Purpose of the Policy

The Collection Development Policy identifies and communicates the long- and short-term collection goals and policies of James Madison University (JMU) Libraries and Educational Technologies (L&ET). The Policy states the principles and guidelines to be followed by librarians and departmental faculty in developing and maintaining balanced collections across disciplines. It also takes into account the mission and goals of the University while being responsive to the changing needs of a dynamic institution. When this policy refers to "collections," it implies all library resources, whether owned, leased, or borrowed, physical or electronic. The Collection Development policy will be periodically reviewed in order to ensure that its provisions continue to reflect the current requirements of academic programs, collection needs, and the allocation of resources.

University Profile

JMU is a predominantly undergraduate, public, comprehensive university. The University comprises six colleges and a graduate school and more than 75 academic programs. JMU offers a robust general education core curriculum and more than 100 degrees on the bachelor's, master's, educational specialist, and doctoral levels. The university mission is to prepare students to be educated and enlightened citizens who lead productive and meaningful lives.

Libraries Profile

JMU Libraries functions as a division of L&ET, which positions campus library operations and instructional technologies together under the same leadership. The mission of L&ET is to enrich our communities by building learning and information environments where people connect with ideas and each other to discover, create, and share knowledge. JMU Libraries, consisting of Carrier Library, East Campus Library, and the Music Library, supports the mission and future vision of the University through its services and collections. Through collection development, JMU Libraries provides access to appropriate and diverse knowledge that facilitates and promotes scholarly inquiry.

Scope of Collections

To assure the prudent allocation and expenditure of monies for collections and other information resources, the libraries are viewed as a coordinated whole rather than individual or autonomous entities developing collections without regard for need or duplication.

JMU Libraries is dedicated to providing information for students and faculty at the point of need. Placement of physical collections is generally based on perceived needs and campus proximity of library facilities to academic department locations. In order to support online and distance learning activities, where students and faculty may be located away from campus, JMU Libraries exercises a preference for selection and access to digital resources thereby increasing user accessibility, regardless of physical location.

Membership in the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) and contributions to cooperative agreements continue to provide substantial access to materials, particularly electronic, for JMU users. JMU Libraries actively seeks opportunities to combine purchasing power with other libraries and within the VIVA membership to acquire digital resources that are consistent with our collection priorities.

Collection Priorities and Intellectual Freedom

The Libraries' collection will directly reflect and support its mission and the goals of the University. Specifically, the priorities for building balanced collections across disciplines include:

In carrying out its collection development activities, JMU Libraries adheres to the principles expressed in the following statements from the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights: "Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.... Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval."

Selection Responsibility

In building and managing collections, JMU Libraries relies on the expertise of its liaison librarians, who are responsible for the full life-cycle of collection management from point of selection to withdrawal. Each liaison librarian is responsible for primary selection in one or more subject areas. Liaison librarians interact with departmental faculty and students in selecting materials that reflect and anticipate changing curriculum needs, faculty research interests, interdisciplinary trends, and scholarly communication paths.

In order to guide appropriate selection for each subject area, liaison librarians develop subject collection development policies. Liaison Librarians and departmental faculty may also develop and monitor approval plan subject profiles in order to obtain books in a timely and cost-effective manner.

The Collection Development Committee (CDC) plans, organizes, and monitors activities related to collection development, evaluation and maintenance for all types of information resources. The committee is committed to a global view of collections and develops policies and guidelines for collection development, including collection maintenance, analysis, and assessment of the collections. The CDC has the primary responsibility for managing continuing expenditure commitments (e.g., periodicals, licensed electronic resources) and makes decisions on major purchases and licenses in response to recommendations from librarians, university faculty, and the library Collection Management Department. The CDC operates using the Guiding Principles for Collection Priorities.

Final authority for expenditure of University funds for library collections rests with the Dean of Libraries & Educational Technologies.

Collecting Guidelines

JMU Libraries acquires or provides access to a wide variety of resources in print and digital formats. The libraries evaluate potential acquisitions on numerous criteria, including but not limited to:

JMU Libraries primarily collects resources in print and electronic formats, with an emphasis on electronic formats for journal collections, media collections, and reference resources. JMU Libraries secures access to information through direct licensing from authorized providers and by utilizing connections to free resources. In addition, selection criteria specifically applicable to digital formats will be considered, including but not limited to:

Gifts

JMU Libraries welcomes gifts that enhance the existing collection. Selection standards and guidelines for both purchased and donated materials are the same. Once accepted, JMU Libraries reserves the right to decide on the final disposition of gifts. For more information, please refer to the more on the JMU Libraries gift policy.

Collection Management

Liaison librarians, with primary support provided by the Collection Management Department, will conduct ongoing assessment of the collection to ensure availability of adequate and appropriate resources to support the curriculum.

Duplication

JMU Libraries normally will acquire only one copy of a title. Non-circulating titles will be added to the collection in the location where they best serve the needs of the JMU community. Faculty and/or liaison librarians should be prepared to justify requests for duplicate copies.

Replacements

Lost, damaged, or missing items are not automatically replaced but instead are evaluated based on the collecting guidelines and usage data. If damaged or lost materials in obsolete formats are determined to be important to the collection, JMU Libraries will attempt to replace such materials. If no exact replacement can be found, a similar but not exact item may be purchased as a substitute. See Preservation section for related policies.

Weeding

Periodic weeding of the collection ensures that collections remain current, authoritative, and match user needs at JMU.

Liaisons will use the following criteria when evaluating material to be weeded:

Withdrawal of library materials must be authorized by the librarians responsible for the portion of the collection containing potential withdrawals.

Preservation

JMU Libraries actively supports preservation considerations including preference for alkaline paper and purchase of soft-cover editions of titles which are bound according to specific industry standards and the JMU Libraries binding policy.

If funds are available and an item is deemed worthy of preservation, materials may be replaced through acquisition of an alternative format (where available) or (where not available) be transferred to such a format under the terms and rights of 17 US 108. This section of the copyright law permits qualifying libraries and archives to reproduce a published work that it owns when either its format is considered “obsolete” or an “unused replacement cannot be obtained at a fair price.”

Cooperative Collection Development

JMU Libraries supplements and enhances its collections through cooperative collection development, resource sharing, and licensing of digital resources. It is essential that institutions share collection resources to ensure broad access to all necessary scholarly resources. JMU Libraries is an active participant in the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) consortium and fully supports VIVA’s Mission “… to provide, in an equitable, cooperative and cost effective manner, enhanced access to library and information resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia's non-profit academic libraries serving the higher education community.” VIVA provides core digital resources essential to JMU users. VIVA promotes resource sharing among its members and encourages the quick delivery of infrequently-used materials needed by JMU faculty and students from other institutions of higher learning through the interlibrary loan service. Interlibrary loan is also used to borrow materials from non-VIVA libraries.

Appendix 1: Levels of Collection Density and Collecting Intensity

Appendix 2: Linked Documents