LIS 2520: Collection Development
Example: Collection Development Policy
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg
Millstein Library
Collection Development Policy
2009-10
Purpose
The primary purpose of the Millstein Library at the University of Pittsburgh at
Greensburg is to function as an academic support unit serving the research needs of
Pitt faculty, staff and students. As part of our mission, the library is mandated to
develop a quality collection within the overall parameters of the University Library
System and to support the curricula needs of a four-year degree granting regional
campus within the University of Pittsburgh.
Currently the library has the responsibility of providing faculty and students at the
Greensburg Campus with the necessary resources to support a four year
undergraduate degree program (BA/BS) in the following areas: American studies,
anthropology, biological sciences, chemistry, communication, criminal justice
English literature, English writing, history, humanities area concentration,
information science, interdisciplinary arts, management, management/accounting,
management/information systems, mathematics (applied), natural science area
concentration, political science, psychology, self-designed major, social science area
concentration. Additionally, Pitt-Greensburg offers 19 minors, 2 certificate
programs, and 10 relocation programs for the Pittsburgh campus.
At the present time, future development of majors and programs at the Greensburg
Campus is in progress or planned. These include an education major, both secondary
and early childhood; nursing (coordinated with the RN program at Westmoreland
County Community College); Spanish; an executive MBA (administered by the Katz
Business School).
Faculty are encouraged to participate in the collection development process at the
Greensburg Campus and they are actively solicited for recommendations of items to
add to the collection and support the curriculum. Additionally, it is the responsibility
of the library to develop a balanced undergraduate collection. With access to a wide
range of materials outside the Millstein collection, UPG librarians are able to
maintain a better balance within the Pitt system by utilizing scarce resources more
efficiently and purchasing items specifically required for the Greensburg Campus.
The library collection also undergoes a careful ongoing weeding program. Items of
no further value are exchanged with other libraries, placed on the giveaway shelf,
shipped to Better World Books, or, as a last resort, recycled.
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Scope
Based on the wide variety of majors and minors offered at the Greensburg Campus,
the library must provide for most, if not all, subject areas pertinent to the
undergraduate curriculum of a four year degree-granting institution. Therefore,
purchases and gift material in various academic subject areas is maintained.
The library maintains a collection of primarily current English language materials. A
certificate program in Latin American Studies as well as coursework in Spanish,
French, German, and Chinese has necessitated allocation of funds for materials in
these languages but collection development in these areas is conducted only as
needed for specific courses upon request.
Types of Materials
Founded in 1963, the library has never held a large periodical collection and few
subscriptions. Some were held only in microfilm. With the purchase of thousands
of full text periodical databases by the University Library System, and the result of a
periodicals survey conducted in 2005, the library discontinued many periodical and
microfilm titles in its collection. These funds were re-allocated to the monograph
and visual collection. Currently the library contains approximately 77,000 print
volumes and 30,000 non-book items (software, audiocassettes, audio and music cd’s,
dvd’s, videotapes, scores, and slides).
While emphasis is placed on collecting non-fiction titles supporting research for
courses offered at the undergraduate level, the library also supports the local
community offering items such as the Tribune-Review on microfilm for genealogical
research. Standing orders for items such as the Pitt Poetry Series are also collected
for the English writing major. In general, the library does not collect textbooks or
dissertations unless a specific request is made by a faculty member. The library also
maintains a growing collection of quality music and movies for both the music and
theatre minors as well as recreational/general education use.
Collection assessment surveys were conducted at UPG in 1988 and 2001 to
determine the age and quality of the collection in major areas. In 2008 a collection
analysis of unique circulating items for 2007 was also conducted. All three studies
indicated that the most heavily used parts of the collection continue to be the social
sciences and literature. Overall approximately only 6% of the total collection
circulated in 2007 but 35% of the music cd’s and 32% of the video/dvd collections
circulated.
Other Resources
The library is also home to the Joan Chambers Children’s Literature Collection
which is funded by an endowment from Dr. George Chambers, President Emeritus of
the Greensburg Campus. This collection was founded to support the children’s
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literature certificate program and education minor at the campus. In recent years it
has also supported the annual UPG Children’s Literature Conference. It is
anticipated that it will be more heavily used with the introduction of an education
major on campus. Currently collection emphasis is placed on Caldecott and
Newberry winners as well as the work of speakers who have participated in the
annual conference. This may change as the education major evolves at UPG.
The UPG Archives is also a major unique component at the Millstein Library.
Focusing on the history of the campus, it contains papers, clippings, artifacts, videos
and memorabilia related to UPG. There are also some items related to the history of
the Pittsburgh Campus as well. The UPG Visual History project, created using
photos and slides from the collection, is currently available through D-Scribe.
Other than archival supplies, the UPG Archives collection is not funded. Items are
donated from campus faculty, staff and administrators, placed into record groups,
and shelved accordingly. A volunteer and staff update the website to keep the
collection accessible.
The Millstein Library also has a small special collections area containing items of
some historical or local value. These and other gift items are screened for
appropriateness to the collection in general. All donors are required to fill out a ULS
Instrument of Gift form.
Subjects and Collection Levels
When the Millstein Library undertook the last collection assessment survey in 2001,
over 35,000 items were screened to determine age and collection level. (Books for
College Libraries and Best Books for Academic Libraries were used as a determining
factor in the survey.) At that time the collection appeared to be in good shape
physically. The oldest average age was in the history section (1967) and the
youngest was in oral communication (1990). As a baccalaureate institution, the
Millstein Library should be collecting items, at least for our major areas, at the “B”
or “instructional” level. In general, most of the assessment revealed that most of our
titles fell in the “A” or “basic” level. The only exception to this was our political
science area which earned a “C” (research) rating. Parts of our psychology and
history collection are also exceptional. Consequently, based on this study and with
the introduction of capstone classes to the curriculum, a concerted effort to upgrade
the collection has been ongoing since that time. This is reflected in the chart listed
below, indicating our selection standards by subject category. Although it is
necessary to acquire some items at a “C” level for capstone and research purposes, in
general we will continue to collect at the “B” level in keeping with the current status
of the Greensburg Campus as an undergraduate institution.
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Greensburg Campus Courses of Study 2008/09
Majors
Class #
Collection Level
American Studies
Anthropology
Biological Sciences
Chemistry
Communication
Criminal Justice
English Literature
English Writing
History
Humanities Area Concentration
Information Science
Interdisciplinary Arts
Management
Management-Accounting
Management-Information Systems
Mathematics (Applied)
Natural Science Area Concentration
Political Science
Psychology
Self-Designed Major
Social Science Area Concentration
Several
GN
QH-QR
QD
P,BF637
HV,K,KF
PR
PN,PR,PS
C-F
Several
Z
M,N,PN
HD
HF-HG
HD,HJ
QA
Q
J
BF
Several
H
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
HF-HG
HG
QD
QA76
L
PR
PN
GE,Q
Several
C-F
N
M
B-BD,BH-BJ
J
BF
HM-HQ
PQ
QA
PN
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
PZ
F
B
B
GV
RM
RC,RJ
R
T
R
R
RS
R
HM-HQ
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
Minors
Accounting
Actuarial Sciences
Chemistry
Computer Science
Education
English Literature
English Writing
Environmental Science
Gender Studies
History
History of Art & Architecture
Music
Philosophy
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology
Spanish
Statistics
Theatre
Certificate Programs
Children's Literature
Latin American Studies
Relocation Programs
Athletic Training
Clinical Dietetics & Nutrition
Communication Disorders
Emergency Medicine
Engineering
Health & Rehabilitation Sciences
Health Information Management
Pharmacy
Rehabilitation Science
Social Work
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