Collection and Access Development Policy

UIW Libraries Mission Statement

The UIW Libraries actively participate in the life of the University with a focus on developing partnerships and services in support of teaching, learning, and scholarship. Through the use of co-curricular instructional methodologies, innovative approaches in support of scholarship and research, the use of technologies that enhance discovery and knowledge dissemination, as well as providing access to appropriate resources and a knowledgeable staff, UIW Libraries help to advance intellectual and lifelong learning of students, faculty, and staff. The programs, services, and collections of the UIW Libraries reflect differing points of view, various cultures, and a global perspective. UIW Libraries, in all their activities, encompass the Catholic social teaching and social justice issues espoused by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word and the University of the Incarnate Word Mission.

Scope of the Collection & Access Development Policy (C&ADP)

This policy is designed to provide a framework for curating appropriate and supportive collections in all relevant formats that support UIW’s teaching, learning, and scholarship and that are aligned with the institutional mission. This policy is also meant to leverage collaboration and resource sharing and extend access to information. In keeping with the UIW Mission and tenets of inclusion and social justice, the collections are built with a mindfulness of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Collections and access are built in partnership with faculty and program leads and this policy is meant to facilitate input from primary users with the objective of embedding collections into the curriculum and research processes in order to build knowledge and to encourage intellectual and autonomous discovery.

This policy specifically considers the acquisition, licensing and access, placement, and disposition of library resources by establishing priorities and guidelines within allocated budgets and that assist in budget planning. Where appropriate, the activities guided by this policy will follow a principle of “just in time” which is designed to allow a nimble response to changing higher educational landscapes. The establishment of new programs as well as substantive changes to programs will be guided by formal and linked processes between these programs and the libraries.

Content and research resources as well as bibliographic resources are subject to these guidelines. Commercial instructional course materials/textbooks, system platforms, and software fall outside the scope of this policy. This policy limits the acquisition of resources that are unlawful, untested, or inaccessible/in dying formats without further scrutiny by collections managers.

UIW Libraries develop this policy in alignment with the standards of SACSCOC (11.1 CR), the Standards for Libraries in Higher Education (5.1 – 5.6), and the Diversity Standards: Cultural Competency for Academic Libraries (4) from the Association of Colleges and Research Libraries (ACRL). UIW Libraries is committed to evidence-influenced decision making with the objective of continuous improvement. This extends to the development / disposition of all collection types. UIW Libraries adhere to the Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries.

Broad Priorities of this Policy

This policy considers collection development and access within the dynamic and evolving nature of curricula and programs at the University of the Incarnate Word. As such, it requires periodic assessment and adjustment to remain viable. This policy will reflect support for current and emerging curricular programs, teaching and learning methodologies, and the research expectations of this institution as aligned with the missions of the institution and the libraries. Liaison librarians work directly with faculty in understanding the information and co-curricular needs of established and emerging fields of study all within their own areas of expertise.

Currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff are considered primary clientele. The university defines individuals who meet this definition. Community-users are library users who fall outside of this definition yet are supported through the libraries’ statewide resource sharing services and as in-person visitors. Base guidelines, all within allocated budgets, include:

Owned and accessible collections and resources made available through the UIW Libraries will support the curricular programs of the institution followed by the priority to support UIW’s teaching and pedagogical objectives, and thirdly, to support the research and scholarly needs of UIW primary clientele.
The housing of collections that are defined as special and enhance knowledge through rare content and formats
The curation of open access, open content, and web-based content that further supports teaching, learning, and research
Collections that are built to be inclusive and representative of all persons in the UIW community in alignment with the priorities of the library mission
The adoption of emerging technologies and platforms that support library functions and enhance discovery are not subject to this policy
The limiting of collections to legally acquired materials and access to licensed resources will adhere to contractual obligations and to terms of signed agreements

General Processes for Building Collections and Access

The nature of academic library budgets in relation to collection development has two distinct areas of funding: continuing cost (ongoing) commitments and discretionary (one-time) spending. The percentage of spending in academic libraries has trended heavily toward continuing cost commitments in the form of print/e-journals, ebooks, aggregator databases, streaming media, and content platforms (licensed and subscribed). Because funds for ongoing commitments require budget managers to be mindful that they are committing funds not only for a single fiscal year but for future fiscal years and for items that carry an inflationary characteristic, the selection of ongoing commitments undergoes a scrutiny that discretionary purchases do not undergo. This scrutiny includes the review of continuing cost metrics and discussions with relevant stakeholders on a biennial basis. These guidelines assist in planning and budgeting and in prioritizing where funds should be expended through collection and access decisions using continuous assessment of objective and subjective data. (See Definitions – Appendix A. See Review Forms – Appendix B.

Requests in support of new and substantively changed programs are reviewed through the Library Impact Statement (LIS). The LIS should be requested early in the planning stages for these programs. The Dean of Libraries will provide the LIS to the appropriate Dean and the liaison librarian will provide the LIS to the lead faculty for the program
The Desiderata Request process is for new continuing cost requests or for substantially priced discretionary costs (such as backfiles) for established programs. This process looks at metrics for continuing cost requests and involves conversations with relevant stakeholders. Items on this list may not be able to be funded in the year of request or may need further review because of the alignment with the criteria in the policy.
Another avenue in building appropriate collections is through liaison librarian partnerships with faculty and program leads. All UIW programs and schools have faculty representation on the Faculty Library Advisory Council where policy development, collections and access, as well as budgetary matters are openly discussed. The Dean of Libraries works closely with the academic deans in the development of proforma budgets for new and substantively changed programs. Faculty and librarians also have exposure to these issues as part of the curriculum approval process for undergraduate and graduate programs.
Augmenting collections and access through the curation of open access and open content resources as well as the curation of relevant public domain and web-based resources.
Consideration of consortial and resource sharing agreements will be made in order to increase support for all programs within allocated budgets.

Continuing Cost Processes

Responsible Parties for Selection and Access Development

General Collection and Format Guidelines

Collection Level Definitions

Audio/Visual Collections Guidelines

Electronic/Digital Resources Technical Selection Criteria

Guidelines for Licensing Terms for Vendors

Gifts

Special Collections and Formats Guidelines

Collection Maintenance

Criteria for Consideration

Non-Selection Criteria

Allocations of Funds

Appendix A: Definition of Terms

Article Processing Charges – fees charged to authors by journal publishers during the publication process. APCs are not funded out of library collection budgets. The scholarly communications librarian and liaison librarians can be helpful in navigating this process. Related terms: Open Access; Predatory Publishing

Community Users and Visiting Scholars Access– access to collections and resources are in-person and for limited times.

Continuing Cost Expenditures - content resources that are subscribed to in support of teaching, learning, and scholarship that may require a license with terms of use and a general expectation that access will be renewed annually. Typically, these items such as databases, journals, and other periodicals have an inflationary characteristic. This content can include streaming media and e-books as well. Individual streaming services that do not have institutional licensing models are outside the scope of library acquisition.

Continuing Cost Metrics – various data used to evaluate the continuing need/value of a continuing cost resource. Metrics are monitored on an ongoing basis with a full review by stakeholders on a biennial basis. Metrics can include data such as cost, usability and access formats, cost per use/runs of usage data, coverage overlap, pervasiveness of subject coverage, core to discipline, interdisciplinary nature, level of need, alternative access, coverage in stable platforms, indexing, etc.

Course Materials – typically thought of as course textbooks or inclusive package materials. Can come in physical and electronic format and can be from commercial vendors or supported through open access.

Curated Websites and Web Content – appropriate websites and web content are curated in support of the curriculum and research in the form of UIW Libraries LibGuides. These guides curate appropriate content in Course / Assignment Guides, Topic Guides and Discipline Guides. For more information – see Library Research Guides

Curriculum Councils – standing councils of the Faculty Senate that review curriculum changes, proposals, and substantive level changes for both undergraduate and graduate/professional programs at the institutional level.

Dean’s Council – academic deans/associate provosts from all schools who serve on the Provost’s Council and on either Health Professions Deans Council or Main Campus Working Deans Council (includes Dean of SPS and the Dean of Libraries)

Desiderata – items that are not part of the Library Impact Statement can be either discretionary but most often are continuing cost and are requested by faculty/students as new resources in support of established programs. Items on the Desiderata List are vetted through the collection management process but remain unacquired due to lack of allocated funds. Liaison librarians work with requestors when items are deemed desiderata.

Discretionary Expenditures – library funds allocated for one-time purchases with no obligation for continued expense. Typically, items such as physical or electronic books or physical media not in a series. All other information sources that are not licensed or in a series.

Faculty (Main and Health Professions) Library Advisory Council – members of this council serve in an advisory and liaison capacity to and from UIW Libraries to their respective schools and the student body. Members are asked to disseminate information about policies, programs, and services to their fellow faculty and bring ideas and concerns from their colleagues to Library administration.

General Collections – circulating collections of the UIW Libraries. This includes the AV/Media, Musical Score, and Oversized Collections

Liaison/Discipline Librarian – a librarian who works directly with faculty from specific programs and schools to build collections and access in support of teaching, learning, and scholarship. Liaisons also support co-curricular instruction and research in specific disciplines.

Library Impact Statement – a process developed that allows liaison librarians to work with faculty / program leads to determine the adequacy of library resources and specialized staff when new or substantively changed programs are proposed through the curriculum councils. This process is built as part of the program prospectus and in the development of the proforma budgets for new programs as part of the UIW Academic Master Plan.

Open Access – a publishing model for scholarly communication that makes research information, including publication and data, immediately available to readers at no cost. For more information – UIW Libraries Open Access LibGuide

Open Educational Resources and Open Data – teaching, learning, and research materials that are in the public domain or introduced with an open license. The nature of these open materials allows anyone to legally and freely copy, use, adapt and re-share them. OER’s range from textbooks to curricula, syllabi, lecture notes, assignments, tests, projects, audio, video, and animation. Open data are data sets that are available to anyone to legally and freely copy, use, adapt, and reshare. For more information see UIW Libraries Open Educational Resources LibGuide; UIW Open Data LibGuide.

Predatory Publishing – publications and publishing practices that follow unethical practices, are usually of low quality, typically charge author publishing fees without editorial oversight and peer review. Open access does not equate to predatory so authors should use multiple criteria to determine if a publication has characteristics of a predatory publisher. Related terms – Open Access ; Article Publishing Charges

Primary Users – UIW currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff. Most collections and resources are available to all primary users. Some resources are limited to students/faculty in certain programs.

Public Performance Rights – many of the A/V materials in the Libraries’ collections that are accessible through licensing do not hold any public performance rights which allows them to be shown to members of a community outside of a direct instructor-mediated situation. There are a considerable number of titles that do have PPR. Items can be identified with the PPR in ALMA.

Remote or Off-Campus Access – access to licensed and purchased digital resources through the Libraries’ authentication system. Users can authenticate through with their username and password.

Repository (Athenaeum) – UIW Libraries hosted, open-access repository for research, scholarship, and creative works by the UIW community.

Resource Sharing and Interlibrary Loan – UIW Libraries enables borrowing and lending of items in its collections to enhance the availability of resources to UIW students, faculty, and staff.

Selection – the Libraries’ process of either acquiring information resources through purchase, curating appropriate resources through open sources, and/or providing access through licensing and enabling discovery through UIW Libraries platforms. Typically, items that are continuing cost and/or over a certain amount will have additional criteria applied to the request for selection. See Desiderata

Special Collections – items in the Mabee Library Collection that have been identified as most-valued/rare or were donated as part of a whole collection

TexShare Borrowing – UIW students, faculty, and staff in good standing with the libraries may obtain a statewide direct borrowing card that allows directly borrowing items from other Texas libraries. See Resource Sharing and Interlibrary Loan.

Appendix B: Review Forms

Appendix C: Liaison Contact Information

Resources