1. Objectives
2. Core Collections and Subject Collections
a. Core collections
b. Subject collections
3. Information Included in All Subject Policies
4. Collection Levels
5. Selection Criteria
6. Additional Criteria
7. Materials Budget and the allocation of funds
8. Program Profile Formula
9. Ordering Audiovisual materials
10. Ordering Periodicals
11. Ordering Out-of-print books
12. Gifts
13. Duplicates
14. Weeding
15. Replacements
16. Dissertations and Theses
17. Local Author Publications
18. Electronic Resources
a. Internet-based Resources
b. Freely available Internet Resources
c. Electronic Serials
d. Electronic Formats Collection Development Policy
19. General Policy Evaluation
1. Objectives
University of Nicosia/Intercollege library provides support for the teaching and research functions of the various academic programs offered at the university/college. The general criteria used for the acquisition of library materials are listed below in priority order.
1. curriculum support
2. standard source availability (i.e., standard or “core” materials on subjects studied at the college.
3. faculty research support
4. graduate student research support
5. subject representation (i.e., representative materials on major trends in scholarship)
6. inter-institutional needs (i.e., agreements for certain projects)
7. collection continuity (i.e., maintenance of strong existing collections)
The Library’s objectives are achieved through the development of a collection of materials (monographs, serials, audio-visual materials, computer software and instructional materials) related specifically to all the academic program areas. English language materials predominate in nearly all program areas, except for those specifically taught in Greek or other language programs. Current (still in print or recent) publications will predominate in most areas, unless it is deemed essential for the subject area to purchase out of print materials.
The scope of interest (local, regional, national, or international) will be specified in each subject’s collection development statement.
2. Core Collections and Subject Collections
There are two types of collections, core collections and subject collections
a. Core collections are the most basic materials needed to support the general needs of the College users. They include: essential reference sources such as encyclopedias, directories, handbooks, indexes, interdisciplinary periodicals, newspapers, databases and web sources.
b. Subject collections are the departmental collections that are the main focus collection. Departmental faculty must work closely with the Collection Development Office staff to assure that the subject collections support the curriculum, service and research needs of the college. Allocation of the funds needed for the subject collections should be based on the various needs of the collection as well as the fair procedure established by the university.
3. Information Included in All Subject Policies
All subject specific collection development policies will follow the following outline:
1. Subject
2. Overall Collecting Level
3. Purpose of the program of study; Degrees granted; Number of students and Faculty.
4. General collection guidelines; Preferred language, chronological guidelines, dates of publication, geographical areas, preferred
publishers, formats, materials and formats excluded.
5. Other considerations
6. Statement of collection strengths and weaknesses
7. Listing of subdivisions of subject
8. Related subject areas
9. Impact or influence of cooperative collection programs.
4. Collection Levels
The comprehensiveness of subject coverage within the collection will vary in accordance with the library’s stated objectives. The library will decide to acquire resources in a specific subject area that are sufficient to constitute a collection on one of the levels defined below from the ALA’s Guide for Written Collection Policy Statements:
1. Library does not collect
2. Minimal Level. Few selections made beyond basic works
3. Basic Information Level. Provide resources that introduce and define a subject. It includes basic reference works,
explanatory works, historical descriptions of the subject e.g. dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, bibliographies, indexes.
4. Study or Instructional Support Level. A collection adequate to determine the current knowledge of a subject in broad outline
and the most important historical aspects of the area. It consists of a limited selection of: monographs and serials, general
reference materials and basic journals.
5. Research Level. A collection which supports in-depth study and independent research in the major published source materials
for dissertations for the needs of most graduates.
5. Selection Criteria
Specific factors that will strongly influence the selection of particular types of material are:
1. Suitability of the subject in relation to its intended level of coverage.
2. The style should be appropriate to the level of materials collected.
3. The English language will be preferred for all collections, with the exception of some courses where Greek will
be preferred over English. In some cases only the Greek course materials will be purchased for Evening courses taught in
Greek. Items in languages other than English and Greek will be acquired only when the nature of particular courses and
projects warrant such an acquisition.
4. Study or Instructional Support Level. A collection adequate to determine the current knowledge of a subject in broad outline
and the most important historical aspects of the area. It consists of a limited selection of: monographs and serials, general
reference materials and basic journals.
5. Research Level. A collection which supports in-depth study and independent research in the major published source materials
for dissertations for the needs of most graduate students.
6. Additional Criteria
a. Monographs:
- Authority
- Comprehensiveness and depth of treatment
- Objectivity
- Clarity, accuracy, and logic of presentation
b. Periodicals:
- Appearance of periodical title in indexing and abstracting journals
- Ease of acquisition
- Completeness of holdings
Subscriptions to periodical titles new to the library are placed to begin with the current volume. The purchase of back runs will be considered if a reasonable demand and price is expected.
7. Materials Budget and the allocation of funds
Money budgeted for library materials are allocated in the following manner:
50% General fund allocation
This includes current periodical subscriptions, microforms, electronic databases, general standing orders.
30% Program allocation
These funds are divided among all the programs of the university according to a program estimate developed by the Librarian.
20% Discretionary allocation
Discretionary funds are used for programs which have special needs, are scheduled for accreditation, or are clearly underfunded by the program allocation formula. When planning for new courses or programs, faculty members consult with the Librarian to discuss the need for additional library resources and the Librarian in turn submits requests for discretionary funds.
8. Program Profile Formula
The following data are considered in devising a formula for the allocation of funds to programs:
• Number of students enrolled in a program
• Size of Library’s current collection (books, AV, periodicals, electronic formats) in the program area
• Actual use of library materials
• Cost of materials, using average prices
• Special needs of program
9. Ordering Audiovisual materials
Audiovisual materials are purchased from established vendors or distributors. Before ordering the Department Head and the Librarian should be consulted for approval.
10. Ordering Periodicals
Periodicals are mainly ordered from a periodicals vendor subscription service. Periodicals that cannot be supplied through a vendor are ordered directly from the publisher or through a local Bookseller.
Because of the College’s technical and professional programs needs, the Library subscribes free of charge, to a number of technical and professional periodicals unavailable through traditional vendors. Some periodicals are acquired through faculty whose membership in professional organizations entitles them to receive professional publications.
11. Ordering out-of-print books
The Library generally does not attempt to purchase materials through the out-of-print marketplace. Exceptions may be made for certain items identified as classic or for certain collections e.g. Cyprus Collection, for which there is a compelling reason for purchase.
12. Gifts
Gifts are judged by the same criteria as purchased materials; they will be screened before acceptance is made possible. If gifts are found to be unnecessary duplicates or are otherwise not required for the collection, the Library reserves the right to dispose of them in a manner it deems suitable to the particular material at hand.
13. Duplicates
Extra copies of some titles of exceptional interest or for titles on high demand due to large number of students, (above 40) will be obtained for the collection.
Second copies of periodical titles are purchased only for those titles with high loss rates depending always on the cost of the item.
14. Weeding
Selection for removal of material no longer useful to the collection requires the same degree of attention as selection for acquisition. Judgments are made based on the same intended levels of coverage and the same selection criteria. The following categories of materials are subject to weeding:
1. Duplicates of titles purchased when the book was in heavier demand.
2. Material of no current significance to the university.
3. Badly damaged or worn material.
4. Material that is inconsistent with selection criteria.
Periodical cancellations generally result from one of the following circumstances:
- Changes in University of Nicosia/Intercollege programs/projects.
- Budgetary constraints.
- Insufficient use.
- Shortage of physical space in the Library.
- Availability of items in other libraries –or extravagance.
15. Replacements
The library does not automatically replace missing or damaged items. Consideration is given both to the current value of the item to the collection, and other evidence of demand for the item. Replacement will often depend on the existence of more current material that renders the item obsolete, by shifts in programs at the university and by emerging strengths in other libraries.
Whenever possible, missing issues of current periodicals will be replaced unless replacement proves impossible or too expensive. All replacements are dependent on funds being available.
16. Dissertation and Theses
The Library does not purchase dissertations or theses. These may be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan.
Dissertations of faculty and administration are accepted as gifts to the Library and are handled in accordance to the gift policy.
17. Local Author Publications
The library does not automatically purchase any works that are published by local authors unless they meet the established selection criteria. The library accepts selected gifts of works of the community if they fulfill the general selection criteria.
18. Electronic Resources
General collection development principles apply to all Library resources regardless of format and which can be delivered to students at all campuses. The Library considers these materials based on General Selection Criteria and availability of funds. The library will collect in the most current technology available when resources are available:
a. Internet-Based Resources
- Licensed resources and databases
- Selected freely available internet resources
- Selected electronic serials
Selection Criteria
This includes:
- relevance to curriculum
- reliable and verifiable
- demand by users
- recommendation by faculty
- cost (initial, ongoing/maintenance cost, comparison of access vs purchase cost)
- currency of data
- extent of cumulative coverage
- production quality
- training requirements
- ease of use
- novice and expert searching levels
- ease of exiting from one point in database to another
- index browsing
- documentation
- hardware requirements
- capability of networking
- vendor reliability
- customer support
- licensing requirements
b. Freely Available Internet Resources
- Reliability of website
- Authority of author and sponsor
- Accuracy of content
- Amount and comprehensiveness of content
- Currency of information and frequency of updates
- Accurate hyperlinks with website
- Ease of use
- Uniqueness
- Accessibility through standard and widely available browsers and software
c. Electronic Serials
Serial publishers often give access to an electronic version of a current subscription. The library will routinely check with serial publishers to determine if access to this additional format is licensed for general patron use.
- Ease of access, e.g. IP recognition
- Full text
- Access to back issue or archives
- Indexed or abstracted in available databases
- Reliable hyperlinks
- Reliability of website, e.g. PURL (persistant url)
- Ease of use, e.g. printing and document delivery options
- Accessible through standard and widely available browsers and software
d. Electronic Formats Collection Development Policy
1. This policy is intended for the selection and acquisition of electronic resources and all publicly accessible electronic resources
acquired for the trial, in consultation with the Computer Supervisor, the Library Director and the appropriate subject
specialist for the discipline involved. For the purposes of this document "electronic format" refers to that category of
materials which require computer access, either through a microcomputer or a mainframe, the Internet, or the World Wide
Web e.g. CD-Rom products, machine-readable data files, and Internet and Web site resources.
2. Materials in electronic format will be considered for purchase on the basis that some value will be added by the electronic
format that will be in agreement to the collection development policy of the library.
3. Consideration must be given that the hardware for the item requested is available or if it needs to be purchased.
4. The method of accessing a product will be determined by its level of user access, type of computer support, type of
collection, staff support levels, user assessment of products, etc.
5. Requests for new electronic formats will be reviewed by the the Library Committee and the Head of Electronic Information
Resources.
6. Electronic format items will be processed for purchasing by the Library who will function as the institutional contact with all the
vendors. If the item is to be purchased on a subscription basis, it will be paid from the serials fund.
7. Online library products (e.g. OCLC, Firstsearch, etc.) may be funded under contractual services funded out of the library
materials budget.
8. If an individual desires to evaluate electronic formats on a trial basis, the vendor should be contacted and the product
valuated by both the Information Resource Manager and the library faculty with expertise in the subject area involved.
19. General Policy Evaluation
The collection development policy will be evaluated and changed as necessary by a committee appointed for that purpose.
