The primary function of an academic Library is to provide the faculty and students of the university with those materials needed for current teaching and research programs. A corollary function is to provide for the general informational needs of the university community and to provide a sufficient richness of materials to assist those many self-directed and independent studies which are not spelled out in the educational curricula of the university. When the budget allows the university community can also expect some Library materials to be purchased for recreational purposes. Finally, acquisitions must take place in light of the fact that The University of Texas of the Permian Basin is part of a larger university system.

Cooperation between faculty members and librarians in the selection of materials allows faculty members to bring their specialized knowledge to the task of selection and to assure the support within the collection of specific curricular needs. The responsibility of the library director is to insure that no areas of development proper to the collection be ignored or slighted and that the collection as a whole be developed objectively, consistently, and thoroughly.

Selection of library materials is a joint responsibility of the faculty and the library staff. Faculty members have a major role in, and responsibility for, selecting materials supporting the teaching and research program of the university. At UTPB faculty must take their acquisition responsibilities seriously, since the Library relies heavily on faculty expertise for selection of materials-particularly those materials devoted to the support of program majors and graduate programs.

Within budgetary restrictions, the Library will purchase print and non-print materials for support of instruction and research. In all categories the final decision on purchase of individual items rests with the Director. In general the Library Director has primary responsibility for selecting materials for the general collection, e.g. materials which support lower-division undergraduate courses, the reference collection, the serials collection, electronic resources or interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary areas.

In light of the joint collection responsibilities of the library and the faculty, the library must be informed of forthcoming research and degree programs. The creation of new programs can have a significant impact on the overall library budget and for each and every department of the university. It is essential that the library director be actively involved in the planning of any curricular changes which will require library resources. When the budget allows, the library will make every effort to provide extra monetary support during the first three years of a new degree program's existence.

Normally, the library is involved in department or area program reviews. UTPB reviews departments and areas on a cyclical 5 year basis.

The charge to the committee is supplied by the Handbook of Operating Procedures.

Members of the Committee represent their respective divisions and the University as a whole, serving in an advisory capacity to the Director of Library Services. The primary purpose of the Committee is to promote the development of the educational value and role of the Library.

Each department receives an annual allocation of funds from the library for the purchase of library materials. Departmental allocations are primarily to be used to support the development of the book [monographs] collection. Use of departmental allocations o support non-book purchases must be approved in advance by the Library Director. Departmental allocations are based upon factors such as student hours generated, usage (as determined by circulation figures and similar mechanisms), relative cost of books in the discipline, program offerings (BA/MA), number of faculty, adequacy of present collection and past spending records of the department. The amount of these allocations is determined by the library administration and is limited by the total amount of the library budget (in respect of books total amount of PUF funds) allocated by the UT System and thereafter by the UTPB administration. The department or area is responsible for ensuring that individual faculty members understand their acquisitions duties and fulfill them expeditiously.

Although the Library Advisory Committee does not set allocations, the Library Director seeks the input of the Library Advisory Committee in reviewing the allocations process.

A significant portion of the book budget is allocated to the Library in order to support the purchase of materials for the general collection, that portion of the collection which supports entry level courses (freshman/sophomore), series, newspapers, standing orders, the reference collection, interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary areas. This procedure provides a well-balanced collection with adequate reference tools and materials to support basic level instruction. Again, the responsibility of the library director is to insure that no areas of development proper to the collection be ignored or slighted and that the collection as a whole be developed objectively, consistently, and thoroughly.

The university administration determines the library budget. In particular, the university administration makes every effort to communicate the PUF fund allocation as close to the beginning of the fiscal year as possible. The Library Director allocates funds to the disciplines as close to the beginning of the fiscal year as practicable.

The departmental allocations expire on 15 April, approximately three months before the functional end of the fiscal year (15 August). Any funds unencumbered by 15 April revert to the Library's general fund. Faculty are encouraged to spend their allocations in a fairly even manner over the entire collection development "year"-roughly mid-September to mid-April. Faculty are also encouraged to continue to submit orders during the "off" months, even though the item may not be ordered until the next fiscal year. A review of spending patterns is made early in the spring semester and departments which are not expending their funding expeditiously are notified.

Each title added to the collection should be considered on the basis of its individual merits. Judgment of the merit of a title may be based upon reviews in journals within the field or journals devoted to reviewing.

Specific criteria include:

1.  Permanent or timely value
2.  Accurate information
3.  Authority of the author
4.  Social significance
5.  Authority of the publisher
6.  Potential usefulness
7.  Relationship to the existing collection
8.  Scarcity of material on the subject
9.  Comparative cost of the item
10.  Format of material and ability to support same

Titles selected for addition to the collection must have either been favorably reviewed in some reviewing journal or appear in a special bibliography or index, or have been reviewed by the requesting faculty member, or be of such timeliness it is imperative that they be purchased before reviews are available. Exceptions will be made for titles published by international, national, state, or regional professional associations or by research bureaus of universities, or by the U.S. Government Printing Office, or by specialized presses in the field

The serials crisis continues; inflation for serials continues at 10+% or more per year. This continuing budgetary pressure means that for every new journal or serial added, serial/s of an equal dollar amount plus 100% (to cover the first five-ten years' inflation) must be cancelled. Despite this practice the library still finds that it devotes a higher percentage of its budget to serials than most other libraries of similar size and type.

Selection of journal titles for addition to the collection will be made by the discipline in consultation with the Library Director. The proposed journal must be indexed in an index or abstract owned by the library, unless the field is one in which no such indexing has been provided by a standard indexing or abstracting service. In very unique cases a journal may be ordered without being indexed by a service if the journal has an index of its own; unusual need must be shown in such a case.

Other factors taken into consideration: (a) cost of subscription; (b) which title/s will be cut to enable the new subscription; (c) curricular needs; (d) availability in other regional libraries; (e) availability in currently subscribed electronic format; (f) near duplication of materials already received.

When the budget allows, backfiles may be purchased and are selected on the basis of demonstrated student need and faculty requests. Preference is given to those backfiles of periodicals indexed in the major general indexes and in heavily-used subject indexes. Backfiles will normally be purchased as 35 mm microfilm.

Single issues or volumes of journals or periodicals will not be purchased.

See Ordering Library Materials below for other aspects of the serials request procedure.

Because of their initial cost, the cost of maintenance, and the rapid dating of material, videotapes, videocassettes, CDs, or DVDs and other media types will be purchased only when high use is indicated. Selection criteria will be the same as for books with some additions:

1. Production Quality
2. Suitability of format for instructional intent
3. Compatability with hardware and software available in the Library and the knowledge and expertise of the Library staff in supporting and guiding the utilization of the materials.
4. Physical robustness of medium. Specifically, DVDs are extremely prone to damage and will generally be the format of last resort. FYI: when DVDs are purchased their fragility requires that they must be stored on permanent reserve.

Reviews will be consulted prior to purchase whenever possible.

Most audiovisual materials are purchased by the Library on requisition from the departments and are paid from department funds since instructional objectives constitute the basis for selection. Generally such funds as are included in the library budget for audiovisual materials will be used for interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary acquisitions or to meet needs not directly related to the curriculum.

Should a work be lost from the collection, determination of its replacement will be made by the same criteria as for the purchase of a new title.

The Library provides access to and utilizes reviews in scholarly journals and reviewing journals as major aids to selection. Inclusion on "Best Books" lists, in Books for College Libraries (any edition), in standard bibliographies or on book award lists [e.g. Choice Outstanding Academic Books] will be automatic recommendation for addition to the collection. Determination of inclusion on selected lists will normally be the responsibility of the professional library staff; help in locating reviews for individual titles ay be requested by faculty members. The Library provides access to and utilizes reviews in scholarly journals and reviewing journals as major aids to selection. Inclusion on "Best Books" lists, in Books for College Libraries (any edition), in standard bibliographies or on book award lists [e.g. Choice Outstanding Academic Books] will be automatic recommendation for addition to the collection. Determination of inclusion on selected lists will normally be the responsibility of the professional library staff; help in locating reviews for individual titles may be requested by faculty members.

A primary aid to selection is Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries in all its formats. The Library subscribes to and distributes Choice Reviews on Cards to all faculty on a monthly basis. The Library also makes available Choice Reviews Online. The Library can also provide customized bibliographies from Choice Reviews Online. Faculty members may request such a customized bibliography at any time.

Ordering Library Materials (See Allocation of Funds and Allocation Calendar above.)

As soon as allocations are distributed ordering should begin.   See Allocation Calendar for spending time line.

In lieu of Book Order Forms faculty may submit Choice Card reviews, these cards must be clearly signed by the faculty member so that we may charge the item against the appropriate fund code. All other requests for books must normally be submitted on Book Order Forms (see example). Book Order Forms may be duplicated using the enclosed example, or you may go to the Library web site [under revision 2008/2009; form not available online]. Normally requests must include author, title, publisher, priority rating, and name of requester. Any additional relevant information, especially the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) speeds the request to completion.

Generally forms may be submitted to a designated departmental liaison or your Department Chair. The department or school then forwards orders to the library. Some departments have elected to allow direct submission by individual faculty members to the library; again, please contact your Department Chair to ascertain the method preferred.

These forms are available at Serial Request--print friendly for the version optimzed for pen and ink fill-out at or at Serials Request for an online template [which allows most of the form to be filled out online and then printed out. Since the form requires signatures, ultimately the form must be printed and submitted to the Office of the Library Director.]

Each request must include title of serial, publisher, address, annual price, frequency, subject area, list of indexes where serial is indexed, and a summarized description of the usefulness of the serial to both the requesting department and to the university as a whole. As noted above in Serials and New Serials Requests, a subscription request must also include a list of title/s whose dollar amount equals the newly requested item plus 100%; items so identified will be cut in order to fund the subscription to a new journal. If the titles selected to be cut appear to cross disciplines, relevant departments will be notified and asked for their input. All journal, series and standing order subscription changes must be approved by the Library Director.

Paperbacks

When a books is available in both hardcover and paperback editions it will usually be acquired in paperback if (1) the difference in price is significantly more than the added cost of having the paperback bound; (2) the item is less than 500 pages long; and (3) if the anticipated use of the book will not be very heavy. If multiple copies are ordered, only the first copy will be bound. Paperbacks for which very limited use is anticipated or which will date very rapidly may not be bound at all.

Rare Books

Rare books will, as a general rule, not be purchased because of their high cost and difficulty of maintenance.

Leisure Reading

As funds allow, the Library may purchase general interest titles which do not relate to any particular discipline. Best sellers will not be purchased unless the work has the possibility of permanent value to the collection. The Library will make every effort not to duplicate materials found in the two major local public libraries.

Duplicates

Normally the Library will not purchase duplicates. Under no circumstances will the Library purchase more than two copies of a title.

Textbooks and Kits

Textbooks being used for particular courses will not be purchased. The Library does not normally purchase textbooks because of the repetition of information frequently included in them; because they date quickly; and because they do not support the major purpose of the Library--provision of materials supplementary to course work.

Normally kits will not be purchased by the Library.

The acquisition and withdrawal of Library materials are both facets of the same continuous process: Withdrawal or weeding is an important function in all libraries which do not intend to be permanent depositories of all that has been published. Weeding should be viewed as "pruning dead wood" in order that the collection might remain viable. On the average, about 5 percent as many books are discarded as are acquired. Quoted from University Library Administration by Rogers & Weber (NY: H.W. Wilson Co, 1971) 144.

Collection currency and vitality should be maintained through judicious weeding.(Association of College and Research Libraries, Standards for College Libraries 2000, C&RL News, 61 (March 2000), 179.

Weeding is a service to the library user, because it helps maintain the best possible library collection. The librarians are responsible for deciding which materials should be withdrawn. Faculty members will be consulted on major weeding projects. Withdrawals in the following areas will be determined in relation to the Library collection.

1. Duplications: once heavily demanded, no longer needed
2. Mistake in initial selection: variant printings; vanity press; low quality materials; outdated textbooks; specialized materials no longer used or of interest
3. Obsolute material: not relevant
4. Outdated material: outlived usefulness
5. Poor physical condition: beyond reasonable repair. If material is still valid replacement will be considered
6. Superseded work: old edition replaced by newer edition; preliminary edition; cumulative issues
7. Outdated surveys and faculty-prepared course materials

The following are suggestions commonly used for initial identification of titles to be withdrawn in various subject areas. Adapted from Building Library Collections by Carter and Bonk, (Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, 1969) 140-142.

Religion, Philosophy, Psychology (LC Classification B)

Retain systems of philosophy, but discard historical and explanatory texts when superseded, older theology works, old commentaries on the Bible, sectarian literature, sermons, and books on the conduct of life, popular self-help psychology, and other guides to living which are old or no longer popular. Be sure to take into account the use made of such materials, which will vary greatly from community to community.

Social Sciences (also relevant to Psychology, Education and Business)

Requires frequent revision because much of the materials will deal with problems of temporary interest which can be replaced later by historical coverage of these topics. Economics needs careful watching for dates. Superseded almanacs and yearbooks should be discarded.

Language

Discard old grammars and ordinary school dictionaries (rarely discard the larger dictionaries). Weed the rest of the collection on the basis of use. Do not discard classic texts.

Pure Science

Discard books with obsolete information or theories and all general works which have been superseded, unless they are classics in their field. Botany and natural history should be inspected carefully before discarding [while material may be dated, drawings, illustrations, etc. can make the work of interest.]

Applied Sciences

Try to keep this section up-to-date by discarding older material. Five to ten years will date much material in fields such as medicine, engineering, inventions, radio, television, computer science, business, etc.

Arts, Music

Discard in fine arts sparingly. Keep collections of music, engravings, finely illustrated books.

Literature

Keep literary history unless it is superseded by a better title; keep collected works unless definitely superseded; discard poets and dramatists no longer regarded in literary histories and no longer read; discard the works of minor novelists whose works have not been reissued and who are no longer of interest to readers.

History

Discard historical works which are only summaries and are not authoritative, and works of travel over ten years old, unless distinguished by the style or the importance of the author. Keep histories which have become literary classics.

Biography

Keep collected biography, but individual lives of persons whose importance is no longer great may be discarded after several decades.

General

Generally, the following classes should be inspected carefully as potential areas for much weeding: privately printed verse, memoirs, essays; subjects not currently popular; unused or unneeded volumes of sets; publications of municipalities; multiple editions of books; incomplete runs of periodicals, or periodicals without indexes.

Initial withdrawal selections will be made by trained library personnel. Once titles have been identified faculty in relevant areas will be asked for their input, such input must be made in a timely manner. For major withdrawal projects a probation period may be established o that any interested faculty member may provide input on titles set for withdrawal. On occasion the library staff may establish a monitoring mechanism so that a check may be made on the use or demand for a specific work over a set time period.

Library professional staff and the Library Director make the final determination on what titles will be withdrawn.

The Library welcomes gifts, but accepts them with the understanding that they conform to selection guidelines, and provided no restrictions are attached. No commitment to accept gifts shall be made by anyone other than the Library Director.

With regard to gifts accepted, the Library will determine the classification, housing, and circulation policy of gift items. The Library retains the right to dispose of gifts at any time and in any manner deemed appropriate. The Library will not be responsible for monetary appraisal of gifts for tax or other purposes.