ACQUISITION AND COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY OF
THE TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER EL PASO LIBRARIES
Edited by
Lisa Beinhoff, Ph.D., M.L.S., Managing Director of Libraries
Corina Bustillos, M.S.L.S., Associate Director
Lillian Carl, M.S.L.S., Associate Director
August 15, 2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS
This manual is based upon Scope and Coverage Manual of the National Library of Medicine. 1977 (PB 271 252) and the existing Acquisitions and Collections Development Policy of the Texas Tech University Health Science Center. 2007. Written by Richard Wood and Joseph Blackburn, which was in place when TTUHSC El Paso became a freestanding university in 2015.
This scope and coverage manual constitutes the acquisitions policy of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso) libraries and has been prepared to provide the staff of the TTUHSC El Paso libraries with guidelines for selecting both print and non-print materials for the collections. This policy is meant to help the librarians to determine which of the items received will become part of the permanent collection.
The prime responsibility for selection of library materials rests with the Librarians. However, expertise from many sources will be sought and used. Faculty may be consulted when, in the opinion of the library staff, a particular item is highly selective. Advice of a knowledgeable individual may be sought when guidelines for weeding need to be established. Consultants should be regular library users, be knowledgeable about current and past literature in their field, and have good communications with other members of the department, so that opinions given reflect the combined needs of the department. Publishers' catalogs and other promotional material are circulated to the library staff so that input from this source will be assured. Adding or deleting serial titles will be the joint responsibility of the Director, the librarians, and faculty in consultation.
The subject areas in which the TTUHSC El Paso libraries collect may be summarized as follows:
Basic medical sciences: genetics, anatomy, embryology, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, microbiology, immunology, parasitology, toxicology, parasitology, and pathology.
General human medicine.
Public health and preventative medicine.
Practice of Medicine
Diseases: infectious, nutritional, metabolic, immunologic, poisoning, caused by physical agents.
Body systems: musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, hemic, lymphatic, gastrointestinal, urogenital, endocrine, and nervous systems.
Medical specialties: psychiatry, radiology, surgery, obstetrics, gynecology, dermatology, pediatrics, otorhinolaryngology, optometry, and geriatrics.
Hospital and clinical services and management.
Practice of allied health sciences.
Nursing
Dentistry
Biomedical Science
Aviation and space medicine Animal physiology
Basic veterinary medicine Biometry
Biostatistics
Botany of poisonous plants Cytology
Dental and oral surgery Demography/Epidemiology General genetics and heredity
Health sciences in library and information sciences History of medicine
Medical informatics
Psychology
Sociology
Anthropology
Economics General
Biology General
Botany General
Education General
Science Human
Ecology
Human engineering
Molecular biology
Philosophy
Physics
Religion and medicine
Special education
Veterinary public health
Zoology
Levels of coverage are:
The TTUHSC El Paso libraries are the major bibliographic resources for the schools of medicine, nursing, allied health, and graduate biomedical sciences in the El Paso area. They function collectively as resource libraries in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Regional Medical Library Program (NNLM). The subject areas which the library collects are as follows:
Core Subjects
Allied health
Basic medical sciences Bioethics
Body systems
Clinical laboratory science Dentistry
Diseases
General medicine
Health care delivery
Hospital administration Medical specialties Medical technology Nursing
Occupational therapy Physical therapy
Practice of medicine
Psychiatry
Public health
| QH 426 - 470 (LC) | Genetics |
| QS 1-132 | Anatomy |
| QS 504 - 532 | Histology |
| QS 604 - 681 | Embryology |
| QT 104 - 245 | Human Physiology and Hygiene |
| QT 250 – 275 | Leisure Activities. Sports. Sports Medicine |
| QU | Biochemistry. Cell Biology and Genetics |
| QV | Pharmacology |
| QW 1-300 | Microbiology |
| QW 501-949 | Immunology |
| QX | Parasitology |
| QY | Clinical Laboratory Pathology |
| QZ | Pathology |
| W | General Medicine. Health Professions |
| WA | Public Health |
| WB | Practice of Medicine |
| WC | Communicable Diseases |
| WD 100 - 175 | Nutrition Disorders |
| WD 200 - 226 | Metabolic Diseases |
| WD 300 - 380 | Immunologic and Collagen Diseases. Hypersensitivity |
| WD 400 - 430 | Animal Poisons |
| WD 500 - 530 | Plant Poisons |
| WD 600 - 670 | Disorders and Injuries of Environmental Origin |
| WE | Musculoskeletal System |
| WF | Respiratory System |
| WG | Cardiovascular System |
| WH | Hemic and Lymphatic Systems |
| WI | Digestive System |
| WJ | Urogenital System |
| WK | Endocrine System |
| WL | Nervous System |
| WM | Psychiatry |
| WN | Radiology. Diagnostic Imaging |
| WO | Surgery |
| WP | Gynecology |
| WQ | Obstetrics |
| WR | Dermatology |
| WS | Pediatrics |
| WT | Geriatrics. Chronic Disease |
| WU | Dentistry. Oral Surgery |
| WV | Otolaryngology |
| WW | Ophthalmology |
| WY | Nursing |
| WZ | History of Medicine. Medicine Miscellany |
| 19th Century Schedule |
*NLM Classification 2016 (Last updated 28 April 2016)
Scholarly literature in any other subject field may be collected if a reasonable proportion of its contents are relevant to the needs of the Health Sciences Centers. Any reference tools which are non-biomedical in scope and are necessary for public service and for carrying out the other library functions are acquired upon recommendation of the reference staff, campus associate directors and/or various academic departments.
The following notes attempt to explain why certain core subjects are collected and to what extent. The notes are intended to be used to clarify the scope of collecting in other levels excluding the core and to define any deviation from the policies for the research and reference collection levels.
The Library attempts to provide some support to each of the programs in allied health. Much of the background material for these programs falls within the core subjects covered by the Library. Emphasis remains on current material. Currently there are programs in the following areas:
Materials selected will include only publications of a substantial nature and which provide detailed description or analysis of the therapeutic system, or the history of its use. Only current texts are kept.
The emphasis is on materials related to the improvement of health or prevention of disease.
The Library collects materials in the following areas which are related to aging:
Recently published works on the history of health and the biomedical sciences. Persons in the biomedical sciences, biographies of prominent persons in the biomedical and health sciences, bibliographies and journals are acquired in English only. Rare books in scope are purchased, funds permitting. Facsimiles of old or rare medical works are purchased if in the general scope. Materials which are pertinent to West Texas medical history, or, in some instances, Texas medical history are acquired.
Current authoritative materials on hospital administration are collected including; architectural planning; organization and management; clinical departments and emergency services; safety and disaster programs; hospital jurisprudence; medical personnel and records management.
Basic texts in nutrition, nutritional disorders, dietetics, basic research and food composition as well as international studies of nutritional status in individual populations and epidemiology are collected. Materials on food production (agricultural methods) and food supply are not collected.
Materials in this area are not collected except on a very minimal level.
While most of the material is at the research level in public health, other subjects within this broader category are collected at various levels depending upon demand and development of programs.
With the exception of the following special topics, the libraries of the health sciences do not collect in this area:
The emphasis here is on the relation of genetics to human health. General genetics texts are acquired sparingly at the reference collection level. The following subjects are collected:
The following subjects are not collected:
The libraries of the health sciences collect materials on medical jurisprudence and forensic medicine when they are directed primarily to the physician or other health professional.
The materials collected in this subject area consist of current items on management, particularly as related to personnel administration, budgeting, and management systems or methods. This collection is primarily for the use of the library staff, but the clientele of the library should be considered when making selection decisions.
Every effort is made to collect the latest materials (e.g. monographs, journals, and reports) in this area primarily for the library faculty and staff. Particular attention is paid to materials related to special libraries, science and medical libraries, information science, automation, and library administration.
Efforts are made to get the advice of faculty and staff in these areas before purchasing. Materials which relate directly to biomedical or social science problems are collected specifically at the research level.
General handbooks, encyclopedias and other materials are collected for the reference collection at a minimal level. If the specific fields are closely related to medicine, additional monographs and other materials will be collected very selectively (. e.g. optics, sound, acoustics, radiation, bio-physics).
This subject engenders a very extensive literature and selection is based upon whether [1] the materials add to the understanding of normal and pathologic human behavior, or [2] disorders. Subject areas which might be added upon review are general psychology, psychopathology, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, physiological psychology, psychopharmacology, drug and alcohol abuse.
Where sociology as a discipline is directly related to health care and practice, materials in all formats are purchased. Publications which deal specifically with the socio-economic factors of health status or the delivery of health care are of sufficient importance for the libraries to acquire.
Materials in this area are purchased only to support research and the vivarium.
Limitations to coverage of the biomedical literature are treatment of the subject, form/type, language and geographic guidelines.
TTUHSC libraries of the health sciences are committed to collect scholarly biomedical literature comprehensively in those areas which are necessary to support programs of TTUHSC programs. This literature may be published in journals, other serials publications, monographs, government documents, or in non-print formats. The libraries attempt to collect that literature which:
TTUHSC Libraries of the Health Sciences collect the following types of literature on a top priority basis:
Language of a publication limits coverage in all the subject areas.
Health-related materials issued by the departments of the following governmental bodies are collected on a selective basis:
U.S. Federal government
U.S. State governments
U.S. territorial governments
U.S. quasi-governmental agencies
foreign national governments
International organizations
Governments of selected domestic and foreign metropolitan areas
Abridged Editions
Abridged editions of textbooks and other biomedical publications are not collected. Excepted are published legislative summaries, major publications in core subjects which have a unique title, works printed before 1801 and, in some cases, Americana (WZ 270).
Abstracting and Indexing Services
As many of major abstracting and indexing services are now on-line, purchasing and retaining are based on availability of online access.
Bibliographies
Subject bibliographies which are derived solely from PubMed are not collected with the exception of the NLM literature searches and recurring bibliographies.
Biographies and Autobiographies
Biographies and autobiographies which are not of significant influence in the medical field or of significant monetary value are not collected.
Bulletins and Transactions of Faculties
These publications are not collected unless publication contain substantive signed articles.
Catalogs
No formal effort is made to collect catalogs of medical schools. The following are not collected:
Book catalogs of medical libraries (except history collections).
Individually issued catalogs of drugs.
Congresses, Conferences, Symposia, etc.
These publications are not collected unless material has superior significance to TTUHSC El Paso.
Directories of Members
Membership directories, in general, are not collected, with the exception of the local health related societies. Directories that are simply a list of the names of members and lack other information are not collected.
Directories of Organizations
U.S. publications are not collected below the state level with the exception of local organizations related to health care. Canadian and other foreign directories are collected on a selective basis and then only at the national level.
Examination Series
Examination series written in a foreign language or for foreign certification are not collected.
Fiction
Fictional works, are not collected. Works written by TTUHSC El Paso faculty or about the health care profession may be considered.
Government Regulations
Regulations issued by government bodies, with the exception of the State of Texas, are not collected.
Health Education and Patient Education Materials
General health education materials are not collected, however locally produced materials are considered.
Publications which are prepared by recognized leaders in health professions, by institutions of outstanding reputation, or under U. S. Federal Government contract are collected selectively, and then only on the advise of the health professional whose subject is in question.
Hospital Journals
Hospital (in-house) journals are not systematically collected. Individual regional campus libraries may collect pertinent literature for those hospitals they serve if they add strength to the overall collection.
Imprint Variants
Materials that are published in two or more places in the same language are collected in a single imprint with the U.S. edition preferred. However, if the title, preface, or textual content of the works differ, and if the subject is in scope, both imprints are collected. Excepted works are those printed before 1801 and Americana (WZ 270).
Journals (see Journals: Selection Guidelines)
Juvenile Literature
This type of literature is not collected unless it is produced by TTUHSC El Paso.
Legislative Documents
These are collected on a very selective basis in the core subjects, and are retained in report form only.
Loose-leaf Publications
General textbooks in loose-leaf format are not collected except when specifically requested for the Reference Collection or otherwise made available online.
Manuals
Operating manuals for use with a specific company's equipment are not collected.
Maps, Graphs, Posters, and Charts
Maps, and other visual guides are not collected unless they are locally significant.
Newsletters and Newspapers
Newsletters and Newspapers are not retained as part of the collection.
Personal Narratives (see also Biographies and Autobiographies)
Photographic Collections
Publications which consist of a collection of photographs with identifying captions and lack comprehensive textual material are not collected. Exceptions: those of local interest are collected selectively.
Popular Works
Popular "how to" materials are not collected.
Press Releases
Press releases are not collected unless they pertain to TTUHSC El Paso.
Progress Reports
Progress reports which are actually annual administrative or research reports are collected on a very selective basis. Preliminary reports are not collected.
Promotional Materials
Commercial product and service advertising materials and literature used in fund raising appeals are not collected.
Published Abstracts
As a general rule these are not acquired by the library; however, if published abstracts come as part of a journal subscription, they are kept with the completed volume if not available online.
Radio and Television Scripts
These are not collected.
Reprints
Materials which are not collected:
Reprints of a single journal article.
Reprint collections of the writings of members of a particular institution/organization are not, as a general rule, collected. Monographs which consist primarily of reprints of journal articles are not collected.
Statistics
Only statistics that pertain to health, vital, and population statistics are collected. All other statistics not within the scope of health are not collected.
Syllabi and Course Outlines
These publications are collected only if produced within TTUHSC El Paso.
Textbooks
Textbooks are not collected unless they are an integral portion of curriculum.
Translations
Translations of English works into foreign languages are not generally collected. Exception: a work of a local author. Translations of single journal articles are not collected.
Unpublished Materials
Only TTUHSC El Paso materials from the general collection are: papers presented at congresses/symposia, manuscripts, student reports, typewritten (original or copies) texts of speeches, and typewritten bibliographies are collected. Unpublished case histories and current medical records are not collected.
Usually, journals which are considered important enough for an initial purchase are added to the collection permanently. The exceptions are as follows:
Because the financial commitment to a journal title is far greater than to a monograph title, the selection of a specific title is more critical. At the time of decision to purchase a title, several items are taken into consideration in purchasing the back files:
The libraries maintain a constant and thorough evaluation of their journal collections. Current subscriptions are evaluated according to the following criteria which is similar to monograph selection criteria:
Materials collected are in support of actual programs of TTUHSC. The goal of collecting these materials is to support the needs of our faculties and students. The most significant criterion for selection is an anticipated multiple usage.
The selection on non-print materials is the joint responsibility of the Associate Directors at the regional campus libraries, the Assistant Director for Public Services, and the Senior Associate Director for Technical Services.
Non-print materials are selected in accordance with the libraries general collection development policy. The collection includes, but is not restricted to:
All materials must conform to the following criteria: be favorably reviewed by peer professionals, or approved by local faculty or health professionals, or,
Whenever possible, those items not reviewed in national sources will be previewed before purchasing.
The TTUHSC Libraries have extensive holdings in electronic books and journals, which may be viewed and copied by our faculty, staff, and students, regardless of their location. Generally, in cases wherein we have subscribed to an electronic journal already extant in our hard copy journals collections, we eliminate all but one paper copy of the title. Obvious exceptions to this rule are such titles as JAMA, NEJM, etc. In the case of electronic books, no attempt is made to reduce or eliminate hard copies. The library system will not engage in licensing practices which limit use to one physical campus or site, or which do not permit the broadcast of the electronic product via proxy server.
The following are general guidelines for the monographic collections. Policies for specific subjects and collections such as reference and AV, and the evaluation of journals are discussed in sections devoted to each of those topics.
Whenever possible, for the sake of public relations, gifts should be accepted and donors encouraged to make further contributions, always with the understanding that the material becomes the permanent property of the library and may be disposed of in the manner most beneficial to the library. Large collections of little value should not be accepted due to the cost of transportation and evaluation. No collection which must be kept intact or housed in a specific location will be accepted. Exception: a substantial number of very rare materials on a specific subject. An appropriate acknowledgement, listing the gift(s) by title(s) will always be sent to the donor. The appraisal of a gift to the library for tax purposes is the responsibility of the donor as is the cost of the appraisal. To protect both its donor and itself, the library, as an interested party, should not appraise gifts made to it. The library will assist in providing the names of appraisers, provide information such as auction records and dealers' catalogs, and administrative and processing services which would assist the appraiser in making an accurate evaluation. The acceptance of a gift which has been appraised by a third, and disinterested party, does not in any way imply an endorsement of the appraisal by the library.*
*Adapted from ACRI, statement of appraisal of gifts.
Multiple copies for reserve will be purchased at the rate of one (1) copy for each twenty (20) students, with a maximum of three (3) copies. While the bulk of the acquisitions budget is directed at the purchase of unique titles, heavy use of some titles dictates that multiple copies be purchased for a large number of potential users, the students.
With very few exceptions, multiple copies of journals will not be acquired.
Some efforts are made toward cooperation in the acquisition of materials so that unnecessary duplication does not occur; bearing in mind that TTU and TTUHSC are totally separate institutions. The Libraries of the Health Sciences serve all faculty and graduate students of TTU on the same basis as those of TTUHSC. However, requests for specific purchases from TTU students and faculty are referred to TTU if out of scope of the Libraries of the Health Sciences. Also, access to electronic journals and monographs are determined by license with the copyright owner. As a rule, these licenses forbid access to our electronic collections outside of the IP range of the institution, thus denying access to TTU faculty and students.
The Regional Medical Library Program, a component of the National Library of Medicine's Biomedical Communications Network, facilitates the sharing of resources among medical libraries in the U.S. The libraries of the health sciences collectively form one of the 15 resource libraries in the South Central Regional Medical Library Program (Region 5, NNLM/SCR: Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico). The library furthers this cooperation by recording its holdings in regional and national union lists.
Through its membership in the South Central Academic Medical Library Consortium (SCAMeL) the library cooperates in several library programs, including the SCAMeL Union List of Serials.
Obscure or historical publications or materials of limited use but of importance for individual research are usually available at the National Library of Medicine or in other major collections in the United States. The existence of several interlibrary loan networks provides the library with limitless access to information.
General caveats and information:
Journals may be selected in several ways for inclusion in the Libraries' collections, including:
Journal deselect ion presents a different set of problems. Deselect ion is done with great reluctance because of the difficulty in finding missing issues, should we wish to restart a subscription. Fortunately, we have not had to deselect journals for the past five or so years, except for duplicate subscriptions, thanks to increases in our resource budget and the dramatic rise in our electronic journals (currently, more than 2,300 titles). Deselection is done only after a careful study of decision options has been made, including:
The State of Texas makes it rather difficult to discard or otherwise dispose of library materials, because of its definition of books, audiovisuals (and bound journals) as capitalized property of the state. To attempt to sell or permanently remove library materials such as these from a state agency library constitutes "alienation of state property." Given the facts that library space is finite and library acquisitions are ongoing, the logical conclusion is that, at some point, a weeding of holdings must be accomplished.
Typically, materials to be weeded are selected because 1) they have become too damaged to continue to be maintained within our collections; 2) they have been superseded by new or more recent editions; 3) they are at least ten years old and have a poor record of utilization by our users over the past five years. Any materials deemed to have historical value are not weeded. Because of their relative lack of space, the TTUHSC El Paso libraries shall not maintain large historic collections.
Where possible and practical, usually in the case of materials which don't quite fit the criteria above, faculty input to deselection may be sought. The seeking of such input is totally at the discretion of the librarian charged with the weeding. The librarians’ hold faculty appointments in the School of Medicine. By training and experience they are competent to weed the collections.
Disposal of items thus weeded is also accomplished at the discretion of the librarian. Materials shall be stamped DISCARDED or WITHDRAWN; they may then be thrown away or placed in an open area for others to pick up. In no case shall such items be sold. In all instances, such items must be removed from the integrated catalog of the library prior to their disposal.
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