Michigan State University

Collection Development Policy Statement: Main Library Reference et. al.

NEW Procedures for Selecting Reference Materials

B. Procedures for selection of reference materials

B1. Fund accounts for Main Library Reference

There are two accounts that pay for reference materials and are under the supervision of the Head of Reference and Discovery Services: 'refmo' for monographic and single-issue items, and 'refsr' for serial and standing-order titles. Both accounts are managed by a senior collections librarian, the Reference Collections Manager. The refmo account purchases books bought for several special collections: travel guides, MSU Collection, and grants/funding center. Very expensive purchases, including most networked databases, are approved by the Collections Coordinator and possibly the Associate Deans.

All library subject selectors (with some exceptions for branches) are encouraged to identify titles for the collection. The Head of Reference and Discovery Services has the final authority to approve use of reference funds (by delegation, so does the librarian managing the reference funds, the Reference Collections Manager).

The Head of Reference and Discovery Services and/or Reference Collections Manager should make sure that we invest in general works, such as language dictionaries, general encyclopedias, and biographical publications. Directories and data sources that only exist in print or are impossible to use online are also collected.  Source input about new resources can be from lists in librarianship journals, publisher communications, and, retrospectively, from annual "best" lists for filling apparent gaps.

B2. Electronic resources

Electronic reference materials are provided in two ways: as stand-alone resources available on a few PCs in the reference area, and as networked resources, preferably available by IP range to the whole campus. All electronic purchases should be evaluated for accessibility compliance and compatibility with currently available screen reader and like technologies.