Duke University Law Library: Collection Development Policy: Introduction
SELECTION PROCESS
The Senior Associate Dean for Library and Computing, Associate Director, Head of Information Services, Foreign and International Law Librarian, Education and Reference Services Coordinator, and Acquisitions Librarian participate in collection development and acquisitions. These librarians form the collection development policy committee which meets every two weeks to discuss selections, cancellations, and other collection policy issues.
The Acquisitions Librarian sorts through the advertisements and sends them to the Head of Information Services who distributes them among the other librarians. These librarians preselect materials. They usually check only materials published during that year and the previous year. The reference librarians make preliminary recommendations which are reviewed by the Head of Information Services. The Associate Director makes the final decision. If opinions differ among the selector the item is discussed further by the group at the collection development committee meeting. The Acquisitions librarian orders the materials and serves as the Law Library representative in meeting with book publishers and dealers. Faculty members may make specific suggestions and recommendations for purchases. Every attempt is made to honor these requests.
The materials selection process involves professional judgment, a thorough knowledge of the collection and an ability to assess current and future needs. It often includes an analysis of other
holdings in specific areas. Non-law publishers catalogs are looked at with particular attention beyond the "law" category. The selection process also requires a close interaction with the faculty,
because of the need to anticipate their curricular and research needs. Faculty are consulted about certain titles, as part of the current awareness service provided by the library.
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