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Collection Development & Management Policy of the E.S. Farley Library: Named Collections

The Collection Development & Management Policy of the E.S. Farley Library.

Audio-Visual Collection/DVDs

The Audio-Visual (A-V) Collection at the E.S. Library is closely connected to the book collection development. Delegated department liaisons may select A-V materials within their monograph allocations.

Selection Criteria may include:

  1. Curriculum relevance and research needs
  2. Critical reviews
  3. Artistic merit and reputation of the contributors (director, cinematographer, screenwriter, actor, etc.)
  4. Consideration of popular films or current-release videos is based upon lasting interest or value and nominations by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Library of Congress National Preservation Registry lists, and film festival awards
  5. Aesthetic or cultural appeal
  6. Film adaptations of literary classics

For documentaries:

  1. Accuracy of information
  2. Authoritativeness; level of treatment
  3. Timeliness

Audio-visual materials at the E.S. Farley Library of an interdisciplinary or subject-specific nature are shelved at the circulation desk.  All A-V materials are cataloged.  Access to these materials can be gained through inquiry at the reference or circulation desks.

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Faculty Publications Collection

The library is proud to hold publications written by the faculty of Wilkes University in its collections, especially when these works can aid teaching and research, a key mission of the E.S. Farley Library.

Acquisition

Many of the faculty publications are provided to the library by the author of the publication. The library does not make a systematic effort to collect every publication produced; however, librarians will attempt to solicit newly published works each September. The library acquires these monographs because of their authors, not necessarily because of the subject matter. In addition to monographs, the library likes to collect journal article offprints to highlight in the collection and house in University Archives. Recent publications are showcased on the first floor of the E.S. Farley Library. 

Selection

The Technical Services Librarian, in coordination with library liaisons, will work with deans, chairs, and faculty to identify publications for inclusion in the collection. Fiscal considerations preclude comprehensive collection building in this area. Donations are encouraged and appreciated.

Retention

The library will strive to acquire two copies of each monograph, one for the circulating collection and one for permanent archiving in Special Collections. When only one copy can be acquired, it is shelved in Faculty Publications for three (3) years after which it is transferred to Special Collections for permanent retention. 

Once article offprints and monographs are transferred to Special Collections, they are non-circulating and are not deaccessioned from the collection.

Faculty Publications Display

The most recent additions to the faculty publications collection are showcased on the first floor of the E.S. Farley Library. Items are retained in this shelving location until superseded by new titles by the same author or for three (3) years, whichever comes first. After three years, items are transferred to the general collection or to Special Collections, as outlined above in this policy.

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Government Documents/Publications

As the E.S. Farley Library is not a regional or local U.S. Federal Documents Depository, the library does not systematically collect government publications, unless these sources are considered best sources under the selection criteria found within this Policy. 

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Graduate Creative Writing Collection

In an effort to preserve the intuitional memory and impact of its students, the Wilkes University Graduate Creative Writing Program strives to donate at least 2 copies, when available, of works written or created by the Program’s graduates. One copy is held in the library’s general collection, and a second copy is held in Wilkes University Special Collections.

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Reference Collection

Each member of the Reference Department shares the responsibility for the selection of reference materials.  Requests to select these materials are given to all members of the department for review.  However, the reference collection development is under the aegis of the Technical Services Librarian. Emphasis for collection development will be placed on electronic reference sources if electronic format is the best option.

The following criteria are used in evaluation the reference materials that have been requested by a member of the Reference Department to be added to the collection:

Highest values in descending order:

Highly relevant

  1. Price of the publication
  2. Potential use
  3. Relevance to the university curriculum
  4. Date of publication

Quite relevant

  1. Relation to the title to materials within the existing collection
  2. Favorable review(s) found in reputable sources or inclusion in one of the basic reference guides
  3. Duplication of the material in the library or a local library
  4. Language of the publication

Somewhat relevant

  1. Reputation of the author
  2. Reputation of the publishing company

Selection tools for reference material are listed in the Selection and Evaluation section of this policy. 

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Theses & Dissertations

The library strives to collect at least one copy of all theses, dissertations, and Advanced Projects written by Wilkes University graduate students as part of their Wilkes University degree requirements. The candidate (or School, where appropriate) will provide copies to the Library for binding. One print copy will be retained by the Library to be cataloged in WorldCat, and subsequently in the local catalog and placed in the Wilkes University Archives, housed in the E.S. Farley Library.

The candidate will provide to the library any additional copies for the candidate’s personal use and as required by the Department and/or the Office of Graduate Studies and Continued Learning for their purposes.

If the dissertation is provided in print format, it will be lightly examined for missing and upside-down pages. However, the library staff cannot take responsibility for any discrepancies such as these.  The candidate must take care to provide clean and correct copies. The cost of binding is borne by the candidate or the School, as appropriate. 

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Wilkes Community/Alumni Collection

We welcome additions to our Wilkes Community/Alumni collection, held as part of our Special Collections. These include works published by our university alumni, spouses or family members affiliated with Wilkes, and Board of Trustee members who were not Wilkes faculty members. The library does not make a systematic effort to collect every publication produced. The library acquires these monographs because of their authors, not necessarily because of the subject matter. As such, the collection development considerations provided herein may not apply to this collection. Fiscal considerations preclude comprehensive collection building in this area. Donations are encouraged and appreciated. If two copies are provided or acquired, one will be placed in the stacks/circulating collection and the other will be held in Special Collections. If only one copy is acquired, it will be placed in the stacks/circulating collection.

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