Collection Development Policy

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.      MISSION STATEMENTS
II.     DEFINITIONS
III.    SCOPE OF COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY        
IV.     PROFILE OF THE UNT LIBRARIES
V.      UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY PROFILES   
VI.     GOALS OF COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT
VII.    RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTION
VIII.   FUND ALLOCATIONS
IX.     SELECTION GUIDELINES
X.      COLLECTION MAINTENANCE
XI.     GIFTS
XII.    EXCHANGES
XIII.   MATERIALS ISSUED BY SPECIAL AGENCIES
XIV.   SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

I.    MISSION STATEMENTS.

A. UNIVERSITY:  UNT is a recognized student-centered public research university where we harness the power of ideas through a culture of learning based on diverse viewpoints, interdisciplinary endeavors, creativity and disciplined excellence.

This is accomplished through a broad and balanced array of programs where well-prepared students and dedicated scholars and artists collaborate with our local and global communities in the creation, integration, application and dissemination of knowledge. In this way, UNT creates an enriched and sustainable future for our students, state, nation and world.

Approved by the Board of Regents on May 12, 2006.

B.  LIBRARIES:  The mission of the UNT Libraries is to acquire, preserve, provide access to, and disseminate recorded knowledge in all its forms.   Access will be provided increasingly through electronic networks and consortial arrangements.   The Libraries, through traditional methods and through digital information resources, provide bibliographic, reference, and instructional support to assist the university's programs of teaching, research, scholarly and creative production, and public service.

Approved by _____________  on _____________.

II.     DEFINITIONS.

A.  Collection Librarian – a librarian who works daily within a specific collection or portion of a collection and who has responsibility for developing that collection.

B.  Library Liaison – a member of the Libraries’ staff who has the responsibility for working in a partnership with one or more academic departments, schools, or colleges to develop the Libraries’ collections.  Guidelines and responsibilities for library liaisons are contained in the Manual for UNT Library Liaisons.

C. Departmental Library Representative – a member of the academic department who works with the library liaison in expending the departmental allocation and developing the Libraries’ collections in the department’s areas of expertise.

D.  General Collection – the collection that contains the majority of the materials in the areas of the humanities, social sciences, science, and technology.

E.  Special Collection – a collection that contains resources of specialized interest due to subject, issuing agency, audience, and other factors as identified in specific special collections policies.  Current special collections include Archives, Curriculum Materials Collection, Government Documents, Juvenile Collection, Media Library, Music Library, and Rare Books and Texana.  For further details, see XIV. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS.

F. Primary Clientele – students, faculty and staff of the University of North Texas are the primary clientele of the general collection. For the primary clientele of the UNT Libraries’ special collections, consult the individual policies of the special collections (see XIV. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS).

G.  Secondary Clientele – the rest of the UNT community, the city and county of Denton, and the region of North Texas are the secondary clientele of the general collection. For the secondary clientele of the UNT Libraries’ special collections, consult the individual policies of the special collections (see XIV. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS).
 

The Collection Development Policy applies to the General Collection of the UNT Libraries.

The special collections of the UNT Libraries have individual collection policies that are posted on their home webpages (see XIV. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS). The special collections are governed by the Collection Development Policy, but are allowed variance in primary and secondary clientele, selection guidelines and collection maintenance. The variance will be determined by the Heads of special collections to meet the needs of the special materials and their clientele.

IV.    PROFILE OF THE LIBRARIES. 

The UNT Libraries support instruction, research, and creative production with collections of over 5.8 million cataloged items, in a variety of formats, in six libraries located in six separate facilities. The Libraries provide electronic access to materials through the UNT Libraries' website at  http://www.library.unt.edu.

A. Willis Library – UNT’s largest library is located on the Mall of the UNT Denton campus. It houses the Humanities and Social Science (http://www.library.unt.edu/ris/humanities-and-social-sciences-reference) and Microforms (http://www.library.unt.edu/microforms) collections. Willis Library is also home to the following special collections: Archives (http://www.library.unt.edu/archives), Curriculum Materials (http://www.library.unt.edu/scitech/collections/curriculum-materials-collection)Government Documents (http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/government-information-connection/), Juvenile (http://www.library.unt.edu/scitech/collections/juvenile-book-collections), Music (http://www.library.unt.edu/music/music-library/), Rare Book and Texana (http://www.library.unt.edu/rarebooks/about-the-collections/rarebooks/), and The Portal to Texas History (http://texashistory.unt.edu/).

B. Science and Technology Library  (http://www.library.unt.edu/scitech/science-and-technology-library/) – UNT’s oldest library is located in the Information Sciences Building of the UNT Denton campus. It houses the science and technology collections, with the exception of Computer Science, Engineering and Materials Science.

C. Media Library (http://www.library.unt.edu/media/media-library/) – The library is located in Chilton Hall on the UNT Denton campus. It houses the majority of audiovisual materials on campus, including but not limited to DVDs, videocassettes, 16 mm films, and audiobooks on CD. Music recordings (CDs and DVDs) are located in the Music Library special collection in Willis Library.

D. Research Park Library (http://www.library.unt.edu/researchpark/research-park-library/) – The library is located in the UNT Research Park, which is north of the Denton campus and home to the College of Engineering. The Research Park Library houses collections in the subject areas of Computer Science, Engineering, Materials Science and related applied sciences and technology.

E. Library Annex – The off-campus facility contains lesser-used research materials from the collections in Remote Storage, and houses the Libraries' Technical Services Department (http://www.library.unt.edu/techser) and Preservation Unit (http://www.library.unt.edu/preservation).

F. UNT Dallas Campus Library (http://www.unt.edu/unt-dallas/library.htm) – The library is located at UNT’s Dallas Campus and serves all departments offering courses at the campus. The collection is mainly “virtual,” having a large selection of electronic resources, supplemented by an essential collection of print reference resources.

V.    UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY PROFILES
   
UNT is the largest, most comprehensive research and doctoral degree-granting institution in the North Texas region and the fourth largest university in Texas. It is the flagship of the UNT System, which also includes the UNT Dallas Campus and the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth. As of Fall 2006, the more than 32,000 students enrolled at UNT come from every state in the United States and from more than 100 countries around the world. The most current statistics and demographic data for UNT can be found at the Office of Institutional Research and Accreditation home page (http://www.unt.edu/ir_acc).

The university was founded in 1890 bearing the name of the Texas Normal College and Teacher Training Institute. From 1894 to 1961, the Institute’s name was altered five times to reflect its changing size and purpose. Finally in 1988, the name became the University of North Texas.

UNT initially offered bachelor’s degrees only, then added master’s degrees in 1935, and finally doctoral degrees in 1950.

The Carnegie Foundation has designated UNT as a doctoral/research university–extensive, and ranks UNT in the top 4 percent of U.S. colleges and universities. The National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges elected UNT to full membership in 1992. As of 2004, UNT is an emerging research institution, as designated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

UNT is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (http://www.sacs.org/). Additionally, the university’s programs are accredited by numerous national organizations (http://www.unt.edu/catalog/undergrad/university.htm#accreditation) .

UNT is located in the historic city of Denton, Texas, which is also the seat of Denton County. The main campus of UNT covers approximately 800 acres in the southwest quadrant of the city. The downtown area, with its many cultural offerings, is within walking distance of the main campus. UNT has grown in recent years with the addition of the Eagle Point Campus, south of campus, and the Research Park in north Denton. 

The city of Denton surpassed 100,000 residents in 2005 and continues to grow.  Texas Woman’s University, designated as a doctoral institution by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, has a campus in Denton, as does North Central Texas College, a two-year community college. Major public employers located in Denton are UNT, Texas Woman’s University, Denton Independent School District, Denton State School, City of Denton, and FEMA Call Center. Major private employers in the city are Peterbilt, Denton Regional Medical Center, Denton Presbyterian Hospital, and Victor Equipment. Further details about Denton are available at the City of Denton website (http://www.cityofdenton.com).

VI.    GOALS OF COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT.

 The Libraries strive to acquire, preserve, or provide access to all types of information sources, internal and external, necessary to meet the needs of its primary clientele, the students, faculty and staff of UNT. The Libraries must balance access to and ownership of information resources in accomplishing this primary goal. Considerations in planning are funds, space, and availability of materials. Resources include, but are not limited to, books, periodicals, electronic resources, and other formats described in IX. SELECTION GUIDELINES.  Acquisition goals for the Libraries are in the following priority order:

A.  To acquire or provide access to those information resources needed for the instructional program of the University.

B.  To acquire or provide access to, according to the collecting parameters of this policy, those information resources required by the students and faculty for research.

C.  To acquire or provide access to resources for interdisciplinary information, which is not covered by the instructional and research programs, to ensure balance in the General Collection (see V. DEFINITIONS).

Ultimate responsibility for the development and maintenance of the general and special collections rests with the Dean of Libraries.  Responsibility for selection lies with the library liaisons, collection librarians, and the faculty.

A.  Faculty are responsible for recommending resources in the fields of their particular expertise to support the curriculum and research mission of the University.

B.  Librarians are responsible for subject fields not addressed by faculty, for coordinating the collections as a whole to meet the needs of the Libraries’ clientele, and for aiding the faculty through selection assistance and/or purchase suggestions.

Each year the Libraries’ materials budget is set by the Dean of Libraries and reviewed by the University Library Committee, a Faculty Senate committee that advises the Dean.   A portion of each year’s budget is allocated to University departments according to a formula based on a number of factors, including number of undergraduate and graduate majors in a department and the average cost to the department of its books and journals.

Funds for print serials and monographs that are not discipline-specific are allocated to different funds within the Libraries. Examples of materials purchased from these funds are abstracts and indexes, general periodicals, books intended to support the undergraduate curricula not otherwise funded, and reference works in all formats. The Dean of the Libraries designates who is responsible for overseeing the allocations and managing these funds.  

Electronic resources, including e-journals, databases, and e-books, are funded centrally. Library Liaisons are responsible for monitoring the electronic resources to which they are assigned.

Funds for print serials are allocated to the standing order and serial accounts of each department or collection.  It is the responsibility of the collection librarians, library liaisons, and the departmental library representatives to coordinate in spending the funds to meet the goals of collection development (see VI. Goals of Collection Development).          

A portion of the monographic budget will be allocated to Approval Plans. Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Dean of the Libraries. It is the responsibility of the collection librarians, library liaisons, and the departmental library representatives to establish and maintain appropriate subject profiles.

The remainder of the monographic budget is allocated to the firm money accounts of each department or collection. It is the responsibility of the collection librarians, library liaisons, and the departmental library representatives to coordinate in spending the funds to meet the goals of collection development (see VI. Goals of Collection Development).

 
In striving to meet its obligations within the limits of its resources, the UNT Libraries will follow these guidelines for the general collections.  Specific guidelines for the individual special collections are determined by the special collections librarians in consultation with the Dean of the Libraries.

The Libraries will collect materials in all formats and all appropriate subject areas.  Requests to acquire materials in untested formats must be referred to the Dean of Libraries for approval.  Current materials will be given priority over out-of-print materials.  Exceptions to the stated guidelines will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis as necessary.

A.  General selection guidelines for all materials are:

1. Lasting value of the content, e.g.,
• Relation to teaching and research needs
• Quality of scholarship
• Uniqueness of content or treatment
• Appropriateness of the level of treatment (depth, breadth, etc.)
• Currency of information and/or frequency of updating
• Quality of the physical condition of the product (materials that do not meet the Libraries’ internal Preservation Guidelines may not be collected)
• Accessibility of the information (how it is organized and retrieved)
  
2. Cost.  
• As of June 2003, any one volume work costing $350 or more is considered an “expensive” book and will be housed in either Reserves, Reference, Music, Media, or Rare Books.
• Requests for items representing 10% or more of a department's annual allocation shall be reviewed by the appropriate library liaison or collection librarian and approved by the Dean of the Libraries.  This is known as “The 10% Rule”.
  
3. Strength of present holdings in subject areas or similar subject areas.
4. Reputation or authoritativeness of the author, reliability of the publisher, compiler, producer, vendor, etc.
5. Consortial holdings: Holdings of libraries or consortia with which the UNT Libraries have cooperative agreements or of libraries within the UNT System must be considered when making selection decisions. Consortial or system agreements may override local requests for ownership.
6. Multiple copies:  3 or more print copies of any title shall not be purchased without consulting the appropriate library liaison or collection librarian.  Purchasing an electronic version is preferred to purchasing multiple print copies.
7. Consumable materials:  The library will not purchase materials intended to be consumed in the context of a university course (e.g. workbooks, tests, software, etc.).

B.  Electronic Resources are the preferred format for acquisition for the General Collection. Their selection may be guided by the following guidelines as well as those stated above:

• Functionality (such as full-text searching
• Remote access availability
• Resource sharing
• Ease of archiving, replacing, or preserving
• Availability of digital archiving rights
• Network hardware and/or software compatibility
• Quality of interface (usability)
• Quality of retrieval/search engine
• Training implications
• Potential use (size of user community and frequency of use)
• Availability of vendor support
• Licensing considerations
• Treatment of graphics, formulae, and other nonstandard characters

C.  Serials selections and purchases will be guided by the following guidelines as well as those stated above:

1. New serials may be ordered by a department if less than 70% of the department’s allocation is committed to serials.  If more than 70% of the allocation is dedicated to serials purchases then the department must cancel an equal dollar amount of their serials budget or the Dean of Libraries must approve the purchase.  This is known as “The 70% Rule”.
2. Any new serial costing more than $1,000 must be approved by the Dean of Libraries.  The request may be denied if it is available elsewhere in the Metroplex or through a document delivery service.
3. Current serial subscriptions are reviewed annually by the collection librarian, library liaison, appropriate departmental faculty, and the Dean of Libraries for continued appropriateness to the University’s and the Libraries’ mission, to keep expenditures within the departmental allocation, and to meet consortial or system agreements.

X. COLLECTION MAINTENANCE.
A. Weeding.

1. Because of the research status of the UNT Libraries, weeding, or deselection is done on a limited basis. Any weeding from the collections will be the responsibility of the collection librarian or the library liaison in consultation with appropriate library departments, e.g., Circulation, Preservation, LAN/PC Management, the collection in which the item is currently housed, and/or special collections.  Examples of types of materials to be considered for deselection include superseded editions, duplicate copies that are no longer in demand, materials that cannot be repaired or rebound, and formats that are obsolete.  When appropriate, faculty will be consulted before a resource is discarded from the collections.
2. Due to space limitations and in the interest of keeping the materials most relevant to the support of the UNT curricula and research needs readily available, the collection is regularly reviewed for condition and suitability.  Materials not supporting current UNT curricula or that are less in demand due to age or topic are moved to remote storage at the discretion of the collection librarian or library liaison.

 B. Reformatting for Access.

The UNT Libraries are committed to enhanced access to our collections. A significant portion of the collection can legally be digitized and made available for online access. Library liaisons will work with faculty to recommend significant titles or collections for digitization and access through our Digital Library Collections.

 C. Preservation.

1. The UNT Libraries are committed to the preservation of their collections. These collections encompass resources in many formats, in many subjects, and from different time periods.
2. Although library liaisons and faculty have primary responsibility for developing specific subject areas, preservation personnel must share authority in making decisions concerning the retention and/or reformatting of resources.  Factors to be considered include condition; options for treatment, replacement, and/or reformatting; and the availability in alternative format(s).
3. Library liaisons are involved in initial binding recommendations where appropriate, conservation treatment including conservation of gifts, and in decisions of replacement, rebinding, and withdrawal.

 D.  Placement of Materials

1. The UNT Libraries are committed to the principles of intellectual freedom as outlined in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights.  Patrons are provided open access to library materials unless the needs of the Libraries’ primary clientele necessitate special placement in reserves. The primary reason for placing items on reserve is that they will be used repeatedly by large numbers of patrons, e.g. required or recommended reading selected for courses by faculty members.
2. Any one volume work costing $350 or more is considered an “expensive” book and will be housed in either Reserves, Reference, Music, Media, or Rare Books (see VIII GUIDELINES, A., 2.)) The purchasing liaison librarian or collection librarian is responsible for determining whether an item should be placed in Reserves or Reference. Librarians will consult with heads of special collections before placing items in Music, Media or Rare Books. 
3. Other materials may be considered for placement in a secured location or reserves for the purposes of preservation or security. The purchasing liaison librarian or collection librarian is responsible for making placement decisions for these purposes. Librarians will consult with heads of special collections before placing items in special collections. 

 XI.    GIFTS.  

Gifts are accepted in accordance with the current Gift Policy (http://www.library.unt.edu/about/giving/unt-libraries-gift-policy). The policy applies to the General Collection and most special collections, with the exception of the Music Library, Rare Books, and Archives. Donors should contact the Heads of these departments directly regarding donations.

The Technical Services Department will handle all matters pertaining to the establishment of exchange relationships with other institutions. Exchanges will be performed in accordance with established guidelines. [There will be a hyperlink here to a page created by K. Loafman.]

XIII.     MATERIALS ISSUED BY SPECIAL AGENCIES.

 A. UNT Documents and Publications.

1. Theses and Dissertations. The UNT Libraries serves as the official repository for UNT theses and dissertations in paper format.  Electronic theses and dissertations are housed with the Computing and Information Technology Center.
2. Problems in Lieu of Theses. In accordance with the decision of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies, the UNT Libraries do not receive or collect Problems in Lieu of Theses.
3. Publications. The official copies of UNT publications and other documents are housed in the University Archives (http://www.library.unt.edu/archives/). Other copies may be placed in appropriate collections in the Libraries.

 
B. Government Information.

1. United States Government Information.
   • The Libraries serve as a selective depository library for Texas' 26th Congressional District.  As a member of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) we receive materials produced by Federal government agencies in a variety of formats, and agree to house and provide access to them according to the guiding documents of the FDLP Federal Depository Library Manual (http://www.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/fdlm/index.html), Instructions to Depository Libraries (http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/instructions/index.html), and the Superseded List (http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/suplist/index.html).
   • The Libraries will make appropriate partnership agreements with federal agencies to acquire, organize, preserve, and provide access to federal electronic information that supports the mission of the University and the Libraries.
   • For more detailed collection information, see the Government Documents Collection Policy (http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/services-and-policies/collection-development-policy-federal-and-texas-documents).
2. Texas State Government Information.
   • The Libraries are a depository for Texas State Government Publications. As a State Publications Depository we receive materials produced by state agencies and follow the requirements set forth in the Manual for Texas Depository Libraries (http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/statepubs/depositorymanual.html) .  
   • The Libraries will make appropriate partnership agreements with Texas state agencies to acquire, organize, preserve, and provide access to state electronic information that supports the mission of the University and the Libraries.
   • For more detailed collection information, see the Government Documents Collection Policy (http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/services-and-policies/collection-development-policy-federal-and-texas-documents)
     
3. Official information from other governmental organizations is acquired following the general policies set forth in this acquisitions statement and the Government Documents Collection Policy  (http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/services-and-policies/collection-development-policy-federal-and-texas-documents).

XIV. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS.  

Special collections are governed by the Collection Development Policy, but are allowed variance in primary and secondary clientele, selection guidelines and collection maintenance. The heads of special collections tailor the specific policies to meet the needs of the unique materials and their clientele. View the collection development policies for the UNT special collections at the web pages below:

Archives (see following pages; online policy will be linked at a later time)

Curriculum Materials Collection  (online policy will be linked at a later time)

(http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/services-and-policies/collection-development-policy-federal-and-texas-documents)

(http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/services-and-policies/collection-development-policy-legal-materials) 

Government Documents: Maps
(http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/services-and-policies/collection-development-policy-maps)

(http://www.library.unt.edu/ill/about-interlibrary-loan)

Juvenile Collection (online policy will be linked at a later time)

(http://www.library.unt.edu/media/about/collection-development-policy)

(http://www.library.unt.edu/microforms/microforms-collection/microforms-collection-development-policy)

(http://www.library.unt.edu/music/services/collection-development)

(http://www.library.unt.edu/rarebooks/information-and-services/collection-development-policy)

The University Archives, a department of the UNT Libraries, houses documents in the following divisions:  University Records, Business Records and Historical Manuscripts, Oral History Interview Transcripts, and Texas County Records.

The University Archives, established by the Presidential appointment of a University Archivist in 1975, seeks to collect, arrange, preserve, describe, and make available for research use all records of enduring informational value created or received by university departments and offices during the official conduct of business as identified in the UNT Records Retention Schedule, found at the following location:  

http://www.unt.edu/policy/UNT_Policy/volume2/10_10_0.html

UNT is required by state law to establish a records management program and submit a records retention schedule to the State Auditor’s Office and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

The University Archives also will acquire, arrange, preserve, describe, and make available for research use a number of business records and personal papers which illuminate the industrial and political development of north central Texas.  The Archives also will selectively acquire personal papers concerning the Second World War in support of the Department of History’s program in military history and the university’s Oral History Program.  These activities are part of the 1975 Presidential charge to plan for the collection, care, and organization of all types of archival material.

The University Archives serves as caretaker for the 4,000 artifact Historical Collection, currently on loan to the Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum.  The Archives selectively accepts artifacts that further contribute to an understanding of its records and personal papers and have value for exhibits.  This activity is performed due to the President’s request that the Libraries assume the responsibility for artifacts and documents after the Historical Collection closed in 1986.

The University Archives serves as a depository for the executive records of the Oral History Association, the interview transcripts and tapes of the UNT Oral History Program, and county records from Cooke, Denton, Montague, and Wise counties. The oral history activities are part of the 1975 Presidential appointment of a university archivist.  The county records program was undertaken as the result of an agreement between the president of the university and the Texas State Library.

The University Archives collects, in as exhaustive manner as possible, all records of enduring information value that are listed as the Archives’ responsibility in the UNT Records Retention Schedule.  Record series collected include, but are not limited to, administrative correspondence, meeting minutes, university reports, plans, maps, publications, photographic material, and audio recordings.

The University Archives also acquires records and papers pertaining to industrial and political development in north central Texas and records and papers pertaining to the Second World War.  Formats collected include, but are not limited to, correspondence, diaries, interviews, ledgers, maps, memoirs, minutes, photographs, proceedings, reports, scrapbooks, and speech transcripts.  Other topics containing a unique research value that do not pertain to north central Texas may be acquired to preserve significant historical documents.  The University Archives will not normally seek these collections.

Oral History interviews are produced according to the guidelines of the Oral History Program of UNT.  

The records of the Oral History Association are deposited in the University Archives by the executive officers of the organization at their convenience.

Texas county records assigned to the UNT are subject to the regulations of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

English is the primary language of materials collected by or deposited in the University Archives.

The University Archives de-accessions university records under the guidelines of the UNT Records Retention Schedule.  Business records and personal papers are de-accessioned according to the terms of the gift and the archivist’s evaluation.

The University Archives collects records and personal papers that support the undergraduate, graduate, and post graduate instructional programs of UNT in the areas of Texas industrial, political, and educational history as well as the history of the Second World War.  The Archives also supports independent research efforts in these areas by faculty, staff, and students.

As part of our outreach program, the University Archives provides historical information concerning artifacts loaned, primarily but not exclusively to the Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum, and also mounts exhibits on campus concerning university history and other topics.