COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY
The National Academies Research Center provides facilities, collections and services to meet the research, instructional, and outreach needs of the institution. The resources required to meet these needs are provided from our collection as well as from other libraries and information providers. We create bibliographic records for all materials within our collection and make these records accessible in our online catalog, which is publicly available at http://iris2.nas.edu. Our staff provide instructional services to assure effective information access, delivery, interpretation and use of this system.
The Research Center (RC) accepts responsibility for the building and maintenance of our collection in certain limited subject areas where these resources add value to the overall work of the institution. The Research Center staff selects materials for the collection cooperatively. The selection criteria, as stated in the following sections of this policy, are applied for all final decisions on purchases regardless of the cost. Our budget for acquisitions is limited. Decisions on purchase of materials for the collections are made within the constraints of present budget funds.
- To support the research and service programs of the institution and to assist administrative and service personnel in the effective performance of their duties. Because of the specialized and information-intensive nature of such research, we will attempt to provide core and supporting materials in selected areas that parallel the work of the Academies and the Research Center will rely on interlibrary for other needed information.
- To support the general information needs of staff through the provision of general reference works and works dealing with topics of current concern.
- To assist other libraries in supplying needed information and to support other library or institutional cooperative programs.
- To anticipate future research requirements of the Academies by collecting basic works in fields not directly related to existing programs or which are of such importance that they belong in any respectable research library.
Faced with significant gaps in our existing collection and the increasing output of new literature, the Research Center must emphasize selective acquisition of current materials over, but not to the exclusion of, retrospective materials.
Buying Books and Other Materials for Projects
The Research Center does not purchase books or other materials requested by staff for project use. However, we will assist in providing publisher contact information and bibliographic information for materials to be purchased. The responsibility for ordering materials for projects is that of each division’s Financial Officer or other designated staff members within a division. We welcome recommendations from staff of materials to add to the general collection of the Research Center that meet the criteria stated in the selection guidelines of this policy.
Materials Not Included in the Online Catalog
Due to space constraints and the labor level of effort required, certain materials are not cataloged and added to our online catalog. These materials include:
1. Journal articles published within another journal
2. Individual PNAS journal articles or other journal articles
3. Materials donated to the Research Center that do not meet the criteria stated in this policy
National Academies Classified Reports
Classified reports are not included in the Research Center collections.
This policy takes into account that our funding resources are insufficient to acquire all materials potentially needed by staff. Therefore, the Research Center will forgo purchase of specialized or infrequently used materials if they can be readily borrowed through interlibrary loan (ILL). ILL requests may be placed by staff using our online interlibrary loan system: http://nas.illiad.oclc.org/illiad.
The Research Center serves as the institution’s repository for the housing and preservation of reports published by the National Academies. In this role, we maintain both a main collection (circulating) as well as an archived repository collection (non-circulating) of reports.
Our goal regarding preservation of reports is to maintain two (2) copies of a published National Academies report. In some cases, the Research Center may have only one copy of a report in the repository collection, particularly for pre-1960 published reports; therefore, the following will apply:
1.
Requests for interlibrary loan. If the one copy of a report is no more than forty (40) pages, our ILL Office will make a photocopy and loan the photocopy only.
2.
Requests from the public. The National Academies Press (NAP) office (http://www.nap.edu) handles requests for purchases of reports. However, if the public inquiry is for a report that is out-of-print or otherwise not available from NAP, we will:
a.
Provide onsite use of a National Academies report with a prior appointment;
b.
Check NTIS and, as appropriate, refer public inquiries to this organization to purchase reports; or
c.
Determine if an interlibrary loan with an affiliated college, university or other organization can be arranged provided stipulations noted above in section 1 are met.
IMPORTANT NOTE: As a standard service, the Research Center does not routinely provide photocopies of National Academies reports to the public or make photocopies of reports to add as copy 2 when only copy 1 is available.
The Research Center recognizes that gifts of materials for the collections are almost as important as materials that we purchase. Consequently, gifts of materials for our collections are given the same degree of care in evaluation and processing as purchases. All gifts become the immediate property of the Research Center and all decisions regarding the retention of gift materials rests solely with the Research Center Manager. Our gift process involves the following:
(1) Initial acceptance and acknowledgement
(2) Determination of value added to the collection and retention decision
(3) Processing and storage
Gifts not to be added to the collection will be handled through the Research Center’s disposition process, which varies depending on the gift materials.
RC staff is prevented by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations from appraising the value of gifts given to the Research Center. RC staff may only direct donors to information on how to obtain book prices.
The Research Center reserves the right to refuse any gift on which the donor has placed restrictions, such as requiring that a collection of books be kept apart from the remainder of our collection and housed in a special area or part of the stacks out of their normal classification sequence.
Disposal of Unneeded Gift Material
The Research Center reserves the right to dispose of gift material that is found to be inappropriate for the collection or not needed in accordance with existing disposal policy.
Donation Materials Not Accepted
- Most textbooks, except in those areas where the titles represent the main body of knowledge or best available source of information.
- Older editions of titles already owned by the Research Center, unless the earlier edition contains different information.
- Marked-up or dilapidated copies.
- Consumable materials, including workbooks, laboratory manuals, and standardized tests that generally fall into the category of instructional supplies.
- Outdated titles containing erroneous or misleading information, particularly in the science, social science and business disciplines.
- Short or broken sets of periodicals, unless the acquisition would complete an existing run.
Books/monographs are normally collected in clothbound editions except when items are available only in paperback editions. Textbooks, workbooks, study guides, translations of English titles into foreign languages or of foreign titles translated into non-English languages are collected only by exception. Books of a very popular nature or self-help books are collected only when justified by some educational consideration.
Journals/periodicals/annuals are normally acquired only through subscription; individual issues or reprints of articles are rarely purchased. In addition to collecting journals that support the program units, we will acquire periodicals of more general interest to the academic community. Factors that will be weighed in the selection of general interest periodicals are: (1) the substantial nature of articles in the periodical and their intellectual content; (2) degree to which the periodical reflects thoughtful assessment of contemporary trends in society; (3) inclusion of the periodical in indexing and abstracting services; (4) strength of demand combined with lack of ready availability elsewhere; and (5) cost. There will be no attempt to collect periodicals specifically for recreational reading or for hobbyists.
Monographic series may be acquired as individual titles, or by establishing a continuation order. The need to purchase all volumes in the series is the primary requirement for establishing a continuation order. Further justification in the form of cost savings or difficulty in learning of the publication of new volumes may be required. Normally, continuation orders are established for works in parts that the Research Center may wish to acquire.
Newspaper subscriptions will be carried by the Research Center in order to support the research requirements of the institution and to provide sources of national and international news and general intellectual and cultural awareness. Due to budget constraints, we are unable to make specific attempts to use our funds to collect the hometown newspapers or newspapers for specific divisions, administrative offices, or operations units.
Non-United States newspapers will be collected in direct support of teaching and research, and to provide some limited coverage of major regions of the world by outstanding newspapers. Newspapers of a cultural, business, political, organized labor, or social orientation will be considered on a title-by-title basis.
Microforms are acquired when the desired material is available only in microform, or when it is significantly less expensive and sufficiently usable in that format. If dissertations must be acquired because of the importance of the particular title, the scarcity of other research material in the subject or our commitment to comprehensive collecting in the subject, microform is preferred. Due to the high costs of dissertations, Academies staff may be asked to fund dissertations needed for a specific project study that does not have overall benefit for the entire institution.
Technical reports are documents obtained from a contractor as a primary objective of a contract negotiated for the development of scientific data, instruments, methodology and information. The Research Center selectively acquires technical reports in subject areas where such documents are an important part of a discipline's literature or are necessary to support the programs of the institution and their research requirements. Technical reports will be acquired in electronic format only.
Serial Defined: A serial is a publication in any medium issued in successive parts bearing numerical or chronological designations and continued indefinitely. Serials include periodicals, newspapers; annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc); the journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, etc., of societies; and numbered monographic series.
Periodical Defined: A publication that is issued at least twice a year, including journals, magazines and newspapers.
The Research Center selectively acquires through purchase a wide range of serial publications. Serials, including periodicals, newspapers and standing orders, are an important part of our collection, but they also pose several problems. Serials are usually fairly expensive and we do not have sufficient funds to purchase all requested titles. Once ordered, serials represent a continuing and growing expense which, if not controlled, can lead to reductions in our ability to acquire other types of material. The Research Center will work to acquire all types of serials as the subject matter is appropriate to the research needs of staff and within our current budget constraints.
The Research Center recognizes the importance of serials to the educational and research programs the institution, as well as the substantial and growing financial commitment the serials collection entails. We also acknowledge different degrees of importance and disparate cost factors between disciplines in the case of serials. Therefore, we attempt to maximize each discipline's freedom to decide on the optimum deployment of their allocation between serials and books. In light of recent serials price escalation and technological advances that are making alternatives to ownership of some serials more and more viable, the Research Center is committed to exploring such alternatives.
General Serial Selection Guidelines
The Research Center follows these guidelines that assist our staff with the task of considering new serials for the serials collection. As in most aspects of collection development, these statements cannot be absolute and we recognize there are always exceptions:
- Sample issues of periodical titles provide a better basis for evaluation than mere blurbs and bibliographic information.
- When a decision is made to order a serial title, consideration should be given to whether the title should be permanently retained and, if so, in what format.
- The RC staff will consult Academies staff on the evaluation of potential purchases of serials to determine the serial’s value to the institution’s research programs as well as to assess the publications' quality.
- The Research Center will make every effort to achieve a balance among the various program units and boards when ordering periodicals and serials, keeping in mind the differences in reliance upon serial publications and their varying costs and our current budget constraints.
- The Research Center recognizes that certain general preferences should be considered in reviewing serials for possible purchase. These general preferences include:
- Serials, which represent a permanent addition to our collections, are preferred over publications that will be discarded.
- Serials whose contents can be easily accessed through use of indexing services or internal indexing are preferred over titles without indexing.
- Serials with demonstrated use (such as frequent interlibrary loan requests by staff) are preferred over titles with potential use.
- Serials with Academy affiliations are not given any preferential treatment in evaluations.
- Serials produced by certain publishers known to charge higher than normal prices (e.g., Springer, Elsevier, etc.) may not be approved due to the high cost.
Periodical/Serial Selection and Cancellation
Identification of New Titles: We welcome staff suggestions for new periodical and serial titles. In addition to suggestions, the Research Center reviews information sent from various publishers. We will also consult standard bibliographies or specialized subjects lists of core titles. Annually, the Research Center will survey program staff for recommendations on periodicals they deem vital to the work of the National Academies that should be considered for addition to our periodical collection.
In addition to program staff recommendations, several other factors are considered to determine if a periodical title should be added to our collection. These include: (1) cost; (2) online availability; (3) publisher policies that require purchase of print for electronic access; (4) interlibrary loan “Copyright 5” rule (journals that have received 5+ requests that stop our ability to request additional article copies); (5) review of the Institute for Scientific Information’s annual “High-Impact Journals” highly cited ranking; (6) interdisciplinary content value; (7) coverage of national and worldwide issues; and (8) content duplication of other library periodicals.
Have Continuing Funding to Afford New Titles: Constraints on collection development funding require that every new title that is identified to be added to our serials collection must have continuing funding before the order can be placed. We must also take into consideration inflation factors for serials which, according to reports published by major subscription agents, experience an 8-11% increase annually.
How to Submit Recommendations: In order to assure careful consideration of potential titles and provide a record of the review, all periodical and standing order (serial) requests should be sent to the Research Center Manager. The Manager will research the recommended publication. Staff that recommend serial titles for our collection should provide, when possible, an accurate title, a brief statement of justification for purchase. This information will help expedite the evaluation process. Recommendations for all purchases are subject to the constraints of our budget funds for acquisition of materials.
Review and Cancellation of Existing Titles: The Research Center will continue to receive periodicals and serials in spite of changes in the titles themselves or in the original justification. We conduct an annual evaluation and review of both the periodicals and serials collection to identify potential titles for cancellation so that the collection will truly reflect current needs of the institution and remain within our current budget constraints. Upon evaluation of the serial, we will determine its cancellation based on a combination of several factors: (1) budget constraints; (2) when new titles are being considered; and (3) conversion of material to a web-based platform.
Identifying Potential Cancellations: The Research Center uses the following guidelines to identify potential cancellations:
- Serial titles that double or triple in price in one year
- Ready availability from other document supply organizations
- Titles produced by commercial publishers known to charge higher than normal subscription rates
- Titles available in full text as part of an indexing/full text service
- Titles that have a higher than average subscription costs.
Research Center vs. Departmental/Personal Collections
All materials purchased with our funds are Research Center property and become materials that are then available for the use of the entire institution. The Research Center deems it inappropriate to use our acquisition funds to acquire materials for the “exclusive” use of divisions (in support of a study project) and operations units or for personal office collections. These materials cannot be acquired with Research Center funds.
The Research Center and Academies staff should recognize that all libraries must remove volumes from collections from time to time. We maintain the quality and usefulness of our collection by withdrawing volumes that are worn out, unneeded duplicates, superseded, or are of little or no use. We do not deem appropriate the shortage of shelf space as an acceptable justification for withdrawal. We will, when possible, and, in accordance with the institution’s directives and our institution budget constraints, locate suitable space for our collection, even off-site storage space, rather than to eliminate potentially useful material. Before the removal of specialized collection materials, we will consult with the institution’s Archives Manager.
The Research Center’s withdrawal decisions will be made on a title-by-title basis in accordance with general guidelines provided below, consideration of the needs and expectations of Academy staff who potentially use the material, and applicable cooperative collection borrowing agreements with area libraries. We will, when in doubt about removing materials from the collection, retain the material and consult with Archives and other divisions as deemed appropriate.
Selecting Materials for Withdrawal
The Research Center’s decisions to withdraw volumes are made only somewhat easier when we have the title in another format. We recognize that in many cases, withdrawing materials from the collections means staff will only be able to obtain the item through our interlibrary loan (ILL) service.
The Research Center will use the following general guidelines when selecting materials for withdrawal.
- Materials that do not fit our present collection development policies, such as individual periodical articles or secondary school textbooks
- College level textbooks, particularly if superseded.
- Materials in seriously deteriorated condition (such as being brittle, seriously marked up, with book tape repairs, or falling apart with no possibility of rebinding). Replacement decisions are an issue covered in the separate guidelines for firm orders or serials.
- Duplicate copies of a work with little circulation.
- Short or scattered runs of serials or periodicals, particularly if not indexed
When applying these general guidelines, we will consider the discipline's literature, such as the extent to which a discipline relies upon retrospective sources, the use of foreign language information, and the possibility that materials being considered for discard may be unique to our collection and not available at other U.S. or international libraries.
The Research Center facility space deficits, acquiring materials in other formats, and general continued evaluation of our collections, and Academy staff research requirements warrant the need to periodically weed our collection. We will often conduct systematic weeding in anticipation of conversion of records to electronic format, or at the time of the cancellation or cessation of a serial. We will seriously consider withdrawal of holdings of back volumes when:
- The back volumes are duplicate copies
- The holdings of a particular title not deemed required for the work of the institution is fewer than three years
- The holdings are inconsistent (less than three consecutive years) and represent fewer than half of a total back run of a title.
- Abstracts and indexes to title are unavailable
- The title is available in full-text online via a site-license held by the Research Center; or availability of full-text in proprietary, commercial online services
- Frequency of use by staff as determined by circulation records is insufficient to deem material worthy of retention.
The Research Center will take special care to avoid inadvertent withdrawal of volumes that are unique, that constitute the whole of a short run, or have valuable research content related to the work of the institution. In all cases, we, as a research library, maintain the responsibility for preserving even infrequently used materials in areas where the materials are required by Academy staff.
The Research Center supports the information requirements of the institution. Therefore, we collect or provide access to materials in multiple formats, including electronic formats available over the Internet. We have determined that the procurement of electronic formats brings with it new challenges and warrants a separate collection development policy focusing on their selection, acquisition, and provision of access.
Scope
This policy seeks to address the selection and acquisition of electronic resources accessible via the Internet, including:
- Electronic serials or collections of serials;
- Online bibliographic or numeric databases;
- Electronic reference tools, such as encyclopedias, directories, etc.; and
- Electronic monographs or collections of monographs.
This policy covers electronic resources for which the Research Center gains free access, access at a reduced rate because we subscribe to the print, or purchase of access to an electronic-only version.
We will pursue the purchase of other types of resources as these develop in the future and meet the guidelines outlined herein. This policy does not address offline electronic resources, such as CD-ROMs or computer software, which are covered in other sections of this policy.
Principal Access Point and Provision of Access
The Research Center’s Integrated Library System (ILS) does not currently contain access to all electronic resources, which we acquired by vendor license agreements. This integration of our electronic resources is our priority. We recognize that providing a single-user access point to electronic resources results in increased productivity and reduced research time. The Research Center will maximize access to our electronic resources through several means: (1) cataloging of resources, (2) necessary archiving and/or storage, and (3) providing appropriate end-user support and training to Academy staff for optimal use.
General Selection Principles
- Selection Responsibility: The Research Center is responsible for selecting electronic resources. Staff are welcome and encouraged to suggest electronic resources to be added to this collection. Staff can submit their suggestions via email to the Research Center Manager. Suggestions should include a brief justification statement and if possible, any known costs.
- Funding: Although many electronic resources are available free of charge, many publishers are moving towards a fee-based model. The RC staff will collaborate when a purchase is determined to be necessary. The Research Center Manager provides all decisions on if, when, and how our budget funds for electronic resources will be used. When necessary, the Research Center Manager will consider other allocations for electronic resources deemed major purchases and consult with other staff as appropriate.
Trial Periods for Electronic Resources
The Research Center recognizes that the best way to evaluate electronic resources is to have staff use them. We will generally not obtain trials for access to web-based journals unless there are extenuating circumstances that warrant a trial period. Trial access is determined by the Research Center Manager in accordance with recommendations by other RC staff and other staff as appropriate.
The Research Center will, when possible, establish trial periods for electronic resources, particularly, high-priced resources. Our Research Librarians take primary responsibility for the promotion, marketing, and training of Academy staff for all electronic resources trials. The Research Center Manager will collaborate with Staff Development Programs (SDP) on scheduling formal training or demonstration sessions of electronic resources trials. We will use other marketing efforts such as open house events, division all staff meetings, etc., to promote the use of all electronic resources trials. Our Research Librarians will work with the Research Center Manager on these efforts to give Academy staff ample opportunity to evaluate electronic resources. Academy staff should, upon completion of or during all trial periods, provide the Research Center Manager evaluative feedback on all electronic resources trials.
- Staff Feedback: The Research Center exercises considerable effort and negotiation with vendors to acquire trials to electronic resources for staff. Often these negotiations involve the elimination of several thousands of dollars of service fees. The Research Center values the opinion of staff and requests that upon completion of, or during electronic resources trials, staff feedback should address the following points:
- Provide an example of how the electronic resource added value to your current work for the Academies (preferably a study that you worked on where the electronic resource trial was used to fulfill a research requirement and/or to specifically verify citations.)
- Indicate other options you would have normally used to conduct the research or to verify citations that you were able to do using the electronic resource trial.
- Note whether using the electronic resource trial saved the institution time in terms of your labor, citing specific time saved (30 minutes, 1 hour or more, etc.)
- Indicate if you deem the electronic resource adds such high value to the success of your work for the Academy that your unit would be willing to help us fund the electronic resource.
Adherence to Other Collection Development Guidelines
The Research Center’s purchase of electronic resources will follow the general guidelines stated in this Policy whether general or subject specific. Specifically, the purchase of electronic resources should consider chronological, geographical, language, and date of publication guidelines set forth in general or subject specific policies. As with other materials, we will also:
- Consider present staff research needs.
- Select materials that shall meet the standards the Research Center expects of all materials in regard to excellence, comprehensiveness, and authority.
- Weigh the purchase of a particular title or electronic database(s) against other possible acquisitions and particularly against our current budget constraints.
Specific Format Criteria
In addition to content, we will consider the following criteria in acquiring electronic resources:
- The improvement or enhancement that the resource will give to existing print materials.
- The compatibility of the resource with existing hardware that exists within the Institution. The Research Center will inform and consult with PC Support, Director ISSG and other appropriate Information Technology Services staff as appropriate for electronic resources trials, prior to the trial launch, and prior to the formal launch of electronic resources.
- The broad accessibility of the resource under present copyright laws and licensing agreements.
- Research Center budget constraints
- The currency and relevancy of the resource’s information.
- The user-friendliness and flexibility of the resource.
- The necessity of archiving and/or availability of archives.
- IP authentication (no password or ID required) is the preferred method of providing access to and controlling access to electronic resources procured by the Research Center.
The Research Center recognizes that every electronic resource considered for the institution does not have to meet every individual criterion mentioned above to be recommended. However, both Research Center and Academy staff (as appropriate) should attempt to select resources that adequately meet as many of the selection criteria as is possible.
Web-Based Versions of Print Subscriptions
The Research Center will, when possible, make electronic versions available for our print journal collection by virtue of the publishers free or small-fee procurement model. We will confirm the completeness of the electronic version (i.e., that it’s not just Table of Contents access) and determine costs (if applicable) before subscribing.
Licensing
The Research Center will negotiate vendor-licensing agreements in adherence the Principles for Licensing Electronic Resources (developed by The American Library Association (ALA), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and other library organizations). We will also reference the ARL practical guide, Licensing Electronic Resources, which provides basic questions to be answered before licensing products. The Research Center Manager will determine, as appropriate, when to consult with the National Academies Office of Contracts before signing license agreements for electronic resources. Generally, the Office of Contracts is consulted on contracts for high cost aggregator services. The Research Center Manager maintains an electronic copy of vendor license agreements on the Center’s shared network drive.
The Research Center, in general, has the following preferences for licensed electronic resources:
- Electronic content should cost less than its print counterpart, unless there is substantial added value.
- Costs for print and electronic formats should be separated and the Research Center should not have to purchase both.
- Content and access costs should be separated. The Research Center should have flexibility in selecting appropriate access mechanisms (consortia resource sharing arrangements, etc.)
- The purchasing power of the Research Center’s collections budget is declining; information providers should, but often many do not, recognize this reality and control both initial costs and inflationary increases.
- The Research Center prefers pricing based on the size of the actual Academy community that will use the electronic information, or the actual recorded use (either unlimited simultaneous use or transaction-based licensing) as opposed to pricing based on the size of the total institution’s population.
- The license should include permanent rights to information that has been paid for, in the event that a licensed database is subsequently cancelled or removed.
- Information providers should employ a standard agreement that describes the rights of libraries and their authorized users in terms that are readable and explicit, and they should reflect realistic expectations concerning the RC’s ability to monitor use and discover abuse. Agreements should contain consistent business and legal provisions, including, for example, indemnification against third-party copyright infringement liability and permission to use records in personal bibliographic systems.
- The Research Center’s "authorized users" include Academy staff only. Licensed resources are not for the use by the general public.
- The licensed content, plus any associated features and capabilities, should be accessible from all institutionally-supported computing platforms and networked environments; this access must be based on current standards (e.g., Z39.50 compliant) in use by the library community.
- Licenses should permit fair use of all information for non-commercial, education, instructional, and research purposes by authorized users, including unlimited viewing, downloading and printing.
- Information providers should be able to link their access control mechanisms to the National Academies IP authentication infrastructure, when possible; access to their products should not require individual passwords and/or user IDs.
- The National Academies use of licensed data should be available to the National Academies as part of contractual provisions for a license and the confidentiality of individual users (Academy staff) and their searches must be fully protected.
- Data formats should follow industry standards and must be fully documented. Data should be platform-independent and available in multiple formats (e.g., ASCII, PDF, SGML, etc.).
- The Research Center must be able to provide access to resources for staff from convenient workstations connected to a network infrastructure that is reasonably fast. System capacity and bandwidth should be adequate to provide fast response time. The Research Center’s Manager and Systems Librarian will coordinate and collaborate with all appropriate Information Technology Systems (ITS) staff on all technical issues prior to formal rollout of desktop resources.
- Information providers must keep the Research Center informed of format and content changes and coordinate their implementation with the Research Center and assure continuity of services to staff.
- Licenses should clearly state archival responsibilities of the provider and the Research Center.
Duplicate Formats
Ordinarily, the Research Center can seldom afford to duplicate resources in multiple formats. Possible justifications for duplicating electronic and print subscriptions or multiple electronic formats include:
- A cost benefit for purchasing multiple formats exists.
- Multiple formats meet the different needs of user groups.
- The archived format of a resource will not operate with current technology.
- Academy staff research requirements justify need for both formats.
Journals in Full Text (Print and Electronic)
The Research Center provides the “Journal Title Search” (aka Electronic Journals) site as the resource to communicate what full text journals are provided by us that are available either in print or electronic format. This site includes, to the most complete extent possible, a list of what full text journals the Research Center has available regardless of where it resides within our collection. The “Journal Title Search” will include full text journals that are available from licensed database services such as Web of Science, Ingenta Gateway, ScienceDirect. LexisNexis, Academic Search Premier and more. As new licensed electronic journals or print journals are added to our collection, staff will use this online service as the resource to learn what print and electronic journals are available for access.
The Research Center will not publish or redistribute any content included in “Journal Title Search”. Staff requesting a separate list of electronic journals will be directed to the Research Center’s “Journal Title Search” site.
Weeding
Different subject areas obviously require different applications of generally accepted weeding principles. Nevertheless, ongoing weeding of Internet resources is a necessity because of the dynamic nature of such resources. These guidelines provide some suggestions for when to weed a resource:
- An Internet resource is no longer available or maintained.
- A resource has difficulties maintaining the currency and reliability of its information.
- Another Internet site or resource offers more comprehensive coverage.
- Decisions to weed an electronic resource should include the following:
- Communicate to the RC’s Systems Librarian to remove from all web pages.
- Notify staff that the electronic resource has been weeded/removed via the Research Center’s news page and, as appropriate, custom emails. The Research Center’s Manager and/or research librarians will notify staff when this weeded has occurred, as appropriate.
Material, which has been lost or damaged, is replaced on the advice of RC’s Manager, research librarians and other staff as appropriate. These requests usually are generated on the basis of staff requests, collection inventory results, or the appearance of a deteriorated copy on the Research Center’s shelves. The replacement criterion that follows does not pertain to replacement for materials borrowed through the Interlibrary Loan Office. Generally the responsibility for replacement of these materials rests with the program or operations unit that requested the materials to be borrowed from another library. The following criteria are considered in the decision to replace a volume:
- Continued value of the material.
- Demand for the material.
- Extent of coverage of the subject in the existing collection.
- Availability of newer or better material in the field.
- Cost and appropriateness of replacement rather than rebinding.
- Reserve book use.
(All policies stated above are subject to change)
February 18, 2011
