The following paper is based on the topic of collection development policy for university libraries. The focus is on St Mary’s University’s library called Louis J. Blume Library, but various comparisons will be made with other university libraries such as Curtis University Library-Sydney. An analysis of the university’s collection development policy is done to assess issues such as its coverage, depth of treatment, appropriateness for nature of the library and clientele, clarity and lack of ambiguity, scope of interpretation and the currency of the policy. The efficacy of the selected collection development policy and the purpose and the function of the policy are articulated.
Analysis and Articulation of the collection development policy for Blume Library
There are several management issues that have been covered in the policy found in the Louis J. Blume Library at St Mary’s University. For example, the responsibility for material selection lies with the University’s Office of the president while a great part of the responsibility to select the library materials has been delegated to the Library Director (Collection Development Policy, 2009). Selection of materials is a management policy that is crucial in ensuring that a university develops an effective and efficient collection development in its library (Smith, 2001). As such, it is clear that St Mary’s university has given the instructional faculty the mandate to make requests for various library selections. The systematic policy of selection ensures that all selections are done in timely, effective and efficient manner (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2011). The faculty issues the subject and supplementary requests to the professional librarians such the development librarians who then make acquisitions for the materials. This policy has explicitly defined the above selection /acquisition of materials in the library management.
The other vital management issue that has been covered in the St Mary’s Library is the budget of collection development. For effective library management to occur, the university academic and the librarians should be involved in the determination of an approved expenditure and allocation of financial resources to the needs of the library (Johnson, 2009). In the Louis J. Blume Library, the budget allocation is done annually, but, in other university it is done once every two years. St. Mary’s university ensures that each budget is based on the previous budget to ensure that the rate of inflation is counteracted. The amount of money is broken down depending on the books or subject areas have been selected by the officials responsible.
Every issue in the Blume Library has been treated with significant depth and the level of specificity is high. For example, the criteria of selection of materials are outlined in depth to ensure that each of the criteria is considered while acquiring library materials. The first criterion in this university, like in many other university libraries, is the importance of the subject in accordance to the existing curriculum. This ensures that whatever material is acquired or purchased is relevant to the school’s curriculum, a vital aspect of sustaining collection development policies (Pickett, Stephens, Kimball, Ramirez, Thornton & Burford, 2011). The other specific criterion is the currency of information and its accuracy. The information contained in all materials must be chosen based on its accuracy and currency. Furthermore, the timeliness of the information is specifically mentioned in the policy because the University sometimes may need to introduce new courses urgently and the availability of library information should also be timely enough to allow smooth transitions of the new courses. Other specifications in the policy include the price, language (English), ease of use of materials, publishers and the formats. In other universities, such as Curtin University Sydney, (2011), the depth of treatment is seen in the emphasis that is given to the author’s reputation and the author’s significance.
Therefore, the level of specificity in the Blume University is very deep and every part of the policy, just like the part of criteria for selection, is given a great deal of depth explanation. The policy has been divided into main categories such as considerations in collection development, selection of materials, special collections within the library and the specific subject areas of the collection. Under each of these categories, there are deep explanations of the policy expectations and needs. This deep treatment of issues ensures that every part of the policy is clearly articulated and understood.
There is appropriateness for nature of the library and clientele, whereby the clientele includes students, faculty, CORAL clients, TexShare members and members of the public. For instance, St Mary’s University is a Catholic institution and therefore, it is based on a community of faith. In this respect, the library consists of various Marianist mission and collections that are expected to create affirmation of the whole university community. This is appropriate because the different resources found in the library create diverse perspectives for the whole community that may be very essential in fostering intellectual and spiritual growth amongst the members of the community. Also, the university is totally committed to establishing a continuous educational venture for the faculty and the students. This nature of the library is appropriate, considering that students and academicians always want to access available information that is relevant to the changing needs (Pickett, et al., 2011). This need is met by the library by providing new and updated information that covers a wide range of subjects, starting with general works and going to more specific subject areas. The content of the library materials is appropriate. This is because as a community of faith within the Catholic fraternity, the people in this area and university are likely to grow diverse perspectives regarding intellectual, emotional and religious issues. Considering that this university allows the public to access its library, it is very beneficial to provide faith- based materials because many of the public members may need to access such information for their own spiritual growth. Also, provision of general and specific works on emerging issues is very important and such content ensures that the library maintains accuracy and currency of information.
The content and materials found in Blume University possess clarity and their descriptions and directions are clear. However, clarity lacks in the types of collections that the library does not offer. Most university libraries do have a clear description of both the materials collected and those that are not collected (Ivancevich et al., 2011). For instance, in the Curtin University-Sydney, there are formats and materials that cannot be collected including works of art, games, charts, obsolete formats (for example, open reel tapes of filmstrips), examination revision materials , juvenile materials and instructional software. In the University of Blume, it may not be clear to the clientele as to what materials are not collected because these materials have not been explicitly mentioned in the policy.
However, the materials found in the library have been listed in the policy. The specific subject areas in the library collection include medicine, general works, philosophy, psychology, religion, statistics, history, mathematics, computer science, music, fine arts, agriculture, technology, military science and naval science among others (Collection Development Policy, 2009). This description is found in the policy and it is not ambiguous since each subject area has been given a brief description of what it entails. Clarity and lack of ambiguity in any collection development policy is the key to a successful and effective library implementation and management (Ivancevich et al., 2011). This assists the clientele to understand which subject or course area they can research in the university through the Blume University, thus making their work clear and easy while in the library.
While assessing the scope of interpretation, one may find that everything in the collection development policy for Blume University has been prescribed. Most of the issues that have been discussed are recommendations of what should be done within the library but not what is forbidden. In this case, it is clear that nothing has been proscribed or forbidden within the policy. Starting with the mission statement for the Blume University, it is can be seen that there are only recommendations as to what is expected by St. Mary’s University. The mission statement explains how the library is committed to work as a community of faith, work towards an educational and knowledge centre, dedicated to scholarship and how to reach out in service to the society. This kind of prescription is crucial in making the university community to understand the scope for the library (Smith, 2001). Furthermore, the clientele to be served, the considerations in collection development, selection of materials, special collections within the library and the specific subject areas of the collection have also been prescribed according to the needs of the University community. The policy has not cited specifically what should not be done in the library. Also, professional judgment is allowed in the interpretations of the collection development policy. This is because certain issues are left to be decided upon by the user of the library (Smith, 2001). In all libraries, it is usually difficult to determine what each student or faculty wants to research on, and that is why various subject and course categories are vital in the library for the clientele to decide upon which subject is relevant with his or her topic. This is why students should make professional judgment to enable them to narrow down towards the best subject materials or contents found in the library.
The University of Blume is very strict on currency and accuracy issues. According to Carter, (2007), library materials and contents may diminish the information accuracy if they are not part of the current library resource available in the contemporary world. This is because information may change over time and the materials found in a library may lose their credibility over time. In St Mary’s University, the library is usually up to date through various strategic measures aimed at ensuring currency and accuracy in the school. The university does this through authorized removal of material that is considered not useful. The decision of material withdrawal should be made by the evaluation of the material’s current condition, its age, the number and frequency of the loans, information rendered obsolete and awards won by the material (Imre & Cox, 2009). Once these materials are removed, new ones are acquired to replace the withdrawn ones. This policy ensures that all the people who access Blume’s resources are confident of the value of information they access because they are assured of its accuracy and currency. The librarians make sure that they carry out periodic utility evaluation to know which materials are no longer needed in the library and which materials should be acquired for the library. Some other universities ensure that the periodic utility evaluations are carried out throughout the year apart from summer time when there is less staffing (Imre & Cox, 2009). Such currency practices ensure that the policy is adhered to and the library remains up to date with all information.
Conclusion
St. Mary’s University’s library (Louis J. Blume Library) has selected its collection development policy very well in a purposeful and functional manner. The policy covers two main management issues namely the responsibility for material selection and budget allocation for the library acquisitions. Each part of the policy is treated with depth by explaining what is expected within the policy. The policy consists of material and content specifics such as government documents, manuscripts and rare books, juvenile literature and all specific subject areas found in the collection. The nature of Blume library is appropriate for the given clientele because it offers relevance of knowledge and diverse perspectives of knowledge. There is clarity of the policy description and directions, although clarity lacks in the type of materials and contents that the university does not allow. Forbidden or unnecessary materials have not been included in the collection development policy, meaning that it is difficult to understand what the library feels is unnecessary.
References
Carter, B. (2007). Leading Forward By Looking Backward. Library Media Connection, 25(4), 16-20.
Collection Development Policy. (2009). St. Mary’s University’s collection development policy. Louis J. Blume Library. http://library.stmarytx.edu/acadlib/acq/colldevp.pdf
Curtin University Sydney. (2011). Library policies: Collection development policy. Curtin University Library
Imre, A., & Cox, E. J. (2009). Are we on the right track? Issues with lp record collections in U.S. academic libraries. Notes, 65(3), 475-486.
Ivancevich, J., Konopaske, R. & Matteson, M. (2008). Organizational behavior and management (8th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill
Johnson, P. (2009). Fundamentals of collection development & management (2nd ed.). Chicago: ALA
Pickett, C., Stephens, J., Kimball, R., Ramirez, D., Thornton, J., & Burford, N. (2011). Revisiting an Abandoned Practice: The Death and Resurrection of Collection Development Policies. Collection Management, 36(3), 165-181.
Smith, K. A. (2001). Collection Development in Public and University Libraries of the Former German Democratic Libraries & Culture, 36(3), 413.
