Introduction
The Collection Development Policy Statement provides a general set of guidelines for the development and maintenance of the Library collection. It is meant to insure a systematic and balanced building of the collection. The Policy Statement will inform library staff, users, administrators, and others about the scope of the existing collection and the plans for continuing development of resources, thus providing information that will assist in the budgetary allocation process. It will also serve as a guideline for continued participation in the UMS shared library system. The Library Collection Development Policy Statement should be reviewed at regular intervals to insure that changes in defined goals, user needs, and priorities are recognized, and that changing budgetary situations are confronted.
Preliminary Information
The University of Maine at Fort Kent is the northernmost campus of the University of Maine system. Its students follow curricula of liberal arts and professional preparation in baccalaureate and associate degree programs. The holdings and services of Blake Library support and promote the University’s mission and educational objectives.
Clientele
• Faculty and students: The primary goal of collection development in Blake Library will be to meet the classroom needs of faculty and students. Research interests may be supported where they clearly relate to instructional programs.
• UMFK staff: The Library collects materials, such as directories, handbooks, manuals of written style, and other materials necessary to provide basic information for support services personnel at UMFK.
• Fort Kent and the St. John Valley: Because of its location in a rural area, the Library must help meet the information needs of Fort Kent and residents of the outlying communities, including those on the Canadian side of the St. John River.
General Subject Boundaries
Blake Library will develop its collection in the liberal arts and in those areas of professional preparation supported by the curriculum. The Library will give first priority to purchasing materials directly related to academic programs and requested by faculty or observed in the requests of students. The library staff will follow the library’s mission statement in collecting other materials supporting a diverse collection.
User Needs Supported
• General Collection: The first priority of library collection development will be to acquire materials that are necessary to support the regular curriculum of UMFK. These materials will be selected as appropriate for student use in course work and in independent study within areas addressed by the curriculum, paying particular attention to the needs of the faculty in the classroom.
• Reference: Blake Library will develop a comprehensive collection in all subject areas in support of the UMFK curriculum. The Reference collection includes a small print collection with the majority of the works being accessed online.
• Special Collections: A collection of special materials will be maintained, providing limited access to rare or unusual materials in the library’s collection. It will be the primary location of all materials pertaining to the St. John Valley and the University of Maine at Fort Kent. A separate collection development policy statement has been written to address the specific goals of Special Collections.
• Other Collection Considerations: To meet the reading needs of a geographically rural campus and to encourage the use of libraries, Blake Library will provide a basic collection of selective fiction and nonfiction in areas of high interest, e.g. sports, outdoor activities, cookery, and travel.
General Priorities and Limitations
• Form: The library will collect informational materials in those forms best suited to the use of that information, e.g. audio-visual materials, digital information resources.
• Language: The Library will collect primarily English language materials, except for those materials needed to support regular instructional needs in foreign language programs and those materials related to Franco-American, Acadian, and Canadian culture.
• Duplication: The Library will add duplicate copies of works when needed to assure access to items normally placed in non-circulating locations.
• Donations/Gifts: Gifts are appreciated but can only be accepted with the integrity of the collection in mind. Acceptance of gifts is made with the understanding that there are no limiting conditions or restrictions regarding their disposition; ownership is held exclusively by Blake Library. Only in extremely rare instances would Blake Library consider acquiring a collection that would be maintained intact or be archival in nature. Acceptance or rejection of gifts is based on the same criteria as purchased material, following the above selection guidelines of this policy. Blake Library cannot offer collection appraisals, nor estimate the value of a gift once accepted.
• Textbooks: Blake Library will collect textbooks only where these items would benefit UMFK programs, e.g. nursing, education; however the Library will not purchase current course textbooks.
Cooperative Collection Agreements
Blake Library is a member of the URSUS consortium which shares the URSUS electronic catalog and a number of electronic resources. The URSUS Council stresses cooperation and has worked to develope a shared collection and policies that promote a shared collection strategy.
In addition, Blake Library is a member of the Maine Shared Collections Strategy – a state-wide collection management project.