Reed Collection Development Policies

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This policy relates to items collected for the Main Circulating Collection. 

PURPOSE

This statement establishes the management guidelines for the continuing growth and maintenance of Fredonia's Library collections. By articulating collection goals and policies, Reed Library helps ensure that the collections support the needs of the Fredonia community. As Fredonia's information needs and the nature of our collections change, this document will evolve. We hope that it will provide structures and procedures for reviewing, interpreting, and implementing policies and for integrating new technologies into our collections.

POLICIES

General Philosophy

Reed Library collections are attuned to Fredonia's educational mission. Our collection development policies must be flexible to encourage creative ways of meeting Fredonia's information needs. We must be prepared to meet new collection management challenges, anticipate future needs, and take advantage of promising opportunities as they arise.

We intend to create a strong, coherent, balanced, dynamic and versatile Library collection. We aim to insure that Fredonia will have the resources required to support undergraduate programs.

The collection is also a resource for faculty research, but our budget does not allow us to collect at the "research" level.  However, institutions working together can provide access to a consortial collection which is both deeper and broader than could be developed without coordination. Reed Library will support faculty research through cooperative collection development with the SUNY campuses though collection development agreements.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

Collection Development Committee

It is the purpose of the Collection Development Committee to monitor purchases in the Library, assess the use of collections, and allocate funds for cooperative collection development. The committee will decide database purchases, coordinate participation in consortial purchases, including on demand purchasing.

Cooperative Collection Development

While Reed Library strives to build a strong collection for Fredonia, we are also doing so in a consortial context. Reed Library, along with the other SUNY Comprehensive Colleges, recognizes that it is time to focus more attention on the SUNY Library collection. Reed Library will continue to reduce duplication of materials, to allow for greater depth of resources. We will strive to and reduce duplication of effort, to gain staff time for new projects.

It is the goal of Reed Library to collect materials that are not only unique for Fredonia, but also unique within SUNY. To this end, items owned by more than 5 (five) SUNY libraries may not be considered for addition to the collection, allowing for a more robust SUNY-wide Library collection.

Exceptions to the above guidelines may be considered on a case by case basis, in consultation with the departmental Library liaison.

Multiple Copies

Because some books or journals are either very popular, or are used as required reading, a single copy may be difficult to locate in the Library. To meet this demand, the Library will selectively purchase multiple copies of high demand items. Multiple copy purchases will be restricted to only one or two additional copies only. The decision to add additional copies will be made by the Collection Development Librarian in consultation with the liaison Librarian to the department. The Library does not acquire multiple subscriptions to journals.

Library Faculty Liaison Program (with respect to Collection Development)

Librarians and academic departments share responsibility for developing the Library collection, based on curricular needs.  The liaison program serves to coordinate their efforts to ensure that the Library collects to meet the needs of academic programs. Most librarians serve as liaisons to several academic departments. The main responsibility of the liaisons is to maintain communication between the Library and the faculty. The liaisons assist departments in the selection materials, and assess collection strengths and weaknesses. Liaisons may also review gifts, provide advocacy for their disciplines in the Library, study collection use, and endeavor to understand community needs. Faculty and librarians in different departments may collaborate on collection development in different ways, depending on the needs of the discipline and the resources available. Frequent and open communication is a hallmark of all successful collaborations.

Departments are allocated funds at the beginning of each academic year. They use these funds to request items to be purchased for the collection.

Dates to Remember

Please keep these dates in mind when selecting items for the Library’s collections:

• Initial notification of department allocations will be made by October 15th at the latest, but preferably by September 15th, given the Library’s notification of budget in a timely manner. If a budget has not been finalized, a notification will be sent that an interim allocation will be made to each department.
• Departments must submit their requests by November 30 in order to encumber 50% of their allocation by December 15th.
• The remainder of the departments' orders must be submitted by March 15 in order to have the funds encumbered by the end of the budget year.
• PLEASE NOTE: Failure to encumber the funds by deadline dates will result in the monies being allocated to the Library staff to purchase materials for that department to support the undergraduate curriculum.

THE SCOPE OF FREDONIA'S COLLECTIONS

Formats

Reed Library collects a broad spectrum of information resources in a variety of formats. The formats collected encompass a variety of material types, which may include printed books, periodicals, sound recordings, scores and related music formats, video recordings, maps, microforms, and various electronic resources, including open access materials. The primary criterion for selecting any item is its relevance to Fredonia's undergraduate and graduate curriculum. Other concerns when we evaluate information resources include their content, accessibility, and viability.

Collecting books is still important at Fredonia, but we also collect electronic alternatives to hard-copy sources for all types of materials, including journals, indexes, databases, books, videos, images and sound recordings, in order to provide broader access to students both on and off campus. Digital vs. hard copy books will be determined at time of purchase and format preference will be part of a discussion between the collection development librarian and the faculty member requesting the purchase of the material(s). We will not purchase additional formats of book content unless approved by the collection development librarian.

Subscriptions to paper serials, generally, are for titles we could not access online or are deemed critical to the curriculum. Turning to electronic subscriptions has enabled us to add thousands of new serials titles, and gain access to numerous citation databases and electronic reference services which we previously could not afford. Therefore, preference is given to online formats and in aggregated database collections, in particular. When possible, we try to collect retrospective electronic collections which allow us to open the possibility of reducing storage space required to house the printed versions of these resources. We always refer to our consortial memberships in order to get the best available price for our online content.

Languages

The Library collects primarily English language materials, but also collects in other languages as required by the curriculum. Foreign language collection is undertaken primarily in support of the study of languages, literatures, and other cultures.

COLLECTION MAINTENANCE

Assessment

The Library assesses the usefulness, relevance, and physical condition of its collection on a continuing basis. Materials judged to be irrelevant, outdated, unused, in poor physical condition, or superseded by new editions will be removed from the collection as per our weeding policies. Books in bad physical repair, but still worth keeping, will be repaired if possible, or replaced with new copies if they are available.

Inventory and shelf reading are done on an ongoing basis. These activities assure that the Library catalog accurately reflects the Library's holdings, and that Library materials may be easily accessed.

MUSIC COLLECTION

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Reed Library’s Music Collection primarily supports the curriculum of SUNY Fredonia’s School of Music. Serving over 600 undergraduate and graduate students and nearly 100 faculty members, the Music Collection is the largest single subject collection in Reed Library. The collection contains over 14,000 books on music, covering such topics as music history, theory, education, therapy, conducting, performance studies, criticism and biography. Over 25,000 printed music scores and parts are available, including miniature study, full-size, and piano-vocal scores, as well as performance parts for ensembles up to and including nine players. Sound recordings number over 8,000 compact discs, 15,000 LPs, and several hundred cassettes of both music and spoken word recordings. Videocassettes and DVDs are available on many different aspects of music--from full-length operas to music pedagogy.

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT RESPONSIBILITY

The overall development and maintenance of the Music Collection is the primary responsibility of the Music Librarian. Faculty members from the School of Music assist in this process by making materials’ requests specific to their areas of expertise. Decisions on music database requests and purchases are made by the Collection Development Committee.

COOPERATIVE COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

The Music Collection, though extensive, is not at the level of a SUNY university center or research institution. The primary focus of the collection is to provide music materials relevant to the curricular needs of the School of Music students, while also taking into consideration the research needs of the music faculty. As the Music Collection is a specialized collection, the general collection development policy of not purchasing items owned by more than 2 SUNY Libraries will not apply in every circumstance. When the general policy is followed, it will be limited to items in the music circulating book collection only (see following sections for clarification).

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICIES

Music Circulating Book Collection

The music circulating book collection is broad in its subject coverage, but is focused in several key areas: composer and performer biographies, general music history, music theory, music education, conducting, and music therapy. As music education is the largest subject area of the School of Music, music education books are purchased at a comprehensive level, as the budget allows. Important educational, biographical, historical and theoretical series are also purchased, such as the Oxford Music Education Series, Oxford Master Musicians Series, AMS Studies in Music, Cambridge Music Handbooks, Yale Music Theory Translation Series, and others.

Music Reference Book Collection

The music reference book collection, though not comprehensive, adequately serves the needs of the music students and faculty. Titles and series need to be purchased on a regular basis to keep the collection current and relevant, focusing on the following areas: dictionaries/encyclopedias, bibliographies of music literature, bibliographies of instruments and voice, composer research guides, composer thematic catalogues, and music education reference materials. Important music reference series include the Garland Composer Resource Manuals, the Greenwood Press Bio-Bibliographies in Music, and others.

Scores and Performance Parts Collection

Printed music scores and performance parts are the largest part of the Music Collection, supporting the performing and study needs of the students and faculty of the School of Music. Scores and parts are different from books in that they are considered musical repertoire (similar to literature in the regular books collection), and therefore are collected at a more comprehensive level. Multiple editions of standard instrumental and vocal repertoire are purchased (e.g., sonatas, concertos, symphonies, songs), and music is purchased in several different formats (e.g., full scores, vocal scores, miniature study scores, scores with parts). For important vocal works, multiple editions are purchased for the different vocal performance ranges (e.g., high voice, medium voice, low voice). Performance parts are collected for ensembles up to and including nine instruments. Where possible, repertoire purchased should have a corresponding recording available either from the sound recordings collection or one of the library's online music audio databases.

Sound Recordings Collection

The sound recordings collection is closely tied to the scores collection, as it consists of recorded performances of musical repertoire. Though the collection exists in multiple formats, only compact audio discs (CDs) are currently purchased. Like the scores collection, multiple performance versions of standard repertoire are purchased. The focus of purchases to this collection is new repertoire and current performers/ensembles. Where possible, there should be a sound recording of all standard repertoire that is part of the library's scores collection.

Video Recordings Collection

Video recordings are currently purchased in DVD format only, unless an item is available solely in VHS format (e.g., some pedagogical titles). The VHS collection is small, having been weeded of titles that were available in DVD format, and is not being developed. The focus of purchases for this collection is DVDs of current performances of standard musical repertoire (e.g., operas, orchestral and chamber music), conducting, vocal pedagogy and educational pedagogy.

updated 6/2015

Gift and Donation Policy

We value the donation of gifts to our collections and appreciate resources that support the mission of State University of New York at Fredonia.

The following are the guidelines for accepting gifts:

• The Library accepts materials that directly support the curriculum, enhance current research areas, support current curricular interests, add to the College archives or local history collections, or demonstrate literary merit.
• As with purchases, the Library will adhere to current cooperative collection development agreements in their decisions to add items to the collection.
• Gifts become the property of the College upon receipt, and the Library will determine the use or disposition of these materials.
• Materials must be in good condition.
• Materials not accepted into the collection will be discarded, donated or sold and monies designated for building the collection.
• Bookplates will be inserted into materials at the request of the donor.
• Gifts will be acknowledged in a letter from the Library Director or the Collection Development Librarian upon request of the person donating the materials.
• Appraisals and/or lists of books donated are the responsibility of donors and must be completed before the donation is made to the Library. Donors should consult their tax advisors about the need for a professional appraisal.
• Questions about donations to the Music Collection should be directed to Kevin Michki, Music Librarian, at 716-673-3117 or kevin.michki@fredonia.edu.
• For donations to the Archives & Special Collections, see the Archives & Special Collections website.