Collection Development Statement

Franklin and Marshall College Library

General Purpose of the Statement

This statement provides guidance to those who select materials for purchase or addition to the library collection. It addresses all media and means of acquisition, and items involving one-time and on-going purchase commitments.

Library Program

The library embraces its role as information nexus for the entire college community, and states as its mission:

"The Library will select and preserve books and other materials in various formats that reflect the accumulated knowledge of humanity; instruct the college community in the use of information resources; provide access to academic and scholarly resources to support the curriculum in appropriate formats; create or purchase, and maintain systems which provide accurate and reliable access to information; collaborate with other information departments on campus to maximize resources and services to users; cooperate with regional and national library organizations to offer more effective services; hire and retain a professional and progressive staff responsive to the academic needs of the college community; maintain and preserve the history of the College and its environs through its archives and special collections; provide a well-equipped and comfortable place conducive to study and to the exchange of ideas."

The library collection is housed in four locations. The Shadek-Fackenthal Library houses the humanities and social sciences collections, as well as special collections and most library offices. The original building was built as the Fackenthal Library in 1938 replacing the Watts-de Peyster Library built in 1897. In 1980, an expanded and renovated building was renamed Shadek-Fackenthal Library. Science materials are housed in the Martin Library of the Sciences, which was built in 1990. Formerly, most science materials were housed in departmental reading rooms. One science reading room, that for Psychology, remains in the Whitely Psychology Laboratory. Audio-visual materials are housed in the Academic Technology Services within Stager Hall. The nucleus of the Library Collection was begun in 1821 with the Reichenbach collection consisting mostly of books in Latin. This collection was bequeathed to the College by William Reichenbach, Professor of Mathematics, who was among the first faculty of Marshall College. It was originally housed in rooms in Old Main. The Franklin and Marshall College Library became an official depository of United States government publications in 1894. Faculty members served as Librarian until 1914. The collections of the Goethian and Diagnothian Literary Societies were incorporated into the Library collection in the early 1920's. The entire collection was recataloged from 1928 through 1934. It was reclassified from the Dewey Decimal classification system to the Library of Congress classification system, from 1966 through 1969. In 1975, the library began using OCLC and thus began the creation of an electronic database. In 1988 the first version of the on-line library catalog was installed. The library staff, in 2000, consists of nine librarians, 13 full time support staff members, and 4 part time support staff members.

Franklin & Marshall College Program

Franklin & Marshall is a residential college dedicated to excellence in undergraduate liberal education. Its aims are to inspire in young people of high promise and diverse backgrounds a genuine and enduring love of learning, to teach them to read, write, and think critically, to instill in them the capacity for both independent and collaborative action, and to educate them to explore and understand the natural, social and cultural worlds in which they live. In so doing, the College seeks to foster in its students qualities of intellect, creativity, and character, that they may live fulfilling lives and contribute meaningfully to their occupations, their communities, and their world. (from the Franklin & Marshall Catalog, 1999-2000)

In the fall 1999 semester, Franklin & Marshall college has 167 FTE faculty members and 1841 on campus FTE students and 63 students involved in off campus study. In May 1999, 425 students graduated, receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree.

Franklin & Marshall college features, at present, 37 academic departments and interdisciplinary programs, offering 32 majors, and 33 minors. With approval, students may also create a Special Studies major in disciplines where a major is not offered. There are also three areas in which interdisciplinary Foundations courses are offered. Students are required to take at least three upper level Explorations courses in an area outside their major discipline.

It is possible for students to create an Independent Studies project under the direction of a faculty member. In 1998/99, 38% of graduating seniors (161 students) had completed an independent studies project. There are also several opportunities for students to work collaboratively with faculty, including the Hackman Scholars Program (72 students were Hackman Scholars in the summer of 1999), the Center for the Liberals Arts and Society, and as preceptors in the first year seminar program.

General Subject Boundaries/Selection Principles

The primary purpose of the library collection is to meet the information needs of the college's curriculum. With the curriculum continually changing, the library pursues a broad-based collection to facilitate timely response to curricular change. Support of student information needs for course work is the primary goal guiding selection of library materials. The support of faculty research is the secondary goal. The Library will meet most of the information needs of our students, including those for seminar papers and independent study. Student and faculty needs not met through the collection will be fulfilled as fully as possible through interlibrary loan.

The College Librarian has responsibility for the development of the library collection, but may delegate that responsibility to other librarians and to the faculty. In practice, collection development is a partnership between librarians and faculty. The librarians select a major portion of items for the collection and provide selection assistance to the faculty. Each librarian serves as liaison to academic departments to encourage and facilitate faculty participation in collection development. Special responsibilities of librarians include: selecting in areas where no present faculty are selecting, identifying and filling weak areas of the collection, identifying materials that are no longer needed, and performing an on-going review of the collection.

Funding, Budget & Allocation

Funding for the library collection is derived primarily from annual allocations from the College. This includes some endowed funds for library purchases. In addition, some endowment income is provided over and above the annual allocation. Also, donors to the Friends of the Library may specify that their donations be used to purchase library materials in particular subjects. College allocated funds are divided into a fund for books, and other one-time publications; and a fund for periodicals and other continuing publications.

In allocating funds, the Library staff will seek to insure fair distribution of resources among the academic disciplines, and also insure the collection develops in close relationship to the College's curriculum.

Censorship/Intellectual Freedom

In accord with the statement on academic freedom, approved by the Overseers and Trustees of the college and printed in the Faculty Handbook, the library will not exclude any materials because of the nature of their content. However, in order to protect contested items, they may be housed in a secured area, and be available on request.

Languages

English is the preferred language for materials collected, except for texts of works, especially literary works, originally written in other languages taught at the college. The Library does not collect translations from English to other languages or works in languages not in the college's curriculum. The Library will however purchase English/foreign language dictionaries for languages not taught at the college.

Geographical Areas

No item is excluded from the collection because of the geographical area of production. However, most books purchased will be published in the United States. Secondary areas of publication include other English speaking countries and countries whose language is taught at the college.

Types of Materials Collected

The Library maintains a balance between periodicals and monographs so that both are collected at a level reflecting the publication output for a particular subject area. Collection of one format should not totally exclude collection of the other format for any discipline.

As a partial federal government document depository, the library collects federal documents in areas relevant to the program of the college. (See the appended Collection Development Statement for U. S. Government Documents.) The Library will purchase selected state documents published by Pennsylvania and other states as they relate to the curriculum.

Pamphlets and other ephemeral items will not be collected.

The library does not collect incomplete bibliographic units, such as single issues of periodicals.

Books designed to be used as textbooks will not be collected unless they are standard works in the area or are the only available source of information in the area of coverage.

Books intended for juvenile audiences will not be collected.

Formats of Materials Collected

The library will collect materials in the following formats, including but not limited to: books, periodicals, electronic media, compact discs, sound cassettes, video tapes, video discs, microforms, slide sets, and floppy discs. The Library no longer collects phonograph records. Videos are preferred over films and film strips. VHS is the preferred form of video cassette; other forms will be purchased only if no VHS is available and the Library has the capability to use the form offered. Subscription to online access is preferred to CD-ROM.

To keep pace with rapid changes in information technologies, and as it becomes feasible and economical to do so, the Library will substitute electronic forms for older media and adopt new media. Considerations of cost, medium, equipment needs, training required, and ease of use will influence purchase decisions

Software will be purchased if the content is appropriate to the collection and it is available in a form compatible with presently available equipment. The college has chosen to use the Macintosh platform exclusively, so most software purchased will need to be compatible with Macintosh equipment. Software required for the daily functions of the college will be provided by Computing Services, rather than the Library.

Gifts

The Library will accept gifts on the condition that we are free to add or dispose of them as suits the needs of the collection. Acknowledgement will be supplied to the donor for all gifts; but if an appraisal is required, the donor will need to arrange for and pay for that appraisal. Gifts will be accepted for addition to the collection using the same standards as outlined above for purchases. With the possible exception of gifts meriting inclusion in Special Collections, all gifts will be integrated into the general collection and no gift will be housed as a separate and complete unit.

Duplication

The Library normally purchases only one copy of a work. However, in cases of heavily used items, the Library will purchase additional copies. Items to be placed on Reserve will be supplied at a rate of up to one copy for every 15 students required to read the material. The library will not duplicate periodical subscriptions. The library will not duplicate materials to provide copies in two or more locations, with the exception of heavily used reference works. The library will purchase multiple editions of standard works, including multiple translations into English of standard works originally written in other languages.

As materials appear in more than one format, particularly in both paper and electronic form, the Library will endeavor to avoid duplication by format. If we can be reasonably assured of continued access to an item in electronic format, we will not purchase it in paper or microform, will not bind back files, and will eliminate open stack access. In most cases, the expenses of purchasing, maintaining, and housing the information in multiple formats, outweigh the benefits of providing the materials in more than one format. Exceptions will be made if there is special justification for providing the information in a second format.

Preservation

The library will purchase hardcover rather than paperback editions of books unless we are assured the paper used in a paperback is acid free. However, if we are assured that the paper used in a paperback edition is acid free (as is the case with books published by United States university presses) and the paperback costs at least $10 less than the hardback, we will purchase the paperback edition. The library will bind only those paperbacks expected to be heavily used, or are at risk for damage due to their size, or quality of original binding.

All materials will be shelved and stored in such a way as to insure their preservation and usability. Damaged books will be repaired or rebound, either in house or by a bindery. Repair and binding methods used will be selected to avoid incurring further damage. Books which are lost, stolen, or damaged beyond repair will be replaced with usable copies. Books which cannot be repaired, rebound, or replaced, will be isolated to prevent further damage until such time as repair becomes possible or a replacement becomes available.

The library will preserve or make accessible the back files of periodicals to which we subscribe, unless we anticipate those back files will not be used. In most cases, the preferred means of access to periodical back files will be electronic. The second preferred means of access is microfilm. If access is provided via electronic databases or microfilm, the library will bind the paper copy in-house, and hold it for a limited time. If neither electronic access nor microfilm is available for a title, or if those means do not provide adequate reproduction of necessary elements of the periodical, the title will be commercially bound. Newsletters and other periodicals which are quickly dated, will be kept for a limited time.

Deselection

As a small liberal arts college library, the deselection of items from the collection is necessary from time to time. When items are no longer relevant to the curriculum, either because they are outdated or because the curriculum has changed, books and periodical back files may be withdrawn at the discretion of the College Librarian. Periodical subscriptions and access to electronic media will be canceled at the discretion of the College Librarian, normally in consultation with the academic departments concerned.

If an area is being examined for deselection of outdated and irrelevant items, appropriate faculty will be invited to review items selected for removal before formal withdrawal occurs.

Superseded materials will be examined at the time of purchase of updated items, and will normally be withdrawn. The librarians will also regularly and systematically examine the collection to identify items which are no long relevant to the curriculum.

Special Collections & Manuscripts

The existing Special Collections include the College Archives, the Rare Book Collection, German-American Collections, the de Peyster Napoleonana Collection, the Franklin Schaffner Film Collection as well as collections of manuscripts, maps, prints, posters, newspapers and photographs.

The library will maintain in separate collections only those materials that either document the history of the college or contribute to the support of the college's program.

Books will be considered for inclusion in Special Collections if published before 1800, if they are first editions of noted works, if they contain valuable illustrations, if they have unusual value, or if they have a special association, such as former ownership by a notable person.

The library will attempt to collect for the College Archives at least one copy of all publications of the college, its student organizations, its present faculty, and noted alumni, as well as publications about the college and other materials relating to the history of the college. (See addendum for full Special Collections development policy.)

Location

Librarians will determine the permanent location of all materials ordered using library funds. The following Library of Congress classes will be housed in Martin Library of the Sciences: BF, Q, R. S, and T through TP, along with sections of A and Z which are specific to science. All other classes will be housed in Shadek-Fackenthal Library. Books will be housed in the Psychology Library only at the request of the Psychology faculty and only if the Librarians deem that housing the items there will not hamper their use. Science audio-visual materials will be housed in the Martin Library of the Sciences; all other audio-visual materials will be housed in the Academic Technology Center. Items needed for Reserve in a building other than their normal location will be temporarily relocated to the building where they are needed for reserve and will be returned to their permanent location when they are removed from reserve. The Archivist and Special Collections Librarian will determine which items are to be housed in Special Collections.

Browsing Collection

In order to make popular reading readily available to members of the college community, the Library maintains a Browsing collection. The Browsing Collection features recently published books of popular interest, in genres such as fiction, biography, current events, and popular science. Librarians will order most of the books for the Browsing Collection, with the Deputy College Librarian determining if other books purchased using Library funds are to be featured there as well. Books ordered for the Browsing Collection will meet the overall selection criteria, and are expected to support the curriculum. Books will be transferred from the Browsing Collection to the stacks after one or two years.

Reference

Items considered essential to have available for consultation at all times will be housed in the Reference Room. These items include, but are not limited to, print indexes, abstracts, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, directories, and bibliographies.

The Reference Librarians will determine which items purchased using library funds are to be housed in the Reference Room.

Cooperation and Other Resources Available

Other libraries available in the area include those of Millersville University, Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster County Library, Lancaster County Historical Society, Pennsylvania School of Art and Design, Lancaster General Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital, Lancaster County Law Library, and Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. Franklin and Marshall College Library has reciprocal borrowing privileges with the libraries of Millersville University and Lancaster Theological Seminary. The Library is a member of ACLCP, an association of 23 academic libraries in central Pennsylvania and has reciprocal borrowing arrangements with all of the member libraries. Our students and faculty also have borrowing privileges at the Pennsylvania State Library, which is a complete United States document depository.

The library also maintains membership in CPC, a consortium of 3 colleges, PALCI, a state wide consortium of academic libraries, and PALINET, a regional consortium which provides access to OCLC and other services. All of these associations, including ACLCP, provide cooperative purchasing possibilities, especially for obtaining access to electronic information. Such consortial purchasing arrangements can substantially decrease the cost of access to electronic information, and may influence the library's database purchasing decisions.

Although we do not select materials specifically for the Lancaster community, we recognize that members of the local community do make use of our collections and we make provisions for their borrowing by joining the Friends of the Library.

The library will endeavor to obtain through interlibrary loan or document delivery whatever library materials students and faculty need for course work or research and which are not available in our collection.

Departmental and Program Plans

We intend to develop and append a brief departmental library selection plan for each academic department and program. These plans should be built on the following outline:

Curriculum programs & library collection needs

General collecting guidelines:

Language

Chronological guidelines

Geographical guidelines

Date of publication

Treatment of subject

Types of materials collected

Other general considerations

Subjects (LC classes) associated with discipline

List of Departments and Programs:

 

Africana Studies American Studies Anthropology Art Asian Studies Astronomy (separately or included as Physics and Astronomy) Biological Foundations of Behavior Biology Business Administration Chemistry Classics Computer Science (separately or included as Mathematics and Computing Science) Economics English Environmental Studies French (separately or included as French and Italian) Geosciences German (Separately or included as German and Russian)

Government History Italian (separately or included as French and Italian) Judaic Studies Linguistics Mathematics (separately or included as Mathematics and Computing Science) Music Philosophy Physics (separately or included as Physics and Astronomy) Psychology Public Policy Religious Studies Russian (separately or included as German and Russian) Science, Technology, and Society Scientific and Philosophical Studies of Mind Sociology Spanish Theatre, Dance and Film Women's Studies

Foundations Areas:

Mind, Self, and Spirit

Community, Culture, and Society

The Natural World

Separate policies , addenda, for:

We intend to develop and append the following separate and more detailed policies:

Special collections policy

Government documents collection policy

Periodical procedures

Standing order procedures

Gifts policy

Preservation policy

Electronic Media policy

Reviewed and revised by The Library Committee, February 22, 2000.

For more information, contact Tom Karel, Collection Development Librarian, tom.karel@fandm.edu, 717.291.3845