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ECONOMICS COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY

PURPOSE: The collection development policy for economics is designed to provide guidelines for building a collection of library materials relevant to the instruction and research needs of the Economics Department.

RESPONSIBILITY: While the process of developing a collection for economics is a cooperative effort between the Economics Department and Libraries faculties, final responsibility for developing a balanced collection lies within the University Libraries. Specifically this responsibility rests with the Dean of Libraries, the Associate Dean of Libraries, the Head of Collection Development, and the bibliographer for economics.

The Libraries bibliographer for economics is responsible for reviewing books sent on the approval plan, selecting items from bibliographies, and communicating with the Department's representative. The library representative from the Economics Department (Chair of the Department's Budget and Development Committee) is responsible for selecting items from approval plan slips, evaluating the need for serial and reference items, and communicating with other faculty in the Economics Department.

THE ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT:

Degrees: The Department offers the B.A., B. S., B.S. in B. A and the M.A. degrees

Majors: Economics

Interdepartmental Majors: some courses support the General Business Administration major and/or the Entrepreneurship major

Minors: Economics

Graduate: Master of Arts in Economics

Faculty: There are 15 full time faculty

THE STUDY OF ECONOMICS: "Economics is the study of how mankind satisfies its many material wants and needs" (CMU Undergraduate Bulletin, 2005/2006).

COLLECTION POLICY GUIDELINES: All library materials purchased with funds allocated to the economics collection are acquired by way of an approval plan/s or by recommendations from the Economics faculty and the University Libraries' bibliographer for economics. The approval plan/s are controlled by profiles that delineate the collecting parameters.

Gifts of materials that further the instructional or research needs of the Economics Department will be considered for inclusion in the collection provided no restrictions are attached to their use, location, or disposition. However, the university Libraries are not permitted to appraise gifts for inheritance or tax purposes. Although the Dean of Libraries is solely responsible for the formal acceptance of all gifts, potential donors should consult the Gift Policy.

All purchases and gifts are subject to the following guidelines.

Language - In general only English language materials will be collected. Materials in other languages will be considered if specifically requested by a faculty member in Economics.

Publication Dates - The emphasis will be on current materials. Earlier materials will be purchased as needed. Rare books will not be collected.

Geographical Origin - Emphasis will be placed on materials from the United States, but no limitations will be placed on the origin of any item.

Formats - A variety of formats will be purchased. The emphasis will be on monographs (book) and serial/periodical publications in both print and electronic format. . Additional formats such as microform, film, video, audio cassettes, and compact discs will be acquired selectively.

Duplication - Because the funds allocated for the development of the economics collection do not permit the acquisition of all materials required to satisfy the instructional and research needs of the Economics Department, duplicate copies of books and serials/periodicals will not be purchased. In the case of multiple demand and heavy, continuous use of individual titles due to extensive classroom assignments, exceptions to this guideline will be considered.

SUBJECTS AND COLLECTING LEVELS: (LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLASSIFICATION)

Levels can be found in the Guide for Written Collection Policy Statements, Bonita Bryiant, ed.: Chicago: American Library Association, 1989. (A 1996, 2nd edition is availbale with only minor changes in the wording)

CMU, an AA/EO institution, is strongly and actively committed to increasing diversity within its community (see www.cmich.edu/aaeo/).
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES REQUIRING ACCOMMODATION SHOULD CONTACT REFERENCE SERVICES AT 774-3470.