Acquisition Guidelines
Joseph F. Smith Library
Brigham Young University - Hawaii
The goal of the acquisition guidelines of the Joseph F. Smith Library at Brigham Young University-Hawaii is to build a balanced and quality collection to serve the needs of the University. Based upon this principle, the following guidelines are given:
I. Book Acquisition
A. First Preference:
1. First preference is given to books recommended by each faculty member for his/her curriculum needs.
2. The publications selected by each faculty member should meet at least one of the following criteria:
1. receives positive reviews in professional journals in the subject area of the faculty member
2. is published by prestigious university presses such as Harvard, California, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, etc.
3. is recommended by book selection tools, such as:
1. Choice
2. Library Journal
3. Booklist
4. Publisher's Weekly
B. Second Preference:
1. Retrospective materials with high or long-term academic value.
2. Support material for approved research projects.
C. Third Preference:
1. High interest materials requested by the student body and local community, including novels.
2. Classics works or recommended general works in fields not covered by curriculum needs or research interests.
II. Acquisition of Audiovisual Materials
A. First Preference:
1. Each faculty member is entitled to recommend the purchase of audiovisual materials required to support his/her curriculum areas. Textbooks for courses are not usually purchased. 2. The materials selected by each faculty member should follow these criteria:
a) supplements and amplifies class text
b) is appropriate for use by other faculty members
c) is in current production
d) material should be previewed if possible
B. Second Preference:
1. Additional audiovisual materials may be purchased to build a balanced collection.
III. Acquisition of Serials
A. First Preference:
1. Because subscriptions to serials involve a long-term financial commitment to the University, any new subscription should meet the following criteria:
a) is indexed in pertinent professional index(es)
b) is published by universities with recognized academic accomplishments or by companies with competent and well-known editors and contributors
c) is suitable for undergraduate research
d) is reviewed favorably in publications such as:
1) Magazines for Libraries
2) Choice
3) Library Journal
4) other scholarly or professional publications
IV. Acquisition of Electronic Resources
Electronic resources are defined as those resources that are accessed via a computer. Examples include, but are not limited to: periodical indexes, reference databases, electronic texts (e-journals and e-books) and multimedia files available via the Internet or as stand-alone CD-ROMs.
A. Continuing Resources. Because subscriptions to electronic resources involve extensive and long-term financial commitments to the University, any new subscription should meet the following criteria:
1. First Preference:
a) is accessible via the Internet, particularly the World Wide Web
b) is a reference or bibliographic resource that supports the overall university curriculum
c) is a resource that supports the instructional objectives of a specific discipline
d) is suitable for undergraduate research
e) is accessible by multiple simultaneous users
f) is produced by an entity with an established reputation for academic quality, a user interface that encourages effective use, and effective customer support
g) offers tangible advantages over comparable print resources
h) is available for a trial demonstration
i) is reviewed favorably in literature reviews or compares favorably to similar products
2. Second Preference:
a) is a networkable CD-ROM product
b) is a reference or bibliographic resource that supports the overall university curriculum
c) is a resource that supports the instructional objectives of a specific discipline
d) is suitable for undergraduate research
e) is accessible by multiple simultaneous users
f) is produced by an entity with an established reputation for academic quality, a user interface that encourages effective use, and effective customer support
g) offers tangible advantages over comparable print resources
h) is available for a trial demonstration
i) is reviewed favorably in literature reviews or compares favorably to similar products
B. Non-Continuing Resources (CD-ROM stand-alone products) should meet the following criteria:
1. First Preference:
a) is compatible with current technological media
b) is a reference or bibliographic resource that supports the overall university curriculum
c) is a resource that supports the instructional objectives of a specific discipline
d) is suitable for undergraduate research
e) is produced by an entity with an established reputation for academic quality, a user interface that encourages effective use, and effective customer support
f) offers tangible advantages over comparable print resources
g) is available for a trial demonstration
h) is reviewed favorably in literature reviews or compares favorably to similar products
V. Acquisition for the Curriculum Collection and the Children's Collection
A. First Preference:
1. Curriculum Collection: Materials purchased in support of this Collection include elementary and secondary textbooks, guidebooks for teachers, instructional kits and computer software for various grade levels K-12. Materials on pedagogy are acquired for the General and Reference collections.
2. Children's Collection: Books purchased for this collection will be positively reviewed children and young-adult books to support curriculum needs in the education and literature fields.
Policy on multiple copies:
In order to provide the broadest possible range of materials for the support of the curriculum, multiple copies of books, serials, or audiovisual materials will not normally be purchased. Requests for multiple copies of books to a maximum of two will be considered individually according to needs and the value of the resource as a part of the Library's permanent collection.
A permitted exception to this policy involves the regular duplicate purchase of basic titles already in the Pacific Islands Research Room to make them available for patron checkout from the General Collection.
Rev. 8/05
