Michigan State University

Collection Development Policy Statement: Travel

Criteria for Inclusion in Collection

Currency

  • Material that is part of a continuous guidebook series related to areas outside the U.S., or single works on any country that provide substantive cultural and historical content will be retained for research purposes.
  • Only current editions of series guidebooks for the U.S. and individual states will be maintained. Exceptions can include guidebooks that describe impacts of events on the industry, e.g. climate change, political or cultural unrest, welfare of the population.

Geographic Coverage

  • Michigan and surrounding states and cities
  • Major U.S. cities and recreational areas
  • International coverage with special attention to
    • countries with MSU Study Abroad programs (Source: MSU ISP)
    • areas where MSU personnel are engaged in research, teaching or outreach. (Source: ISP)
    • countries with significant leisure visits from the U.S (Source: ITA)

The international collection will focus on multi-country or country-level guides, with selected city or regional guides.

Subject Matter

Given the widespread availability of more current information and listings on the Internet, there will be less emphasis on collecting directory-type information. Some material of this nature will continue to be collected either for major countries visited by U.S travelers or conversely, countries for which this type of information is less readily available on the internet, but there will be greater emphasis on background information, especially of a historical, cultural or political nature.

  • Travel Information
    • 1. Sightseeing materials
    • 2. Regional, country or city background information
    • 3. Information for specialized travel needs eg hiking, motorcycling, volunteering, travel with children with disabilities
  • Travel activities
    • 1. Educational
    • 2. Physical
    • 3. Recreational

Format

A print collection will be maintained.

Electronic books will be considered for the collection, where appropriate. Primary considerations for the electronic collection (in addition to content) will be:

  • multi-user simultaneous access
  • ease of downloading to a tablet or other mobile device

Many electronic travel guides are also available through large subscription e-book packages. Content from these sources is highly variable.