The following principles establish priorities:
The Director of Library Services develops goals and objectives with the library faculty and/or staff. Goals and objectives are assessed annually. The Director, with advice from library faculty and/or feedback from faculty, students, or administrators, initiates changes in priorities and establishes policies and procedures to implement them.
Desktop computers are for the use of LSUA students, faculty, and staff.
Collection Development Policy
Objectives of Collection Development
Responsibility for Collection Development
Library faculty, library staff, and teaching faculty are jointly responsible for collection development. The Director of Library Services, with the help of the Assistant to the Library Director, manages the expenditure of funds, ensures adherence to the collection development policy, and supervises an orderly procurement system.
While teaching faculty should inform their department’s subject bibliographer of appropriate library acquisitions, the library faculty and staff have a duty to anticipate and provide resources with potential for long-lasting use and with relevance to disciplines taught at LSUA. Student and staff requests are also welcome and reviewed by the same criteria as faculty requests.
Fund Allocations for Materials
After the LSUA library materials budget is finalized for the fiscal year, the Director of Library Services encumbers sufficient money for general materials, reference materials, annual subscriptions, renewals, and binding. Remaining funds are divided by the Director, with these factors affecting the formula:
Selection Procedure
In early fall, the Director informs each department’s chair and subject bibliographer of the department’s allocation/s and asks department chairs and subject bibliographers to submit titles for their discipline/s by a specified deadline. In early spring, the Director informs each department’s chair and subject bibliographer of the department’s balance/s and reiterates the deadline to submit requests.
Subject bibliographers maintain regular contact with their respective department chair/s or delegate/s by 1) forwarding relevant information from publisher publications and review sources such as Choice, and 2) answering questions related to the collection and the collection development process.
Criteria for Selection of Materials
Priority is assigned to
Additional criteria:
Low priority is assigned to out-of-print materials and individual research materials that are unlikely to be of use to other current or future users.
Preference of format:
The library materials budget is not used to buy
Additional Criteria for Selection of Journals and Databases
The library may subscribe to a print journal that supports the curriculum at the request of a faculty member or librarian if 1) money is available, 2) it is likely that current issues of the journal will be browsed, and 3) the journal is not available online.
The library may subscribe to an online journal or database that supports the curriculum at the request of a faculty member or librarian if money is available and the subscription fills a gap in current resources.
Weeding
Reference Collection
The Reference Librarian annually reviews the reference collection and reads reviews to remain familiar with new reference titles relevant to the needs of LSUA students and faculty. The Reference Librarian notes yearbooks/serials to be updated and recommends new reference titles for purchase.
Conservation, Preservation, and Restoration
Damaged materials are repaired, rebound, replaced, or discarded as demand indicates and funds permit. Lost materials are replaced as demand indicates and funds permit.
Current journals are displayed from 6 months to 3 years. At the end of this time period, journals of transient value are discarded.
Journals with enduring value and relevance to the curriculum are stored in Technical Processing. These journals are bound if they are not available online. Embargoed journals are stored until available online.
Gifts and Donations
The library may refuse any gift that does not contribute to the mission of the library. Gifts of library materials are accepted if they meet selection criteria and if the donor places no restrictions upon their acceptance. The library may discard, sell, or donate gift materials that cannot be added to the collection. The library does not make appraisals for tax or other fiduciary purposes; the donor is responsible for such appraisals. If requested, the Director will document the number and format/s of the accepted materials.
Rare Books
1. All materials in the following categories are processed for the Rare Books Room. (This includes some types of publications to be safeguarded although not strictly “rare.”)
A. Publications published before and including 1860.
B. U. S. Publications published before and including the dates listed below by state:
ALABAMA – 1839
ARIZONA – 1889
ARKANSAS -- 1860
CALIFORNIA – 1871
COLORADO – 1870
CONNECTICUT – 1800
DELAWARE – 1800
DIST OF COLUMBIA – 1800
FLORIDA – 1838
GEORGIA – 1845
IDAHO – 1888
ILLINOIS – 1846
INDIANA – 1840
IOWA – 1854
KANSAS – 1865
KENTUCKY – 1826
LOUISIANA – 1865
MAINE – 1800
MARYLAND – 1828
MASSACHUSETTS – 1800
MICHIGAN – 1848
MINNESOTA – 1869
MISSISSIPPI – 1851
MISSOURI – 1851
MONTANA – 1884
NEBRASKA – 1874
NEVADA – 1874
NEW HAMPSHIRE – 1800
NEW JERSEY – 1806
NEW MEXICO – 1870
NEW YORK – 1819
NORTH CAROLINA – 1812
NORTH DAKOTA – 1874
OHIO – 1820
OKLAHOMA – 1890
OREGON – 1864
PENNSYLVANIA – 1820
RHODE ISLAND – 1800
SOUTH CAROLINA – 1823
SOUTH DAKOTA – 1889
TENNESSEE – 1849
TEXAS – 1867
UTAH – 1870
VERMONT – 1800
VIRGINIA – 1810
WASHINGTON – 1877
WEST VIRGINIA – 1830
WISCONSIN – 1850
WYOMING – 1884
C. At least 1 copy (preferably 2) of University Publications.
2. Materials such as the following should be considered for the Rare Books collection:
A. Autographed books of exceptional interest.
B. Unusual limited editions.
C. Extraordinary first editions.
D. Portfolios containing original etchings, expensive plates, etc.
F. Local history and Louisiana publications. (Normally a copy will be placed in the circulating stacks, unless other considerations in this policy dictate otherwise.)
G. Scarce or expensive periodicals
H. Works justifying special attention on account of physical makeup: sumptuous binding; fine typography or illustrations; fore-edge painting; elaborate decorations; size or shape not adaptable to ordinary shelving; printing or vellum; silk, wood, or other unusual material.