Collection Development Policy: Federal and Texas Documents

The UNT Libraries were designated a Federal Depository Library in 1948. The Federal Depository collection currently serves the 26^th Congressional District of Texas, which includes Denton County and parts of Cooke, Dallas, and Tarrant Counties. Included within this district are Texas Woman’s University and North Central Texas College. The majority of items currently selected through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) are Web-based publications, although tangible materials—in paper, microfiche, and DVD—are still received.   

The primary clientele of the federal depository are the residents of the 26^th Congressional District and the students, faculty, and staff of UNT. The Government Documents Department is active in the North Texas Documents Group (NORDOCS), which facilitates cooperation with other depository libraries in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex.

The Government Documents personnel are responsible for the collection and follow the guidelines and instructions for selection and disposal set forth in the Instructions to Depository Libraries. When questions arise over the interpretation of these guidelines, the Documents Librarian consults with the Regional Documents Librarian at Texas Tech University.

Acquisition

The majority of items in the collection are obtained through the Federal Depository Library Program and the Texas State Publications Depository Program. The Government Documents Librarians will monitor national and state Depository Offers lists and request materials to supplement the collection, as needed. Privately published materials to supplement the depository collections will be purchased selectively, after consideration of relevance to the curriculum, and space and budget constraints.

Language

English language materials are primarily collected, but other languages may also be considered. 

Selection Guidelines

1. Examples of materials to select:
1. Annual reports
2. Laws
3. Regulations (unless these duplicate the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations)
4. Decisions
5. Periodicals/newsletters (unless the coverage is of personnel or other internal matters)
2. Examples of materials to select carefully:
1. General publications
2. Handbooks, manuals, and guides
3. Specifications
4. Looseleaf materials
5. Oversized materials
6. Maps (See Collection Development Policy: Maps for further information)
7. Statistics
8. Posters/charts (see Collection Development Policy: Maps for further information)
3. Subject areas emphasized in the collection (not listed in order of importance):
1. Laws and regulations, etc.
2. Business
3. Foreign affairs
4. Environment
5. Emergency preparedness
6. Health and nutrition
7. History
8. Education
9. Criminal justice
10. Demographics
11. Juvenilia
12. Geology/water
13. Energy
14. General agriculture/forestry
15. Recreation
4. Geographic areas emphasized in the collection:
1. U.S. as a whole
2. Texas
3. The five state region: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas
4. The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
5. The counties comprising the North Central Texas Council of Governments (Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise)

Texas Documents

The Libraries have been a Texas State Publications Depository since the program’s inception in 1963. We receive all materials distributed through the program, most of which are paper documents.

Digital Collections

Digital materials are becoming a much larger part of our collection. We identify individual publications as well as entire sites for acquisition, with the understanding that we will provide access to these materials via the Libraries’ Web servers.  The selection guidelines listed above, as well as our official partnerships with the U.S. Government Printing Office and the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, guide our acquisition of born-digital government publications.

This policy last updated May 18, 2006