Collection Development Policies - Nursing

1. Introduction
   
   1. Purpose of the policy statement
      This Collection Development Policy is a general statement of goals for development of the collection. It should serve as a guide for library staff involved in collection development decisions and also informs library users at the University and elsewhere about the Library's selection principles.
      
      
   2. Audience
      The main audience members are the primary users of the collection and librarians at IUB.
      
      
   3. Description of institution/department and clientele
      In the last few years the IUB Nursing Program started placing more importance on teaching and research. The 2002 incoming freshmen was the first cohort that will be able to finish their degree on the Bloomington campus without relocating to the IUPUI campus for the last year. The goal is soon to have at least 60% of the current faculty positions full-time and tenure-track. In the fall of 2004 there were 12 full-time faculty, plus 12 part-time faculty, and approximately 150 students in the Bloomington program. Materials are added to the collection to support the research interests and teaching of the faculty. It supports the needs of students working towards a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Members of the general public also use the collections.
      
      
   4. Brief overview of the collection
      1. Collection strengths and weaknesses
         The collection includes a substantial number electronic resources including full-text journals linked through OVID Medline and CINHAL and found in other full-text collects such as EBSCO. Books@OVID includes nursing materials. Most of the journal runs start in the 1950s or later.
         
         
      2. Subject areas emphasized or deemphasized
         The emphasis is on acquiring a core collection of journals and books that supports the needs of the faculty and students. Highly clinical material is usually not acquired. Material not owned by IUB Libraries is often available on the other IU campuses and may be requested via "Request Delivery" or document delivery.
         
         
      3. Collection locations
         Materials purchased from the Nursing Fund are shelved in the Research Collections of the Main Library and occasionally in the Career Reference section of the Information Commons. Materials from the Nursing Collection have not yet been sent to ALF.
2. Scope of Coverage
   1. Languages collected and excluded
      Currently only English-language material is actively collected.
      
      
   2. Geographical areas covered and excluded
      Materials that relates to the United States are emphasized. Relevant material published in Great Britain is often acquired. Materials that relate to nursing in other countries or cultures are selectively purchased especially if it would be relevant to women's studies or history of nursing.
      
      
   3. Chronological periods covered and excluded
      The focus is to acquire current material although material related to the history of nursing is selectively acquired.
      
      
   4. Dates of publication of materials collected; current vs. retrospective coverage
      Current material only is actively acquired.
      
      
   5. Formats collected and excluded
      Print and electronic are the predominant formats with little or no microform materials purchased from the Nursing Fund. Some textbook material is collected to support the undergraduate needs.
3. Collecting Responsibility
   Brian Winterman, Assistant Life Sciences/Chemistry Librarian
   
   
4. Related Collections
   Materials related to human biology and disease are also found in the Life Sciences Library. Materials related to health or health policy are also found in the Life Sciences Library, Public Health Library, Research Collections (Political Sciences Collection), and the Business/SPEA Library.
   
   
5. Principal Sources of Supply and Major Selection Tools
   The principal sources for books are through the approval plans (trade and university publishers) and to a lesser extent publishers' announcements.
   
   
6. Preservation
   1. Criteria for selection for preservation and/or mass deacidification
      So far the majority of materials selected for preservation or conservation action are circulation driven and any activity would be handled by the circulation staff in the Main Library. The material in the Research Collections should be examined further to determine whether mass deacidification and more preservation activities are warranted. Soft-cover material is flagged for binding by the collection manager in the Acquisitions' Department before it is cataloged if it is likely to be heavily used and/or will not stand up well on the shelves.
7. Selection Criteria for ALF
   Because the collection is small, few items if any, have been selected for ALF. This collection is on the 10th floor of the Main Library and other items were selected to meet the ALF quota on this floor. If nursing material is selected in the future for ALF it would include books that are dated and have no or little indication of recent usage and periodicals that are not heavily used or no longer being received. Journals, abstracts, and indexes that are available electronically in full-text would be excellent candidates for ALF.
   
   
8. Other Resources and Libraries
   The Ruth Lilly Medical Library is an important resource to the Nursing Program both in terms of print and electronic resources. Many in the Nursing Program make use of the extensive electronic journal collection that is available to those associated with the IU School of Medicine.
   
   
9. Consortial Agreements
   None, although we do participate with the Ruth Lilly Medical Library to fund Taber's online (a medical dictionary useful to nursing students) from the Science Reference Fund.