Collection Development Policies - Social Work

1. Introduction
   
   1. Purpose of the policy statement
      This statement is intended to guide the manager of the Social Work fund (fund 78) by explaining the purpose and scope of the collection, describing who it serves, and outlining how this fund meshes with the library funds for related subject areas.
      
      
   2. Audience
      The primary audience is made up of collection managers and other librarians and library staff.
      
      
   3. Description of institution/department and clientele
      The collection supports the teaching and research of the faculty, adjunct faculty, and undergraduate students of the School of Social Work. As of spring 2004, the department had 5 full-time and 11 part-time faculty, and 50 student majors. The School offers a Bachelor of Social Work degree.
      
      
   4. Brief overview of the collection
      1. History of the collection
         A separate materials budget for social work was created in July 2003. Prior to that date, social work materials were acquired selectively by the collection managers for the Public Health Library, Sociology, and the Undergraduate Library.
         
         
      2. Collection strengths and weaknesses
         A collection assessment project is currently in progress.
         
         
      3. De-emphasized or emphasized areas
         Areas of emphasis are child welfare, poverty, policy analysis, program evaluation, community development, and faith-based welfare. Works on animal welfare, emergency management, and safety are excluded. Works on refugees are covered by the sociology fund.
         
         
      4. Collection locations
         The collection is spread between the 7th floor of Research Collections, the Information Commons Core Collection, and IC Reference Collection. Many pertinent materials will also be found in the Public Health Library.
2. Scope of Coverage
   1. Languages collected and excluded
      Only works in English are collected.
      
      
   2. Geographical areas covered and excluded
      Primary emphasis is on the United States, but important works covering the rest of the world, especially Britain and Europe, are collected selectively.
      
      
   3. Chronological periods covered and excluded
      Only works that focus on current research and practice are collected.
      
      
   4. Dates of publication of materials collected; current vs. retrospective coverage
      Current coverage only; retrospective collecting is limited to gifts. Further retrospective collecting will await a detailed analysis of collection strengths and weaknesses.
      
      
   5. Formats collected and excluded
      All formats are collected, but most materials are in print or electronic format.
3. Collecting Responsibility
   Collection Manager: Moira Smith. I collaborate with the Public Health Library to purchase materials on alcoholism and substance abuse.
   
   
4. Related Collections
   • Public Health
   • History
   • Sociology
5. Principal Sources of Supply and Major Selection Tools
   • Blackwell approval plan
   • Catalogs
6. Preservation
   1. Criteria for selection for preservation and/or mass deacidification
      Follow the physical criteria specified by the Preservation Department.
      
      
   2. High-priority areas of the collection for preservation review and treatment
      Materials that have few holdings in OCLC should receive first priority. Other criteria for priority: IU authors; local (Indiana) interest; and material that circulates often.
7. Selection Criteria for ALF
   • Duplicate serials
   • Monographs published before 1980 that have never circulated (with the exception of: reference works, festschrifts and other edited collections)
8. Digital Projects
   1. Priorities for collections to be digitized
      Materials that have few holdings in OCLC should receive first priority. Other criteria for priority: IU authors; local (Indiana) interest; and material that circulates often.
      
      
9. Other Resources and Libraries
   The University Library at IUPUI contains many relevant materials, including journals.