need to maintain a balanced collection require that we add periodical titles selectively, we need you to answer the following questions:

1. How do you plan to use this publication? ___professional reading for faculty

___enrichment for "A" students

___easier reading for beginning students

___ other ________________________

2. What does this title offer that present periodicals do not? (Examples: more scholarly articles, better illustrations, easier reading, case studies ) __________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

3. Please assign a rating by checking one

____essential (even if other titles in this field must be canceled)

____required for an adequate collection

____would add strength to our collection

____good to have if funds are available

4. Have you checked to see if:

____this is indexed in one of our indexes? If so, which one? _____________________________

____another library in the city already has this? If so, which one(s)? _______________________

____other faculty would also use this? If so, who? _________________________________________

Your name_________________________________________________________________________

Department ________________________________________________________________________

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For staff use:

Found in Ulrich’s ___ed. , page____ price $______

Reviews located: ___________________________________________________________

Issue previewed: ____________________________________________________________

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