About

Purpose:
The Collection Development Policy is intended to serve as a statement establishing written guidelines for the cultivation, maintenance, and continual re-evaluation of Cumberland University's library collections with regard to the current and future needs of the University's student, faculty, and staff. The increased demand for information in a wide variety of formats necessitates a consistent collection policy to guide the selection of materials with respect to financial and storage constraints.

The Collection Development Policy is flexible and subject to review. Changes to the policy will occur based on the information needs of Cumberland University. Vise Library reserves the right to revise this policy as is seen fit.

Goal:

The primary goal of Vise Library's Collection Development Policy is to ensure that the library cultivates and maintains a collection attuned to Cumberland University's undergraduate and graduate curricula.

Allocation of Collection Budget:
The allocation of library funds in regard to the collection is determined by the following considerations: the needs of each department, average cost of items, the availability and format of material needed, whether items are already represented in the collection, and the expected needs of students, faculty, and staff based upon the number and types of courses available. Other, miscellaneous considerations will be taken into account as needed.

Selection Philosophy & Guidelines:

Vise Library's collection is developed and maintained with an emphasis on quality, not quantity. The library collection maintains a wide variety of materials in multiple formats, which include electronic resources, print books and serials, online databases, and DVDs. As a small library, space and budget considerations preclude the purchase of materials that do not meet the current needs of the university curriculum. Due to space limitations, the purchase of duplicate items will be reviewed prior to adding any duplicate copies to the collection based on the expected needs of the Cumberland community.

In addition to the general guidelines above, materials are judged according to the following standards:

• Relevancy: The focus of the collection development policy is to meet the current needs of the University. The library considers replacement of lost or stolen items based on the needs of students and faculty, and the availability of the item(s) within the interlibrary loan system.

• Language: Vise Library favors print material published primarily in English, but is open to adding non-English material in other languages that are commonly used in the surrounding area. Non-English materials may be available upon request.

• Reputation of the Author(s) and Publisher: When considering materials to be added to the collection, the authority of the author(s) and publisher of the material is taken into consideration.

• Strength of Present Holdings: In developing and maintaining the collection, the strength of specific areas with regard to scope and depth of the materials within the specific area is taken into consideration.

• Budget: Before adding any material to the collection, whether a new item or a replacement item, the cost of the item will be taken into account in regard to the overall collection budget and where resources have been allocated to meet other needs of the library.

• Lasting Value: Before adding or de-selecting any item, the value of the item will be reviewed. Value may be identified by the information within the item, the historic value of the item, the availability of the item within the interlibrary loan system, and the needs of the Cumberland community.