ACRL Resources Questions

The library should provide varied, authoritative and up-to-date resources that support its mission and the needs of its users. Resources may be provided onsite or from remote storage locations, on the main campus and/or at off-campus locations. Moreover, resources may be in a variety of formats, including print or hard copy, online electronic text or images, and other media. Within budget constraints, the library should provide quality resources in the most efficient manner possible. Collection currency and vitality should be maintained through judicious weeding.

1. What criteria are used to make decisions about the acquisition, retention, and use of print, electronic, and media resources? How does the library select resources for its users?

Per the Collection Development Policy, all resources are considered via the following criteria: authoritativeness, accuracy of information impartiality, current information, depth of coverage, relevancy to the curriculum, organization and style, durability, special features, and price. Whether items are purchased or received as gifts, each item is evaluated via the above criteria. This review is conducted primarily by the Collection Development Department for its own selections. An additional criteria developed by the collection Development Librarian is a Budget Allocation Formula developed in 1997 for the General Fund budget. This formula looks at the size of each department in relation to the whole university population. The information provided by this formula does allow the Library to know the size of departments relative to each other and over time. The ASU Office of Institutional Research collects enrollment data by department each fall semester. The budget allocation formula allows the library to allocate funding by department based on enrollment data.  The idea is that materials relevant to that department would be ordered in proportion to that department’s size vis-à-vis the rest of the university population. Since the 6% proration budget cut in 2001, this formula has not always been applied as available funds are used to purchase other items (materials to support upcoming departmental accreditations, individual faculty, and some staff requests). Title VI funding is provided for the Health Sciences, Accountancy, and the Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Policy and Law programs. Concerning periodicals, candidates for acquisition are made by request, primarily by faculty. A periodicals request form is complete and after review with other members of the Collection Development team, is included in the annual serials renewal. In some cases, journals may be started in mid-year, but only in very rare circumstances (accreditation needs being the most common). Concern regarding retention of a journal title is done by use of the Serials  Maintenance Formula. This is a 14-item review which is supplemented by price, other formats, necessity for accreditation, and observed departmental usage factors. A similar formula was created for review of electronic resources. This formula, the Database Maintenance Formula, is an 18-item review regarding continuation of a subscribed electronic resource. This review is to be done at least three months prior to the end of a subscription period along with consortium requirements.  Electronic resources are selected per relevance to the curriculum, time period covered, delivery capability (email, print, remote access), full-text, full-image, and subject coverage.

Supporting Documentation:

1. Collection Development Policy

2. What is the role of the classroom faculty in the selection of library resources and in the ongoing development and evaluation of the collection?

Librarians and faculty jointly share the responsibility for selection of library materials. Subject specialists coordinate acquisitions for their respective departments, including business, education, and health sciences. The Collection Development Librarian coordinates acquisitions for all other academic departments. The librarians receive and submit acquisition requests from the faculty and help identify and request other materials in various formats for possible purchase. Librarians work closely with faculty when making decisions about periodicals subscriptions and database license agreements. The library’s weeding program is the responsibility of the collection development team in consultation with the appropriate faculty and is an ongoing component of collection development.

3 Does the library have a continuing and effective program to evaluate its collections, resources and online databases, both quantitatively and qualitatively?

Yes, the University Library has a systematic and viable evaluation program.  The Collection Development Policy and Inventory Control Project provide a continuous means for evaluating the library’s collection.  Furthermore, interlibrary loan and netLibrary requests are also used as feedback in evaluating the collection and adding new materials.  The Serials Maintenance Formula and the Database Maintenance Formula are used in evaluating electronic databases and serials on an annual basis.

4. Do print, media, and electronic resources reflect campus curricular and research needs?

Yes, the print, media, and electronic resources do reflect campus curricular and research needs.  As more graduate and doctoral degree granting programs are implemented at Alabama State University, the Library has responded by enhancing its print, as well as electronic resources. As an institution with such a profound existence in history, our materials in Special Collections are among one of our most researched collections. There is a variety of historical information regarding the subject matter of Civil Rights and the African American experience, specifically in Montgomery. There has also been a renewed effort to encourage students to use our NetLibrary e-book collection. The library also has an Information Literacy program in place that teaches students how to utilize electronic research materials. Faculty members are taking advantage of our electronic reserves to allow students easier access to assigned readings. The University Library will continue to increase and enhance all of the above mentioned formats so we can accommodate the research needs of graduate and post graduate students and researchers.

5. Does the library have sufficient user licenses for its electronic resources so that on-site and remote users can be accommodated?

Whenever electronic resources are evaluated, network and remote access are two factors which are considered. Therefore, the library has sufficient user licenses for both on-site and remote users for our electronic resources. As a result, we have moved away from CD-ROM’s and single-platform functions in favor of multi-platform and remote access materials. Access with unlimited simultaneous users is the most optimum availability which is contracted by the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries (NAAL) consortium. However, due to budget constraints, smaller access tiers are sometimes contracted.  For remote access to most electronic resources including those which are part of the Alabama Virtual Library (AVL), members of the ASU community only need to enter their last name and last part of their Social Security number. Free electronic resources (such as FindLaw and OneLook Dictionary Search), course reserve materials, the online catalog, subject guides, opportunities for feedback are available to any user whether they are on or off campus.

6. How are consortium purchasing and licensing agreements utilized?

Consortium pricing is available with many of our database subscriptions through the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries (NAAL) and the Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET) consortium. Whenever possible, and fiscally advantageous, the library will engage in database subscription purchases through such entities. Roughly 50% of our General Fund Account databases are purchased through consortium agreements. Approximately 20-30% of Title VI account databases are also purchased through consortium contracts. Overall, the library is very active in pursuing user agreements through such entities and will continue to do so in the future. State contracts are also utilized in the purchase of equipment and supplies when possible—on average this saves the library 40-60% off the MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) of items.

7. If the library has responsibility for collecting and maintaining the institution’s archives, how does it address these responsibilities?

The Archives and Special Collections Department has made arrangements for several types of University records to be deposited at the Library. To date these materials include: ASU Today (sent to bindery), Hornet Tribune, Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs, Science@ASU magazine (will be sent to bindery when there are enough copies), Annual Board Minutes, Faculty senate minutes, Newsletters from Ed.D program, Commencement Programs (sent to bindery), Founder's Day Programs, Fall and Spring Faculty Convocation Programs, and printed materials from the National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African American Culture.

The University Library Archivist met with the Head of the State Government Section in the Government Records Division, and the Assistant Director. They discussed the state of record scheduling and the retention process at Alabama State University. There was some agreement of a general approach to implementing the records scheduling and retention process as outlined below:

  1. We are seeking authority for the president to select a point person, or records coordinator,[1] who would coordinate the records retention initiative on campus and would serve as a point of contact for the Alabama State Department of Archives and History.
  2. Second, the point person or records coordinator in consultation with the president should select a campus-wide standing committee. The composition of this committee is important. It should be made up of individuals from the various major divisions and offices on campus, i.e., Athletic Department, Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Communications and Public Affairs, Fiscal Affairs, Graduate Studies, Human Relations, Campus Security, etc. While the heads of these areas should be made aware of the initiative, subordinates above the rank of secretary with some authority in their area are preferable. Ideal for the committee would be a long-time person already familiar with the organizational disposition of the records in their respective area.
  3. Third, a person should be selected by the president, or records coordinator who would be responsible for receiving documentation on the destruction of records campus-wide. This person would be responsible for compiling and maintaining a database (list) of records destroyed throughout campus in accordance with the criteria outlined in the state Records Disposition Authority.
  4. Forth, a person (could be one-in-the same) should be selected by the president to oversee the transfer of records from the various departments to the archives or a centralized permanent records retention facility.
  5. Once the campus-wide standing committee is created, the university archivist or representatives from the Alabama State Department of Archives and History can train campus personal. The state of Alabama has already created a document that outlines records disposition schedules for state universities. This Records Disposition Authority document is available at the Alabama State Department of Archives and History web site: http://www.archives.state.al.us/ The campus-wide standing committee would work to get all of the major areas at Alabama State University to adopt and utilize the procedures outlined in the Records Disposition Authority document.
  6. While considering the Records Disposition Authority procedures Alabama State University can opt to maintain permanent records using a decentralized approach where the individual divisions or departments will continue to maintain their temporary and permanent records. Or, the University can opt to create a centralized repository where records slated for permanent or long-term storage can be housed in a common storage location. Ideally, a database should be created that will identify permanent records campus-wide, and where they are stored.

After the standing committee has been created, trained, and has implemented the Records Disposition Authority procedures, Alabama State University should be aware of guidelines for submission of a Annual Report to the Records Retention Commission. Internally, the schools Records Coordinator should call on each of the major areas on campus to submit a report covering their records retention activities. Several reports would be synthesized into one University-wide report. On or before October 15th of each year the Records Retention Commission will request in writing this institutional annual report. Usually that report is due at the Records Retention Commission a month later on or about 15 November. Finally, the reports are reviewed at the January Records Retention Commission meeting.

Supporting Documentation:

1. Archives and Special Collections Department

8. How do the library's collections and online databases compare with its peers?