Collection Development Policy

• General Policy
• Departmental Budget Allocation Policy
• Reference Collection Policy
• Special Collections Policies
• Guidelines for Receipt of Gift Books
• Withdrawals and Replacements
• Objectionable Materials

General Policy

Lane Library's primary goal for collection development is to participate in the educational mission of Armstrong Atlantic State University. This Policy establishes guidelines for acquiring, cataloging, and making available information resources that support the instruction programs at the University. The majority of the Library's acquisitions are made from the requests of teaching faculty that have received approval from their department heads. Librarians assist by bringing new publications to the attention of individual faculty members. Material costs are charged to each department's library allocation budget. In addition to faculty requests, collection development relies on librarian review of published lists. From its own budget, the Library may purchase publications from standard lists recommended for university libraries.

The University Librarian welcomes any suggestions for working with department members to enhance the quality of the collection. Separate guidelines exist for the Reference Collection, University Archives, and Library Special Collections.

Procedures

Requests for book purchases are channeled through one person from each department, and submitted to the University Librarian. Faculty members can obtain request cards, bibliographic information, and prices for materials from the Library Reference Department. The Books in Print database in GALILEO may also be consulted for bibliographic information and prices. Requestors can specify priority level for ordering and purchasing individual items. Those with low priority will be set aside until higher priority titles are ordered.

Requests for new periodical subscriptions require authorization from the department head. Requests may be sent to the University Librarian for consideration at any time during the year.

Requests for audiovisual materials (such as videocassettes) and electronic media (such as CD-ROMs)are made by each department in cooperation with the Head of Media Services. Preview is required before purchasing any item priced over $200.
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Departmental Budget Allocation Policy

The Library materials budget for the fiscal year is allocated to the academic departments each July. These funds are provided to build the Library collections and to maintain periodical collections in support of academic programs. They are not intended for items that will not be added to the Library inventory.

Funds are allocated by the following formula, which was developed by the Library Committee and approved by the Vice President and Dean of the Faculty.

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Reference Collection Policy

Materials in the Reference Collection do not circulate and are not limited by format. The Reference Collection includes general reference materials, reference atlases, indexes & abstracts, and ready reference sources, which is a separate, mini-collection of reference materials that is immediately available for frequent consultation. The primary language for the Reference Collection is English. Library users have open access to the Reference Collection, which is located on the first floor of Lane Library.

Procedures

All reference books or sets priced at more than $300 that are being considered for purchase will be presented to the reference librarians. Collectively this group will discuss the merits of the material in question and decide whether or not to purchase it, after assigning it a priority rating of 1, 2 or 3. Requests for reference books priced at less than $300 may be submitted by a librarian directly to the Head of Reference Services. Materials are to be assigned a priority rating of 1, 2 or 3. The Head of Library Technical Services will order all the materials that have received a priority 1 rating. Materials given lower priority will be ordered only as reference funds become available. Whenever possible, the librarian requesting the purchase of a reference work will have descriptive information about the work. Preference will be given to items with favorable reviews in reputable sources.

Selection Criteria for the Reference Collection and Electronic Databases

All reference materials being considered for purchase should be of use and value to the collection as a whole. In general, materials will be:

The following are ranked criteria that may be used by the librarians to determine the priority of a particular work being considered for purchase:

Access to similar information in several different sources will be kept to a minimum. Within certain subject areas, some redundancy may be necessary. In those instances, selection will be based on the level of demand for the information and the unique features or access points that the materials offer. The same criteria apply for electronic databases with the addition of hardware and software considerations and licensing agreements.

The University Librarian has veto power over the selection of any reference work.
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Special Collections Policies

Minis Room General Policy

The Florence Powell Minis Room Collection of Lane Library is designed to assist students, scholars, and the general public in researching Savannah and the surrounding area, including coastal Georgia, the Sea Islands, and the Golden Isles. The Collection does not circulate and is housed in the Minis Room.

Subject Scope

Works on history and literature form the bulk of the Collection, which includes a complete set of Conrad Aiken's publications. Current materials are added to the Collection as they are published, and appropriate out-of-print works are pursued as well. Materials are purchased from publishers, small presses, individuals, and rare book dealers. While the Library welcomes donations to the Minis Room Collection, materials clearly beyond the scope of the Collection will not be added.

The Minis Room may also house rare or expensive items and duplicates of works in the general collection. First editions or numbered and signed editions of literary works are preferred; foreign editions may also be collected. Papers of prominent Savannahians, journals, records, cassette tapes, recordings, videocassettes, microforms, pamphlets, pictures, maps, and vertical files materials may be added to the Minis Room Collection, although the emphasis remains on collecting books.

Armstrong Publications: The Minis Room houses key publications of AASU, including back issues of Armstrong's Bulletin / Catalog, The Inkwell, Calliope, and The Geechee. With the exception of the Savannah Biographies, a collection of biographical essays written by students from Armstrong's history department, other University records and manuscripts are housed in the AASU Archives (see Archives below).

Nonfiction: Most of the nonfiction books housed in the Minis Room Collection are works on the history of Savannah and the surrounding area. Histories of Georgia during the colonial period are also collected, as well as other histories of Georgia which feature Savannah. Other areas of collecting interest include: any nonfiction work which concerns Savannah, nonfiction of lasting interest by Savannah authors, works about Savannah authors, Savannah description and travel, and biographies of Savannahians. Savannah city directories are kept in the Minis Room due to their historical value.

Fiction: The Minis Room Collection contains literature by Savannah authors, including novels, poetry, plays, and literary criticism. Works of fiction set in Savannah are also included.

Due to the limits of available space and funds, the Minis Room Collection does not include materials on the following subjects:

For information about accessing the Minis Room, see the Florence Powell Minis Room web page.

Armstrong Atlantic State University Archives: The purpose of the University Archives is to identify, collect, preserve and make available University records and manuscripts of enduring value. The purpose of collecting such records is to provide documentation of the development and growth of the University, its role in the state of Georgia and in the community at large, the activities of its student body and alumni, and the development of its physical plant and grounds.

Material will be acquired through internal transfer, donation, deposit and purchase. Donations of materials and funds are essential to maintaining and developing the Archives and Special Collection. Grant funding is also sought. The decision to select and preserve records of historical value is the responsibility of the designated Library staff. The University Archives and Reading Room are located on the second floor of the Lane Library.

At present the University Archives especially welcome donations of material relating to the first 50 years of the history of the University. The collection will focus primarily on the history of Armstrong Atlantic State University. However, manuscripts significant to local and regional history will be collected.

The Archives and Special Collections will not serve as a records management and storage facility for routine records of the University's Registrar's Office or the Business Office. The Archives will not, generally, accept the following: materials relating to other geographical regions, or partial manuscripts and archival collections when major portions have already been deposited in another repository.

See the University Archives Policy Manual for more information.
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Guidelines for Receipt of Gift Books

Lane Library welcomes and appreciates gift books from any donor, with the understanding that there are no conditions attached to their disposition. Only those materials that are in good physical condition and that fall within the scope of the University's academic programs are added to the collection. Gifts are acknowledged by the University Librarian; however, appraisal of gifts for tax purposes is the donor's responsibility. If donors do not agree with this policy, they may choose not to contribute materials to the Library.

General Policies

The following types of materials are not accepted:

Textbooks

Selection policy is based on content, physical condition, and publication date. Lane Library keeps most books published within the last 5 years.

Specific Categories

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Withdrawals and Replacements

The most frequent occasion for withdrawing a book title from the Library is the purchase of a newer edition. Superseded editions of reference books may be added to the circulating collection upon receipt of the newer edition.

Worn and damaged books are repaired if possible or rebound. If not, these (as well as books lost in circulation) are replaced by new copies, provided that they have circulated recently, are reasonably priced, and still in print.
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Objectionable Materials

Lane Library supports the Freedom to Read Statement of the American Library Association. Any user who has a criticism of a particular item in the collection should bring the specific complaint to the University Librarian.
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