Collection Development and Acquistions

General Information

General Information

Library collection development includes

- the identification, evaluation and selection of library materials, including books, journals and networked (electronic) resources
- the development of policies and procedures for managing the collection (selection criteria, guidelines for receipt of gifts, etc.)
- formal and informal evaluation of the Library's collections and collection-building efforts
- the long-term maintenance of the collection (withdrawal and replacement of materials, etc.).

While the Acquisitions Librarian coordinates these activities, collection development at St. Lawrence is a cooperative effort involving departmental faculty, library patrons, and library faculty and staff.

Acquisitions includes

- the ordering and receipt of library materials from vendors, book vendors, and publishers
- the processing of payments for books, journals, videos and networked resources (in collaboration with the University's Business Office)
- the management of the Library's acquisitions budget
- the development of acquisitions policies and procedures
- the maintenance of records and files describing long- and short-term acquisitions activities.

Acquisitions work is carried out primarily by the Acquisitions Technicians and the Acquisitions Librarian.

Primary means of acquiring library books

The Library acquires books in several different ways.

Forty-three percent of the books we receive have been ordered by departmental faculty in support of teaching and research in their subject areas.

Twenty-two percent of the books we receive have been ordered by library staff, sometimes in response to patrons' recommendations. The books ordered by the library staff tend to be interdisciplinary titles, items suggested by students' reference questions, and books which have received good reviews but may have been overlooked by the departmental faculty.

Twenty-five percent of the Library's recently acquired books have arrived automatically through an approval plan with YBP, one of our major book dealers. These are new titles that match a subject and publisher profile established by the librarians and the departmental faculty. The Acquisitions Librarian reviews these books and keeps most of them, although a small number - often those more appropriate for large research libraries - are returned to YBP for credit.

Nine percent of our recent book acquisitions have been ordered for the Browsing Collection. These books are selected by the librarians and by YBP as works of broad interest and potentially high circulation. Most have received favorable reviews in The New York Times Book Review or similar publications.

About one percent of our recent acquisitions have been gifts from publishers, scholarly societies, and individual donors (often St. Lawrence faculty and students). Contact Robin Hutchinson if you are interested in donating books to the Library.

Primary means of acquiring other library materials

Virtually all the videos received by the Library have been ordered by departmental faculty in support of their teaching and research. (See Videos.)

Networked resources (bibliographic indexes, full-text journal databases, etc.) are considered for aquisition at periodic meetings of the library faculty. Suggestions for new resources are welcome.

The Library's journal subscriptions are reviewed every few years by the librarians and the departmental faculty. Most subscription and cancellation decisions are made during these formal review periods. New subscriptions can sometimes be started at other times, however. Contact Robin Hutchinson for further information.

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Staff

Three full-time Collection Development/Acquisitions staff work in the Technical Services area (lower level) of the Owen D. Young Library.

Denise Dingman, Acquisitions Technician (Library Assistant V)
(315) 229-5338

Denise has worked in the Acquisitions Department since 1988. She is responsible for the processing and maintenance of periodical subscriptions and standing orders, including electronic journals and most other networked resources. She also handles the processing of gifts and unsolicited materials.

Renée Dominie, Acquisitions Technician (Library Assistant V)
(315) 229-5332

Renée has primary responsibility for the acquisition of firm-order books and videos - individual titles ordered by faculty, staff, and patrons. She handles ordering, receipt of materials, invoicing, and fund accounting. Renée has a B.A. in sociology from SUNY Potsdam, and a M.Ed. in Counseling and Human Development from St. Lawrence University.

The library liaisons and other departmental faculty also play a major role in collection development at St. Lawrence.

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Ordering Library Materials

Book and video orders are accepted from all St. Lawrence faculty and staff. Students and other North Country residents may also recommend books, videos, and other items for purchase by the Library.

Orders may be placed by e-mail, by phone, through the SLU Libraries' web site, through campus mail, or in person. We accept printed or handwritten orders, e-mail messages, Word documents, marked-up publishers' catalogs, Choice cards, YBP slips, phone calls, etc.

When placing an order, please include as much bibliographic information as possible - author, title, publisher, date, cost, distributor (if different from the publisher), etc. For videos, please let us know which format you want - VHS or DVD. If neither is specified, we will order DVD.

Please indicate your name and department (or your interdisciplinary program affiliation) on every order. If you are affiliated with both an academic department and an interdisciplinary program, please let us know whether your order is for the department or the program.

If you are ordering materials in support of a new course (a course that has never been offered at St. Lawrence) or if you are ordering materials in support of a new course, please indicate this on your order. Books and videos purchased in support of a new course will not normally be charged to any departmental fund.

When requesting a book on a subject unrelated to your academic work, please write "IDIS" or "non-departmental" on the order. These orders will not be charged to any departmental fund.

The processing of book and video orders often requires us to share order information (lists of titles and requestors) with the library liaisons in each department. If a book or video order is intended to be confidential, please mark it accordingly; information about the order will then be available only to the full-time Acquisitions staff. Book and video requests submitted anonymously will be considered for purchase by the Acquisitions Librarian.

Where to send orders

Orders for books and videos (other than Reference materials) should be sent to Renée Dominie.

Requests for journal subscriptions, networked resources, data files, and expensive or unusual materials should be sent to Robin Hutchinson.

Recommendations for Reference Collection purchases should be submitted to Joan Larsen, Head of Reference and Instructional Services (229-5473); or to Eric Williams-Bergen, Science Librarian (229-5405).

If you need a particular journal article or short-term access to a book, please contact the Interlibrary Loan staff at 229-5485. It is usually quicker to get books through Interlibrary Loan than to purchase them for the library collection.

Response time and rush orders

If you need a book or video more quickly than usual - in particular, if you need it by a certain date - please indicate this on your order. We will notify you when your rush order arrives.

Ninety-five percent of the books ordered for the Library are received at St. Lawrence within one year. (Out-of-print titles are sometimes unavailable.) Of those received within one year, the median time from ordering to receipt is about 30 days. This time can often be reduced dramatically, however. Books recently published in the United States can usually be acquired within a few days, if necessary.

Ninety-four percent of feature-film videos (U.S. releases) are received within one year. Of those received within one year, the median time from ordering to receipt is 21 days. This time can be shortened, if necessary, but usually just by a day or two.

Eighty-five percent of foreign, documentary, and instructional videos are received within one year. Of those received within one year, the median time from ordering to receipt is 22 days. Response time varies dramatically by distributor, language, and country of first release, however.

Most books are cataloged and ready to circulate very soon after receipt. The cataloging of videos, music scores, audiocassettes, and foreign-language materials usually takes a few days or a few weeks, however, depending on the cataloging workload and the characteristics of the item - language, format, availability of catalog records from other libraries, etc. In exceptional cases, videos may be loaned to faculty before they are cataloged. Please contact Renée Dominie if this is necessary.

Notification when materials have been received

Faculty and staff ordering videotapes or DVDs will be notified when their videos have been cataloged and are ready to circulate. If you would like to be notified when a book has come in, please indicate this on your order. (Notification will be sent automatically for all rush orders.)

Acknowledgement of orders

The Acquisitions staff will sometimes let you know when your order has been placed with a vendor or publisher. (This is especially likely if the order has involved questions or concerns on your part or ours.) We do not generally acknowledge routine orders for books or videos, however. If you submit a book or video order and do not hear from us, you can assume that we have placed the order.

Cancellation of long-standing orders

Some orders cannot be filled immediately. (Certain out-of-print and foreign items are available only through small book dealers at certain times, for example.) If an order cannot be filled immediately, we will keep trying to fill the order for at least several months.

The Acquisitions staff may cancel orders for out-of-print materials after several months, however. Most unfilled orders actually remain active for two or three years, but this is not necessarily the case.

We do not normally notify requestors when canceling long-standing orders. However, we do contact faculty regarding those items that seem especially important.

Duplicate orders

If we receive an order for an item that is already on order (or already held by the Library), we will not normally order a second copy.

If the same item is ordered by two or more people, we will charge it to the department or account that first ordered the item.

Reimbursement for purchases by faculty

Individual faculty are sometimes in an especially good position to purchase certain kinds of items. A professor on sabbatical leave in India may have immediate access to materials not available through American library suppliers, for example. Under these circumstances, we are sometimes able to reimburse faculty for items purchased on behalf of the Library. We strongly suggest that you contact the Acquisitions Librarian before making these purchases, however. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee that the Library will provide reimbursement. Purchases made by individual faculty must normally include a receipt. For further information, please contact Bart Harloe, University Librarian.

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Videos

The Library maintains a collection of nearly 5000 videos. The video collection is used primarily in support of teaching, although faculty and students can also request videos for their research. Several hundred videos are added to the collection each year, almost exclusively in response to requests from faculty. (Cost considerations and the scarcity of reliable selection tools make it difficult to build a video collection in anticipation of future need.)

Separate, departmental video collections can be found in the Music Department and in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures.

Ordering videos

Video orders are accepted from all St. Lawrence faculty and staff. Students and other North Country residents may also recommend videos for purchase.

Video orders should be sent to Renée Dominie.

Michelle Gillie will be glad to answer questions about videos and to provide help in identifying the films most suitable for particular courses.

See Ordering Library Materials and Budgets for further information.

Borrowing and showing videos

Borrowing and showing videos

Videos are acquired and cataloged at the Owen D. Young Library. VHS tapes are then transferred to Information Technology for storage and maintenance, while DVDs are shelved behind the circulation desk at Launders Science Library.

To borrow a VHS tape, contact Nancy Szafranski at Information Technology (229-5595). To borrow a DVD, see the circulation staff at Launders Science Library. Both Information Technology and the Science Library are located in Madill Hall.

VHS tapes - but not DVDs - can be shown over the University's closed-circuit television network. To arrange a networked showing, contact Nancly Szafranski.

Rental of videos

The Library does not rent videos from distributors for short-term use. If a particular video is likely to be of lasting value, either for a particular course or more generally, then we will order it for the library collection. The Acquisitions Librarian can help identify rental agencies or distributors for patrons who wish to rent videos on their own, however.

Video formats

Except in special circumstances, new videos will be purchased only on DVD or VHS cassette. (If no media format is indicated on the order, we will purchase DVD.) We recommend ordering DVD format whenever possible, since DVD technology provides better sound and picture quality, greater durability, and longer life.

Copyright law

U.S. copyright law permits the circulation of videos to individual library patrons for any type of use, academic or non-academic. It also allows for the public showing of videos to certain groups within the University for course-related purposes.

Issues of copyright compliance are sometimes important in determining how videos can be disseminated or networked within the University. The Acquisitions Librarian can assist patrons in identifying the dissemination methods most likely to comply with copyright law.

Duplication and replacement of videos

Duplicate copies of videos are normally purchased only when copyright law requires the acquisition of duplicate copies in order to meet demand.

Lost, missing, or damaged copies will not necessarily be replaced. The need for a replacement copy will be determined on the basis of current curricular needs and budgetary conditions.

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Library Liaisons

(The interdisciplinary programs at St. Lawrence - Asian Studies, Gender Studies, History of Science, etc. - are treated as departments for library acquisitions and funding purposes. Within Modern Languages, each language is treated as a separate department.)

Departmental library liaisons are faculty members who represent their departments or academic programs when dealing with the Library.

Librarian liaisons are librarians assigned to work with the various departments.

With regard to collection development, liaisons have two primary responsibilities - communication and selection of library materials.

Communication

Departmental liaisons keep the library staff informed about new courses, programs, and faculty; and about any other developments likely to influence the need for library resources and services.

Librarian liaisons provide the academic departments with information about new acquisitions, changes in library policy, etc., and help ensure that the Library acts in response to the faculty's needs.

Selection of library materials

Each departmental liaison is expected to coordinate and monitor the purchase of books and videos from library funds allocated to his or her department. (Books and videos ordered by departmental liaisons and other faculty are intended to support the teaching and research activities of their departments and academic programs.) Many departmental liaisons are also active in recommending journals or networked resources for purchase by the Library.

The librarian liaisons share responsibility with departmental faculty for the selection of library materials. While their specific collection development activities vary, librarian liaisons are especially likely to order certain kinds of items:

- books which support the curriculum but which no department is likely to order from its own budget (multidisciplinary materials, useful items in non-departmental subject areas, etc.)
- books suggested by students' reference questions and term paper topics
- titles which have received good reviews but may have been overlooked by departmental faculty.

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Special Information for Departmental Library Liaisons

Departmental library liaisons are urged to read all the sections of this document.

Information distributed to departmental library liaisons

Each departmental liaison will receive several items from the Acquisitions office each month:

- a list of the books and videos recently ordered by departmental faculty *
- a budget statement showing
the amount of money allocated to the department or program for the fiscal year,
the amount spent (items ordered and received),
the amount encumbered (items ordered but not yet received),
and the remaining balance (allocation minus expenditures minus encumbrances)
- selection tools, usually including Choice cards, YBP slips, and publishers' catalogs
- the book jackets of books ordered by your department (if you have indicated that you want to receive them; see below).

* Additional books and videos in your field may have been ordered by the library staff. These items do not show up on the monthly lists.

Selection tools

Selection tools - Choice cards, YBP slips, and publishers' catalogs - are sent from the Acquisitions office to the departmental liaisons each month. These cards, slips, and catalogs list recently published books in each subject area. Most departmental liaisons circulate these items among the faculty in their departments, although some choose to review them on their own.

Choice cards, YBP slips, and publishers' catalogs are sent from the Acquisitions office to the departmental liaisons each month. These selection tools list recently published books in each subject area. Some departmental liaisons choose to review these items on their own; others circulate them among the faculty in their departments.

Each Choice card (white, 13 x 10 cm) represents a book that has received a recent, favorable review in Choice magazine. (Choice includes only those books that are recommended for undergraduate libraries.) Each card includes bibliographic information, price, and a one-paragraph review.

YBP, one of the Library's primary book dealers, sends some books directly to the Library for evaluation. (These items are reviewed by the Acquisitions Librarian. See General Information, above) For other books, they send YBP slips (yellow, 6.5 x 4 inches), which the Library forwards to the departmental liaisons each month. YBP slips include basic descriptive information (subject headings, intended audience, etc.) but do not include reviews.

Any subject-specific publishers' catalogs received by the Library are also sent to the departmental library liaisons each month. Some departments receive several catalogs each month while others receive virtually none.

To order books from Choice cards or YBP slips, simply send the cards back to the Acquisitions office, indicating your name and department.

To order books from a publisher's catalog, mark the items you want and send the catalog back to the Acquisitions Office. (If the catalog is very large, please indicate the pages from which you are ordering.)

Potential acquisitions can also be identified through other means, of course - book reviews in journals, catalogs and announcements sent directly to departmental faculty by publishers, etc. Please contact Michelle Gillie if you would like assistance in identifying relevant selection tools.

Departmental approval of book and video orders

Several departmental liaisons have chosen to review and approve the book and video orders submitted to the Library by the faculty in their departments. See the Library Liaisons List (available from Renée Dominie) for the current situation in each department.

If you have chosen the YES (approval required) option, the Acquisitions staff will notify you when we receive any book or video orders from the faculty in your department. You can then tell us whether to proceed with the orders.

If you have chosen the NO (approval not required) option, the Acquisitions staff will automatically place any book or video orders we receive from the faculty in your department. The cost will be charged to the departmental book/video allocation unless the order is for a new course or a new faculty member. (See Budgets, below.)

To switch from one departmental approval option to the other, please contact Renée Dominie.

Book jackets

Many departments want to receive the dust jackets of books that have been received in their subject areas. These can be used in displays, bulletin boards, etc., or circulated within the department. The Library Liaisons List (available from Renée Dominie) shows whether each department is currently receiving book jackets. If you would like to start receiving them (or to stop receiving them), please notify Renée Dominie.

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Budgets

The St. Lawrence University Libraries have an annual acquisitions budget of $1.2 million. Of this amount,

- 25% is spent on books and videos
- 57% is spent on serials (journals, magazines, annuals, etc.; this amount includes both print and combined print/electronic subscriptions)
- 18% is spent on other networked resources (bibliographic indexes, full-text journal databases, document delivery services, etc.).

Over the long run, the Acquisitions budget has grown by 3 to 4 percent each year. For more information on the St. Lawrence University Libraries budget please see our Scholarly Communications web pages.

Departmental accounts

Each department or academic program has a library budget account (allocation) from which faculty may order books and videos. The Acquisitions Librarian works with the departmental liaisons to ensure that each department or program stays within its budget.

Each departmental liaison receives a monthly report showing the current balance and annual expenditures from his or her departmental account. These reports also list the books purchased each month. For further information, see Special Information for Departmental Liaisons.

New courses

The Library has set aside additional money for book and video purchases in support of new courses - courses never before offered at St. Lawrence. Books and videos ordered specifically for new courses will not be charged to the departmental accounts. When ordering these materials, please specify "new course."

Other library funds

Book and video purchases by library staff are funded from the Library's general budget - not from the departmental book budgets. The general fund is also used for multidisciplinary and non-disciplinary purchases.

The Library's budgets for periodicals, standing orders, networked resources and bibliographic indexes are not differentiated by academic department. The library staff work with faculty to ensure that each department or program has adequate library resources in these areas.

The Reference Collection budgets for ODY and the Launders Science Library are separate from the Library's regular book budgets. Reference purchases are not differentiated by department.

The Special Collections budget is also separate from the others. Mark McMurray, the University Archivist and Curator of Special Collections (229-5476), purchases items for this collection, often in response to faculty recommendations.

Library endowments

The Library receives approximately $24,000 in private endowment funds each year. (This amount is in addition to the regular Acquisitions budget.) Special endowment funds are available for purchases in Jewish studies, history, government, and several other fields. The Friends of the Owen D. Young and Launders Libraries (FODYLL) also provide funding for Special Collections and other purchases.

The fiscal year

The Library's fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30. The Library usually stops accepting book and video orders for the current fiscal year in mid-April, however. (Departmental liaisons will receive a letter each year with the exact date.) This allows the Acquisitions staff to plan our annual expenditures by predicting which books and serials will arrive (and be paid for) before the end of the fiscal year.

Book and video orders sent to the Library after the annual cut-off date will be placed in the following fiscal year (after July 1) from the new year's budget.