Ohio Administrative Code › Title 3341 - Bowling Green State University › Chapter 3341-3 - Graduate and Under-Graduate Policies › Section 3341-3-60 - University libraries collection polices- undergraduate

Current
			 through all regulations passed and filed through July 1,
			 2024
(A)
								Policy statement and purpose
This policy provides general guidelines
				and rules for use of the university libraries.
(B)
								Policy
(1)
									General
			 collection
The general collection should serve the
				needs of the Bowling Green state university community either through ownership
				of items, consortial agreements, or electronic access. Current, seminal, and
				classic materials are added to the collection based on curricular needs,
				regardless of format. All selection decisions should make the most effective
				use of budget resources for the greatest number of users according to the
				priorities established by this policy.
Subject collection development
				statements provide detail and guidance for purchasing decisions for the general
				collection.
(2)
									Statement of purpose
In keeping with the mission for
				collection development, these pages set forth criteria and policies to use when
				selecting materials for the university libraries' collection. This policy seeks
				to create a flexible framework for balancing abundant needs against scarce
				resources in a way that is both systematic and equitable as far as
				possible.
(3)
									Mission statement
To fulfill its part of the BGSU
				university libraries' mission, the collection development unit is charged with
				the building and preservation of effective, high-quality collections including
				electronic access to information. The unit will coordinate the selection and
				management of materials in electronic, print, and other formats to meet the
				current and long-term teaching, research, and administrative needs of the
				university community. Within the "OhioLINK" environment and in cooperation with
				other Ohio academic libraries, the collection development unit strives to
				optimize effective use of personnel and financial resources by balancing access
				and ownership considerations and by building on recognized collection
				strengths.
(4)
									Diversity
In keeping with Bowling Green state
				university's curricular emphasis on multiculturalism, the university libraries
				seek to provide materials representative of many cultures and
				ideas.
(5)
									Cooperative collection development
(a)
										Cooperation
			 within "OhioLINK"
Cooperation among libraries delivers
				more information from a wider variety of sources than a single library can
				provide, permits better resource allocation, and leads to more intensive use of
				collections. Many resources are shared among Ohio colleges and universities via
				"OhioLINK's" online borrowing initiative. Electronic databases and other
				resources are made available to "OhioLINK" member institutions through
				consortium contracts. Collection development decisions regarding these shared
				electronic resources are made through the "OhioLINK" cooperative information
				resources management (CIRM) committee, on which the coordinator of collections
				represents the university libraries.
The university libraries also
				contribute holdings information to the "OhioLINK" central catalog, will work
				through the CIRM committee to identify areas of collection strength and frilly
				participate in' "OhioLINK" statewide cooperative collection development
				initiatives. In general, the university libraries avoid unnecessary duplication
				of materials available within "OhioLINK". 'Materials widely held within
				"OhioLINK" (six to eight or more
				copies) should receive careful evaluation before purchase. This evaluation
				should include consideration of the importance of the work for curricular
				support: the number of copies available within "OhioLINK" and the time of the
				academic year: and other local needs. Local purchase of items with large
				numbers of copies in" OhioLINK"' is restricted to only highest priority items.
				Conversely, purchases of materials held in no or very few "OhioLINK" libraries
				will not only meet local needs, but will enhance the diversity of "OhioLINK"
				holdings.
(b)
										Cooperation with other libraries
An agreement between Bowling Green
				state university and the university of Toledo- health science campus governs
				materials purchases for the joint nursing program: Bowling Green state
				university provides materials supporting the general education component and
				the university of Toledo - health science campus supplies the specialized
				nursing materials.
(c)
										
			 Censorship/intellectual freedom
The Bowling Green state university
				libraries support the free exchange of ideas and endeavor to build collections
				which include all points of view. At the same time, they neither approve nor
				endorse the views expressed in materials included in the collections. Where
				there is controversy or disagreement concerning the truth of particular ideas
				and issues of belief, the university libraries attempt to provide a wide
				selection of materials encompassing the major viewpoints.
The Bowling Green state university
				libraries subscribe to and comply with the American library association library
				code of ethics. Titles for the collection are selected on the basis of overall
				content. No item is excluded on the basis of the author's race, nationality, or
				political or religious views. That some patrons may find an item objectionable
				on moral, religious, political or other grounds does not restrict or determine
				selection.
The Bowling Green state university
				libraries do not accede to requests of individuals or groups seeking the
				removal from the collection of materials which have been chosen according to
				this collection development policy, nor do they yield to requests to add to the
				collection materials if their addition would contradict this collection
				development policy.
The coordinator of collections in
				consultation with the library administration responds to all questions
				concerning the propriety of specific materials in the Bowling Green state
				university libraries. Persons or groups desiring further dialogue or action are
				referred to the dean of university libraries and/or to the library advisory
				committee.
(6)
									Priorities
(a)
										Priorities for
			 collection development are as follows:
(i)
											To support the
			 curricular needs of undergraduate students
(ii)
											To support
			 faculty teaching needs
(iii)
											To support graduate research in selected areas, based
			 upon graduate
'
programs
(iv)
											To support
			 faculty research
(v)
											To support leisure reading and community needs beyond
			 the university
(7)
									Note
Highly specialized materials are
				purchased very selectively. Electronic access, "OhioLINK" borrowing,
				interlibrary loan or document delivery should be relied upon to provide more
				specialized information needed by researchers.
(8)
									Core selection
			 criteria
These are essential factors that should
				be considered for any addition to the collection. Additional criteria
				applicable to special formats are listed in the sections dealing with those
				formats.
Support of one or more collection
				development priorities, regardless of format.
(a)
										Value -- content,
			 format, physical condition, and cost effectiveness (anticipated use versus
			 cost).
(b)
										Collection level -- appropriateness of the subject
			 content and intellectua llevel of material to the stated subject collection
			 development level.
(c)
										Authority -- originates from a recognized authority on
			 the subject.
(d)
										Currency of information.
(e)
										Access --
			 availability from an external source through electronic access, interlibrary
			 loan, "OhioLINK" document delivery, or another source.
(9)
									
			 Languages collected
The university libraries collect
				materials primarily in the English language for the general collection.
				Translations of foreign language materials are normally preferred to the
				originals. There are three prominent exceptions:
(a)
										Literature,
			 literary criticism, and materials relating to foreign cultures appropriate to
			 language department curricula
(b)
										Selected major
			 foreign newspapers and periodicals
(c)
										When information
			 is required in a particular foreign language or is not available in
			 English
(10)
									Collection levels
In each subject area represented in the
				university curriculum, collection development librarians select materials in
				appropriate formats to the depth needed to support the degree programs in
				place. The levels of collecting for each type of degree program follow; they
				are adapted from the WLN Conspectus. It should be understood that these levels
				represent an ideal that will be pursued to the extent that funds
				permit.
(a)
										Undergraduate:
This level provides resources adequate
				for imparting and maintaining knowledge about the basic or primary topics of a
				subject area. It includes a broad range of basic works in appropriate formats,
				classic retrospective materials, key journals on primary topics, selected
				journals and seminal works on secondary topics, access to appropriate
				machine-readable data files, and the reference tools and fundamental
				bibliographical apparatus pertaining to the subject. It supports to a lesser
				extent subjects that are taught but in which no degree is offered.
(b)
										
			 Master's:
This level provides resources adequate
				for imparting and maintaining knowledge about primary and secondary topics of a
				subject area. It includes and/or provides access to a significant number of
				seminal works and journals on the primary and secondary topics in the field; a
				significant number of retrospective materials; a substantial collection of
				works by secondary figures; works that provide more in-depth discussions of
				research, techniques, and evaluation.
(c)
										Doctoral:
This level includes and/or provides
				access to the major published source materials required for dissertation and
				independent research, reporting new findings, scientific experimental results,
				and other information useful to researchers. It also includes and/or provides
				access to important reference works, to a wide selection of specialized
				monographs, to an extensive collection of journals, and to major indexing and
				abstracting services in the field. Crucial foreign language materials are
				included. Older material is retained if pertinent for historical
				research.
(11)
									Gifts
Gifts in kind are essential for
				enriching the quality and range of the university libraries' collections. This
				is most true when items are rare or unique. Bowling Green state university
				libraries welcomes and solicits such gifts when items support the teaching,
				research, and other collection needs of the university. Such materials are
				useful, enduring additions to its resources. These include books, manuscripts,
				sound recordings, and other objects.
However, in many cases, collection
				managers will not add materials to the holdings for a variety of reasons, which
				may include: duplication of existing titles, poor physical condition of the
				gift, or the materials do not fall under the collection scope of the library.
				Gifts not selected for the library may be sold or recycled for the benefit of
				the library.
BGSU libraries also accept funds for
				the purchase of items, which enhance existing collections and support BGSU
				instructional and research programs.
(12)
									Approval plan
			 for monographs
The university libraries have an
				approval plan with a major vendor chiefly to supply materials for undergraduate
				curricular needs. The approval plan provides new monographs as quickly as
				possible, and gives selectors the advantage of reviewing the books first hand
				before making a decision.
Collection development librarians and
				vendor representatives have devised a subject profile, which specifies one of
				three levels of coverage for each subject included in the BGSU
				curriculum:
(a)
										Books are sent on approval for subjects that are
			 central to the curriculum.
(b)
										Notification
			 slips are sent to inform library faculty that books on less central subjects
			 are available.
(c)
										Materials are excluded: no books or notification slips
			 are sent.
Subjects not covered by the curriculum
				or materials systematically acquired by other means are excluded entirely. The
				vendor ships books or notification slips on a weekly basis as determined by the
				profile.
Bowling Green state university
				libraries do not place "on approval" orders for material other than what is
				received on the approval plan, nor do they accept offers from a company or
				salesperson to send material "on approval". Exception is made on a case-by-case
				basis for expensive non-book materials, for which price may make an on-site
				review desirable before selection.
(13)
									
			 Monographs
The university libraries have set up an
				approval plan to supply monographs, chiefly for undergraduate curricular needs.
				The approval plan is complemented by funds made available to departmental
				faculty to recommend materials for purchase: it is expected that these
				recommendations will reflect faculty and graduate-level research needs.
				Librarians will make further selections to fill in gaps.
(a)
										Selection
			 guidelines for monographs
(i)
											Multiple copies
Only one copy of a title is normally
				purchased for the general collection; this does not preclude purchase of
				different editions of a title. Possible exceptions are:
(a)
												When few or no
			 circulating copies are held by other "OhioLINK" libraries.
(b)
												A book is placed
			 on reserve.
(c)
												An item receives very high use.
(d)
												A volume is
			 received as a gift.
(ii)
											Paper/hard bound
			 books
Paperbacks when available are supplied
				for the approval plan and are preferred for firm orders. Gifts may be added in
				either form. New paperback volumes that are oversized, more than two inches
				thick, or longer than tall are generally sent to the commercial binder for
				binding before circulating.
(iii)
											
			 Textbooks
Textbooks are very selectively added to
				the general collection on the basis of currency, comprehensiveness, and when
				they provide the best or only treatment of a needed subject. Otherwise,
				textbooks, including accompanying manuals, workbooks, and other auxiliary
				materials, are normally not purchased for the general collection. Other books
				used as texts for specific courses may be added to the general collection, but
				are not systematically acquired.
(a)
												E-books
			 textbooks
Normally the university libraries does
				not purchase textbooks. The only exception is for topics where information is
				not compiled in another book format, for instance, social sciences research
				methodology.
Acquisition (lease or purchase) of
				e-books for class-related student use may be made according to the following
				guidelines:
(i)
													Faculty should consider e-books for classroom support,
			 that are already available from ebrary. "NetLibrary", or via the "ohioLINK"
			 e-book center (e.g. Springer, Oxford titles)
(ii)
													E-books should
			 be supplementary reading and not a primary required text for the course. Any
			 supplementary texts should have a strong likelihood of use by some students.
			 The libraries cannot meet the demand by all students for electronic books with
			 regularly required reading assignments.
(iii)
													E-book
			 purchases as for classroom support should be titles that the libraries normally
			 might purchase, according to our collection development policy.
(iv)
													For new
			 purchases, we will acquire e-books from vendors with whom we have established
			 business relationships ("NetLibrary" and "E-brary") and whose e-books are
			 readily accessible from the library catalog.
(v)
													The preferred
			 access model is one that makes multiple simultaneous uses available at no
			 additional cost. If multiple simultaneous use at no additional cost is not an
			 option, we will purchase one copy (or one simultaneous user) of an
			 e-book.
(vi)
													Faculty wishing to make a required text available
			 should be encouraged to place a personal copy on reserve, or make selected
			 chapters available, as permitted by US copyright law and fair use guidelines,
			 via the e-reserve system.
(iv)
											
			 Microforms
Materials are acquired in microformat
				either because of cost, for backup, or for preservation reasons. Fiche is
				generally the preferred format.
(v)
											Local
			 authors
Books written by Bowling Green state
				university employees or alumni are added to the general collection as needed to
				support the curriculum. Archival copies of books by Bowling Green state
				university authors, primarily current faculty, are placed in the center for
				archival collections. Books by authors from the city of Bowling Green and
				surrounding area will be added to the collection as needed to support the
				curriculum.
(vi)
											Leisure reading
Bestsellers and other popular works are
				added to the collection as needed to support the curriculum.
(vii)
											
			 Replacement
Missing or damaged books are replaced
				if the information they contain remains relevant to the curriculum and is of
				current or lasting value. An outdated book on a topic still relevant to the
				curriculum may be replaced with a newer edition of the same book or with a
				comparable up-to-date title. Details of the replacement policy are stated in
				the guidelines for the replacement of missing and damaged books.
(viii)
											
			 Dissertations/theses
Dissertations abstracts international
				and other bibliographic indices provide indexing and abstracting of academic
				theses and dissertations. Non Bowling Green state university dissertations and
				theses are not actively collected, but may be purchased at the recommendation
				of a faculty member.
BGSU theses and dissertations are
				accessible at the "OhioLINK" ETD site (
www."OhioLINK".edu/etd
). The center for archival collections preserves a microfilm
				security copy of creative writing theses which are not submitted to the ETD
				site.
(14)
									Materials not
			 collected
The following types of material are not
				collected for the general collection. This statement does not preclude these
				types of material being collected by the appropriate special
				collection(s).
(a)
										Juvenile books
(b)
										Games or other
			 realia
(c)
										Three dimensional objects
(d)
										Art
			 works
(e)
										Posters
(f)
										
			 Pamphlets
(g)
										Musical scores
(h)
										Musical
			 recordings
(i)
										Maps
(j)
										
			 Manuscripts
(k)
										Archival materials
(l)
										Serial genre
			 fiction
(m)
										Photographs
(15)
									Serials
The serials collection provides
				materials for undergraduate and graduate student use and the specialized
				research resources for advanced graduate student and faculty use. The serials
				collection consists of journals accessible at the '"OhioLINK" electronic
				journal center, locally-subscribed periodicals and standing orders, and open
				access electronic journals.
Because journals have traditionally
				been the primary vehicle of scholarly communication, they form a very prominent
				part of the general collection and absorb much of its budget. Unless the
				university libraries materials budget is sufficient to support new serial
				subscriptions, new subscriptions may be opened only if existing subscriptions
				of equivalent cost are cancelled.
(16)
									Selection
			 criteria for journals
In addition to the core selection
				criteria, the following criteria should be considered in reviewing a new
				journal subscription.
Where possible, electronic access, or
				electronic access with print, should be preferred to print only. Subscriptions
				to print and electronic versions of the same title may be held. The print
				subscription should be cancelled when its use becomes low if we have determined
				that the publisher provides adequate archival access terms for the subscription
				period. The university Libraries will add electronic access to a print
				subscription for titles where the added cost for electronic access is less than
				one hundred dollars. If the added cost for e-access exceeds one hundred dollars
				and the materials budget cannot absorb the additional cost, subscriptions will
				need to be cancelled to cover the added cost.
Open access or other free electronic
				journals added to the library catalog should receive the same scrutiny as other
				journal subscriptions.
At this time, the university libraries
				do not attempt to archive electronic journals for future access, but rely upon
				other sites to provide access to journal archives. Perpetual access rights to
				subscribed content should be sought to allow for future archival
				access.
In addition to the core selection
				criteria, the following criteria should be considered in reviewing a new
				journal subscription:
(a)
										Determine whether print or electronic version is the
			 version of record for the journal, or if content in both is
			 equivalent.
(b)
										Inclusion of fulltext in and comprehensiveness of
			 coverage by a database. In general, do not duplicate current, comprehensive
			 fulltext database journal coverage with a local subscription.
(c)
										Indexing
			 accessible at Bowling Green state university.
(d)
										Perpetual
			 electronic access rights to the subscribed content.
(e)
										Search engine
			 available on the publisher web site and/or indexing available at Bowling Green
			 state university.
(f)
										Fulltext of the journal available directly from the
			 publisher web site.
(g)
										Back issues available to subscribers, preferably from
			 the publisher web site.
(h)
										Software support necessary for journal
			 access.
(i)
										Articles available in HTML and/or PDF.
(j)
										Reasonable cost,
			 especially if print and electronic versions differ considerably in scope or
			 coverage.
(k)
										Do not purchase a subscription to any ejournal that
			 "OhioLINK" is negotiating for, or that "OhioLINK" has made
			 available.
(17)
									Selection criteria for newspapers
The university libraries seek to
				provide electronic access to online versions of newspapers according to the
				following criteria:
(a)
										Selected major national newspapers which directly
			 support teaching and research needs.
(b)
										Selective
			 coverage of predominant regional and local newspapers.
(c)
										Selected Ohio and
			 Michigan newspapers.
(d)
										Major alternative press titles (e.g. the Village
			 Voice).
(e)
										International newspapers which support the curricular
			 needs of the foreign language departments.
(f)
										International
			 newspapers which allow students from abroad to keep informed of events in their
			 homelands. In most cases, the university libraries subscribe to or accept gifts
			 for only one newspaper from a given country.
Subscriptions to print newspapers are
				highly selective and limited to a few national, regional, and local
				newspapers.
(18)
									Electronic
			 databases
Any Web-based, electronic,
				audio-visual, or multimedia resource format may be considered for inclusion in
				the general collection; these may be indexing and abstracting resources,
				reference materials, or fulltext or numeric databases. New products which
				enhance awareness of or accessibility to the university libraries' current
				holdings of journals, books, and other resources are given priority. The
				university Libraries do not duplicate access locally in any format to databases
				that are identical, similar, or equivalent to "OhioLINK"
				databases.
(19)
									Selection criteria for electronic resources
In addition to the core selection
				factors, the following criteria should be considered in reviewing a new
				electronic database:
(a)
										Comprehensiveness: scope, subject coverage, time span,
			 frequency of updates.
(b)
										Functionality: Ease of use, quick load time; if Web
			 site, well maintained.
(c)
										Quality of indexing, search engine.
(d)
										Preservation,
			 storage, and archiving of data; stability of web-based
			 resource.
(e)
										Anticipated number of users, based upon the specific
			 courses that will be served.
(f)
										Special attention
			 should be given to authority and currency.
(g)
										Type of access,
			 e.g. web access with authenticated remote access, standalone workstation or
			 specific IP address access only, access by a restricted number of simultaneous
			 users vs. campus-wide access; local network, circulation from general
			 stacks.
(20)
									Electronic, audio-visual,multimedia
			 materials
(a)
										
			 Audio-visual
The university libraries selectively
				purchases audio-visual materials which meet the core selection criteria.
				Audio-visual materials are purchased from monograph funds. Collection
				development librarians must balance monograph purchases between books and
				audio-visual resources according to the needs of the discipline.
In general, DVDs are currently
				preferred, in the US format. So long as VHS equipment is available in the
				library or on campus, VHS tapes may be purchased if DVD is not available and if
				no copy is available via "OhioLINK".'
Audio recordings are not purchased for
				the general collection. All audio recordings are housed in the music library
				and sound recordings archives.
University libraries purchase digital
				video from films for the humanities and sciences or ambrose video for the
				"OhioLINK" digital video center. If the video title is owned by an "OhioLINK"
				library, BGSU will purchase the digital rights for two hundred dollars. If the
				title is not owned in "OhioLINK", BGSU will purchase the title and the digital
				rights. The funds for the video itself will come from the monograph fund. In
				all cases, funds for obtaining "OhioLINK" digital nights will come from the
				"OhioLINK" digital video rights fiind.
(b)
										Computer
			 applications
The Bowling Green state university
				libraries do not purchase or maintain a collection of standard microcomputer
				applications such as word processing, database applications, or spreadsheets,
				etc. However, they may acquire college level computer-assisted instruction
				packages that support the university curriculum. These could include, but are
				not limited to, tutorials, simulations, drill and practice
				exercises.
(c)
										Books with appended computer disks or audio
			 recordings
The university libraries purchase books
				with accompanying material on machine-readable disk, audio cassette, or compact
				disk, where items fall within subject area collection development policies,
				regardless of the availability on campus of hardware for accessing
				them.
Books with accompanying disks or
				cassettes should be located in the collection appropriate to the subject
				content of the item and may be circulated based on regular loan policies for
				that collection. These items need not be placed on reserve, unless specifically
				requested by a professor for class use.
(21)
									Mediated online
			 searching
This policy does not cover
				librarian-mediated online searching, whether conducted at the reference desk in
				answer to a reference query or as a fee-based search.
Date: February 2015