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Dykes Library

KUMC Collection Management Policy


Evaluation Criteria

  1. Needs of primary clientele.
  2. Relevance of subject.
  3. Cost-effectiveness: including availability and cost of updates, backfiles or future upgrades where appropriate. As a general rule, items priced under $100.00 receive a cursory inspection (if they are otherwise considered in scope for the collection). Items priced over $100.00 will receive a more thorough inspection to ascertain the use of related materials and the sufficiency of coverage.
  4. Scholarly and intellectual level.
  5. Language: As a general rule, the Dykes Library will acquire only materials published in English. Exceptions include multi-authored proceedings of major congresses or symposia which contain some non-English papers and major international journals which include some non-English papers.
  6. Reputation and authority of author, publisher.
  7. Confidence in producer's commitment to maintenance.
  8. Currency and validity of information and updates; materials published within the last 3 years are preferred.
  9. Access and network capacity for electronic resources: access preferably not requiring individual user ID and passwords.
  10. Uniqueness and completeness of information.
  11. Added-value and advantages over other formats.
  12. Technical ease and accessibility.
  13. Legal issues including licensing requirement and restrictions.
  14. Copyright and fair use issues.
  15. Archival issues - availability, cost, limitations, storage, etc.
  16. Availability and quality of documentation.
  17. Vendor's reliability in customer support, material availability, and quality of training programs.
  18. Availability at Regents' institution: One of the purposes of this collection development policy is to eliminate unneces­sary duplication among libraries at Regents' institutions. Availability at KU-Lawrence (as well as other schools) will be checked for items which may be peripherally relevant or expensive. Intercampus sharing will allow access for all University personnel. Note that this does not necessarily make a case against acquiring an item. Instances will arise when, other things being equal, an expensive item held by another Regents' institution will still be acquired by the Dykes Library.