Library Collection Policy Statements

It is a pleasure to introduce the second edition of the Library Collection Development Policy Statement, a revision of the 1990 policy statement.

We are the stewards of one of the State's richest assets, a collection nurtured for over 90 years by librarians and faculty, enhanced by the gifts of many private donors as well as government and foundation grants. This document provides a framework for guiding its future growth and direction.

It translates the needs of the faculty, students and researchers for library collections and resources into a policy defining the scope and planning for selection, acquisition, retention and preservation of collections over time. Those collections encompass print, various non-print media and electronic resources. As the teaching, learning and research emphases at the University change so will the collection policy change to reflect the academic environment. This Policy is the basis for a consistent approach for developing the collections and communicating the Library's collecting goals and methods to faculty, students, staff and other stakeholders.

Members of the Manoa Library Committee will be asked to review this document and provide guidance for its next revision.

The Policy is organized by major academic area, subject or program, and by major library collection. Each statement consists of information about the department or collection, coordinative or cooperative information, guidelines concerning language, chronological or geographical parameters, publication dates, and formats that affect acquisition; and any additional information that affects collection development and management.

The following general principles apply to collecting:

• The necessary primary and secondary works are collected for all fields to the extent that available funds or donations of gifts-in-king make this possible. Periodicals, books, and monographic series in hard copy account for most material collected. Microforms, audiovisual materials, maps, and other formats are all routinely selected, as appropriate for the discipline.

[Insert electronic resources statement here?]

• Both current and retrospective materials are acquired as needed, with emphasis on current imprints.
• Purchasing or gathering plans based on detailed subject and area profiles are used to obtain new publications from a variety of vendors in a timely and cost effective manner. These plans provide current imprints in English, from major U.S., U.K. and European trade and university presses, for all subject fields as well as for specialized materials in selected areas such as Hawaiian and Southeast Asian imprints.
• The Library avoids duplication of specific items except as needed for reference and where heavy use requires multiple copies. Selected Hawaiian, Pacific and Asia titles may be found in all collections; U.S. government publications are rarely duplicated except in the Hawaiian Collection.
• "The Library determines, from interlibrary requests, which materials are in frequent or recurring demand that should be considered for purchase. Likewise, materials deemed to encompass "target areas of research excellence" as specified by the University of Hawai'i Strategic Plan 1997-2007 (1996) will be considered for purchase."

[Statement here re: document delivery?]

GIFTS

The Library has an active fund raising program that supports the collections, helps ensure their preservation, and improves access and use. Gifts in kind are sought for addition to all collections through the routine activities of the Gifts and Exchange program. The approach to major donors and grants making bodies is coordinated by Library administration. The Library's gift acceptance policy is as follows

UHM Library Policy for Acceptance of Gift Collections

The decision to accept gift collections is the responsibility of the selector or curator assigned to collection area or subject. Acceptance is based on the collection development policy of the department and the library. If not within the scope of the UHM Library collections, the potential donor may be referred to other appropriate collections or agencies.

When acceptance of gift collections will have obvious or significant impact on the Library's fiscal, physical or human resources, selectors will inform Library Administration about any discussions that could potentially lead to an acceptance decision. Similarly, any discussions about acceptance of gift collections that originate with the Library Administration, or elsewhere, will involve the appropriate selector at the earliest stage possible. Consideration of gift collections having obvious or significant impact on the Library's resources will be brought to the attention of the Collection Development and Management Committee.

PRESERVATION

The Library 's Preservation Department is organized to identify and care for library material. To fulfill its mission as an academic research library, the UHM Library preserves and makes available collections in diverse formats. Caring for Library collections requires the involvement of all Library staff (including Preservation). From the moment collections are acquired they need to be properly housed, and maintained by an ongoing commitment to preservation and collection management. Both the physical environment of Hawaii (hot and humid) and the large volume of poorer quality paper used in certain publications, require an active conservation program to properly maintain the collections under the Library's stewardship.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Publication of this edition is the result of the collaborative effort of members of the Library's Collection Development and Management Committee which is composed of librarians with selection coordination, acquisition or preservation responsibilities located throughout the Library. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the library faculty members who participated in the revision of this policy. Special thanks go to Kris Anderson, Science Technology collection coordinator, and Beth Tillinghast of the Desktop Network Services Department who coordinated the production of this revision.