Collection Development Policy
The LSUA Library Services Collection Development Policy supports the mission of Louisiana State University of Alexandria and the mission of LSUA Library Services:
LSUA Mission Statement: As the only state-supported undergraduate university in Louisiana, LSUA’s mission is to provide a broad spectrum of affordable undergraduate degrees in a robust academic environment that challenges students to excel and creates proactive and reciprocal relationships that meet the needs of the diverse student body and community that it serves.
LSUA Library Services Mission Statement: Library Services is an academic unit which provides instruction, resources, and other services in order to enhance academic programs, to stimulate teaching and research, and to foster student, faculty, and community growth. Library Services provides opportunities to its users to achieve the information literacy necessary to pursue their educational, research, and professional goals, while laying the foundation for lifelong learning. Library Services seeks collaboration with LSUA's faculty in its selection of resources and provision of service.
Objectives of Collection Development
- To meet the information needs at LSUA through the acquisition and maintenance of resources
- To provide information in formats that includes print monographs, serials, audiovisual materials, and online materials with priority assigned to online materials
- To continuously improve the collection
Responsibility for Collection Development
Library faculty, library staff, and teaching faculty are jointly responsible for collection development. The Director of Library Services, with the help of the Assistant to the Library Director, manages the expenditure of funds, ensures adherence to the collection development policy, and supervises an orderly procurement system.
While teaching faculty should inform their department’s subject bibliographer of appropriate library acquisitions, the library faculty and staff have a duty to anticipate and provide resources with potential for long-lasting use and with relevance to disciplines taught at LSUA. Student and staff requests are also welcome and reviewed by the same criteria as faculty requests.
Fund Allocations for Materials
After the LSUA library materials budget is finalized for the fiscal year, the Director of Library Services encumbers sufficient money for general materials, reference materials, annual subscriptions, renewals, and binding. Remaining funds are divided by the Director, with these factors affecting the formula:
- The base budget for each discipline is based on a formula dividing the number of Student Credit Hours (SCHs) in all courses in a particular discipline with the total number of SCHs produced in the previous academic year.(For example, if 1000 SCHs were in History courses in a given academic year and the total number of SCHs produced at LSUA in that academic year was 10,000, then 10% of the base allotment would be used to buy materials in History.)
- The budget may be adjusted to reflect the fact that some disciplines (e.g. math) do not publish many titles suitable for undergraduates and the average cost of a new title varies by subject. Average costs are reported in The Bowker Annual.
Selection Procedure
In early fall, the Director informs each department’s chair and subject bibliographer of the department’s allocation/s and asks department chairs and subject bibliographers to submit titles for their discipline/s by a specified deadline. In early spring, the Director informs each department’s chair and subject bibliographer of the department’s balance/s and reiterates the deadline to submit requests.
Subject bibliographers maintain regular contact with their respective department chair/s or delegate/s by 1) forwarding relevant information from publisher publications and review sources such as Choice, and 2) answering questions related to the collection and the collection development process.
Criteria for Selection of Materials
Priority is assigned to
- materials relevant to undergraduate disciplines taught at LSUA,
- materials that support new curricula or courses,
- interdisciplinary materials of general academic interest,
- materials relevant to the history of LSUA and Central Louisiana,
- general reading materials of interest to undergraduate students,
- materials in the English language unless they are 1) needed for non-English language or literature instruction, or 2) recognized classics that are not available in translation.
- current materials,
- materials recommended by standard sources of reviews, and
- materials frequently requested through interlibrary loan.
Additional criteria:
- reputation of author, issuing body, or publisher;
- special features including indexing, bibliographies, footnotes, or graphics;
- strength of current library holdings in the discipline;
- strength of current library holdings by same author or issuing body;
- demand (as indicated by circulation statistics, interlibrary loan statistics, or reference transactions);
- cost; and
- recommendation by standard source of reviews
Low priority is assigned to out-of-print materials and individual research materials that are unlikely to be of use to other current or future users.
Preference of format:
- Online materials that are easily accessible on-campus and off-campus are preferred over print materials.
- Hardbound materials are preferred over paperback materials if 1) the difference in price is minimal, 2) the title will be frequently used, or 3) the title will be of lasting value.
The library materials budget is not used to buy
- materials for laboratories, departmental collections, curriculum collections, etc.;
- materials to be housed outside the library;
- microforms;
- duplicate copies;
- flat maps;
- fiction that is not likely to be of long-term interest;
- theses or dissertations;
- computer software;
- VHS tapes;
- slides; or
- textbooks.
Additional Criteria for Selection of Journals and Databases
The library may subscribe to a print journal that supports the curriculum at the request of a faculty member or librarian if 1) money is available, 2) it is likely that current issues of the journal will be browsed, and 3) the journal is not available online.
The library may subscribe to an online journal or database that supports the curriculum at the request of a faculty member or librarian if money is available and the subscription fills a gap in current resources.
Weeding
- Library staff may weed duplicates that have a low history of circulation, beginning with items that are most worn and have the least useful life remaining.
- Librarians may also weed materials that are no longer useful.
- Worn or damaged library materials are repaired, rebound, discarded, or replaced. If the title is not in print, another title with similar or better information may be purchased.
- Withdrawn materials are de-accessioned by covering LSUA ownership marks and
suppressing reference to the item in the catalog and WorldCat. Withdrawn books may be donated to another library, sold at a public book sale, or discarded. - The Reference Librarian weeds materials no longer needed in the reference collection.
- The Library Director collaborates with the Nursing Department’s Learning Resources Committee each spring to review the nursing collection. At that time, out-of-date nursing resources are removed from the collection.
- Materials related to each academic department except Nursing are reviewed for weeding every seven years on a rotating basis.
Reference Collection
The Reference Librarian annually reviews the reference collection and reads reviews to remain familiar with new reference titles relevant to the needs of LSUA students and faculty. The Reference Librarian notes yearbooks/serials to be updated and recommends new reference titles for purchase.
Conservation, Preservation, and Restoration
Damaged materials are repaired, rebound, replaced, or discarded as demand indicates and funds permit. Lost materials are replaced as demand indicates and funds permit.
Current journals are displayed from 6 months to 3 years. At the end of this time period, journals of transient value are discarded.
Journals with enduring value and relevance to the curriculum are stored in Technical Processing. These journals are bound if they are not available online. Embargoed journals are stored until available online.
Gifts and Donations
The library may refuse any gift that does not contribute to the mission of the library. Gifts of library materials are accepted if they meet selection criteria and if the donor places no restrictions upon their acceptance. The library may discard, sell, or donate gift materials that cannot be added to the collection. The library does not make appraisals for tax or other fiduciary purposes; the donor is responsible for such appraisals. If requested, the Director will document the number and format/s of the accepted materials.
Rare Books
1. All materials in the following categories are processed for the Rare Books Room. (This includes some types of publications to be safeguarded although not strictly “rare.”)
A. Publications published before and including 1860.
B. U. S. Publications published before and including the dates listed below by state:
ALABAMA – 1839
ARIZONA – 1889
ARKANSAS -- 1860
CALIFORNIA – 1871
COLORADO – 1870
CONNECTICUT – 1800
DELAWARE – 1800
DIST OF COLUMBIA – 1800
FLORIDA – 1838
GEORGIA – 1845
IDAHO – 1888
ILLINOIS – 1846
INDIANA – 1840
IOWA – 1854
KANSAS – 1865
KENTUCKY – 1826
LOUISIANA – 1865
MAINE – 1800
MARYLAND – 1828
MASSACHUSETTS – 1800
MICHIGAN – 1848
MINNESOTA – 1869
MISSISSIPPI – 1851
MISSOURI – 1851
MONTANA – 1884
NEBRASKA – 1874
NEVADA – 1874
NEW HAMPSHIRE – 1800
NEW JERSEY – 1806
NEW MEXICO – 1870
NEW YORK – 1819
NORTH CAROLINA – 1812
NORTH DAKOTA – 1874
OHIO – 1820
OKLAHOMA – 1890
OREGON – 1864
PENNSYLVANIA – 1820
RHODE ISLAND – 1800
SOUTH CAROLINA – 1823
SOUTH DAKOTA – 1889
TENNESSEE – 1849
TEXAS – 1867
UTAH – 1870
VERMONT – 1800
VIRGINIA – 1810
WASHINGTON – 1877
WEST VIRGINIA – 1830
WISCONSIN – 1850
WYOMING – 1884
C. At least 1 copy (preferably 2) of University Publications.
2. Materials such as the following should be considered for the Rare Books collection:
A. Autographed books of exceptional interest.
B. Unusual limited editions.
C. Extraordinary first editions.
D. Portfolios containing original etchings, expensive plates, etc.
F. Local history and Louisiana publications. (Normally a copy will be placed in the circulating stacks, unless other considerations in this policy dictate otherwise.)
G. Scarce or expensive periodicals
H. Works justifying special attention on account of physical makeup: sumptuous binding; fine typography or illustrations; fore-edge painting; elaborate decorations; size or shape not adaptable to ordinary shelving; printing or vellum; silk, wood, or other unusual material.