Collection Development Policy
Memorial Library
Berry College
This document shall serve as a guide in the development of the collections of Memorial Library. The policies and regulations established herewith shall be in agreement with the approved objectives of Memorial Library and shall not be considered unalterable but can be amended if, in the judgment of the library professional staff, changes are necessary. Amendments to this document shall be submitted to the Libraries Committee for consideration and subsequently to the provost, through the associate provost, for approval.
| I. | General | XI. | Recordings |
| II. | Book Collection | XII. | Audiovisuals |
| III. | Paperback Books | XIII. | Electronic Media |
| IV. | Multiple Copies | XIV. | Computer Software |
| V. | Rare Books and Manuscripts | XV. | Gifts |
| VI. | Berry College Archives and Publications |
XVI. | Responsibility for Collection Development |
| VII. | Government Publications | XVII. | Weeding |
| VIII. | Periodicals | XVIII. | Replacement of Lost Books |
| IX. | Music Materials | XIX. | Censorship |
| X. | Maps |
I. General
Memorial Library shall use its funds to develop a collection which reflects the educational objectives, and supports the educational and service programs of the college. Memorial Library shall acquire materials in the field of the undergraduate and graduate programs offered by the college, and they shall be appropriate to the level of instruction. Effort shall also be made to acquire materials which are broader in scope than any particular discipline or field of study defined in the college's academic program. The library shall exercise care in the purchase of highly specialized research materials solely for individual faculty use. Interlibrary loan shall be sufficient for the occasional need of esoteric, limited-use materials.
Criteria for selection of library materials shall be based on the accuracy and authority of the material, the reputation of the author and publisher, and the social and/or artistic merit or importance of the materials. Such evaluation shall be based both on reviews in the professional literature and on the professional judgment of the faculty and library professional staff.
II. Book Collection
- The book collection shall contain a strong general reference collection. Such collection is the basis for research and cannot be borrowed from other libraries.
- The book collection shall contain the standard reference works useful in the fields covered by the undergraduate and graduate curricula of the college.
- For each field in the curricula, Memorial Library shall also contain an adequate collection of books concerning:
- The subject as a whole
- Divisions of the subject where courses are offered
- Other significant divisions of the subject
- The book collection shall contain books in significant subjects not part of the curricula
- The book collection shall contain books appropriate for recreational reading
- Memorial Library shall not generally acquire textbooks which students are expected to purchase for class use.
III. Paperback Books
Books of lasting value will usually be acquired in paperback only if not available in a more permanent binding. Such books will usually be permanently bound prior to incorporating them into the collection. Popular books of temporary interest may be acquired in paperback.
IV. Multiple Copies
Ordinarily, Memorial Library will purchase single copies of books. Faculty members recommending purchasing of multiple copies of the same title shall give justification of need.
V. Rare Books and Manuscripts
Memorial Library shall not develop a collection of rare books and manuscripts. However, Memorial Library, through its archives department, shall exercise careful guardianship of those manuscripts, rare books, and other valuable items which might be donated to it.
VI. Berry College Archives and Publications
Memorial Library shall collect, organize, preserve, and make available all official publications of Berry College. It shall also collect, organize, preserve, and make available to scholars the Martha Berry papers and the Berry College archives.
VII. Government Publications
Memorial Library shall continue as a "select depository" library of United States government publications. Criteria for selecting government documents shall be the same as those applied to other materials. Since depository status imposes the obligation of serving the public, documents of general interest to the community shall be selected.
VIII. Periodicals
Memorial Library shall subscribe to, preserve, and make available a selected number of general and scholarly periodicals in the disciplines covered by the academic program.
Priority shall be given to acquiring titles indexed in the standard periodical indexes owned by the library and those titles recommended in bibliographies; e.g., Katz Magazines for College Libraries. Single issues and short files of periodicals shall be discarded. Newsletters and other periodicals of short-term interest shall be kept for a limited period of time.
IX. Music Materials
Memorial Library shall not acquire music scores, phonograph music recordings, or music works on compact disc.
X. Maps
Area maps shall be acquired. As a general practice, other maps shall not be acquired except those received under the library's government depository status.
XI. Recordings
Memorial Library shall acquire and make available recordings of the spoken word to use in connection with the curriculum. Such recordings shall be housed in the Media Center.
XII. Audiovisuals
Memorial Library shall acquire audiovisuals in support of the academic program. Criteria for selecting audiovisuals shall be the same as those applied to other materials. Audiovisuals shall be processed in the library and housed in the Media Center.
XIII. Electronic Media
Memorial Library shall acquire compact discs and electronic databases of an informational nature in support of the academic program and research needs of Berry faculty, students, and library personnel. Criteria for selecting compact discs and electronic database products shall be the same as those applied to other library materials.
XIV. Computer Software
Memorial Library shall acquire computer software in support of the academic program and the library's technological needs. Criteria for selecting computer software shall be the same as those applied to other library materials.
XV. Gifts
Gifts of books and other materials shall be accepted under the condition that Memorial Library may dispose of them if they fail to prove desirable additions to the collection because of their physical condition, obsolescence of materials contained, or failure to be of sufficient use to Memorial Library clientele.
Gift materials added to Memorial Library or materials purchased with money donated to the library shall be incorporated into the library's collections. Book plates identifying the donor shall be inserted in gift materials or materials purchased with gift funds. The director of the college library shall not be responsible for a statement to the donor of the monetary value of the gift for tax or other purposes.
XVI. Responsibility for Collection Development
The building of an outstanding library collection is the joint responsibility of the faculty and professional staff of the library, though the ultimate responsibility for the quality of the library collection rests with the director of the library.
Because the librarians are in the best position to observe the overall quality and balance of the collection in all subject areas, the professional library staff, using standard bibliographies and other appropriate resources, may select and purchase materials in any subject area. The librarians shall constantly evaluate and monitor the collection to insure its development according to the principles stated in this document.
The adequate development of Memorial Library is possible through the active interest of faculty members in recommending acquisitions pertinent to the teaching fields in which they respectively specialize. To this end, each of the four schools into which the college is divided is allocated a portion of the library budget each fiscal year for library materials. Each school is encouraged to make an equitable distribution of the allocation in such a way as best to provide library support for the work of the entire school. Schools are expected to recommend library purchases which will develop the library collection in accord with the principles stated in this document.
XVII. Weeding
A systematic and periodic program of weeding shall be carried out by the library professional staff in consultation with the faculty. Unneeded duplicates, obsolete materials, and materials no longer appropriate in Memorial Library's collection shall be withdrawn from circulation and discarded. Materials beyond repair shall be discarded and replacements, if available, shall be acquired.
XVIII. Replacement of Lost Books
Lost books shall be replaced, if available, upon recommendation of faculty members or librarians.
XIX. Censorship
Berry College is a private college governed by its own board of trustees. Therefore, censorship efforts on the part of persons or groups outside the corporate structure of Berry College shall not be acknowledged. In order to evaluate the criticism of persons or groups legitimately related to the college and to establish guidelines for the acquisition of materials of potentially controversial nature, the following shall be the policy of Memorial Library:
- A. In an effort to support the concept that "...education is basically a process of searching for and teaching truth..." and "...that as such cannot thrive in an atmosphere of intolerance, suspicion, or fear,"* Memorial Library shall make available to the Berry College academic community materials offering the widest possible variety of viewpoints, regardless of the popularity of the viewpoints or the popularity or unpopularity of their authors.
- B. Selection of materials for Memorial Library shall be based on the criteria expressed in the General Statement of this document regardless of the frankness of language or controversial manner an author may use in dealing with subjects of religion, politics, sex, social, economic, scientific, or moral issues.
In handling criticisms of materials, the director of the college library shall respond to the person or groups, quoting or referring to the above policy. Persistent or repeated criticism from persons or groups legitimately related to Berry College shall be referred to the Libraries Committee and to the dean of academic services.
* Faculty and Staff Handbook, "Academic Freedom," p. b9...
Document Revised 12/1996