College and Research Libraries KATHLEEN COLEMAN and PAULINE DICKINSON Drafting a Reference Collection Policy A reference collection policy can be useful in setting guidelines for the estabUshment and maintenance of an effective reference collec- tion. It can also serve to facilitate reference service and to train new reference librarians by clarifying some reference department goals. This article indicates important elements to include in a reference collection policy. It also describes procedures followed by the Refer- ence Collection Committee at San Diego State University in drafting its policy and includes the text of the policy currently in effect in the San Diego State University Library. MANY ACADEMIC LIBRARIES have writ- ten collection policies which set criteria for depth of coverage, selection, and retirement (weeding or storage) of the library's collection. In recent years a number of academic library reference departments have recognized the need for additional guidelines in order to maintain an effective reference collec- tion. A reference collection policy is a use- ful tool for several reasons. First, it sets uniform guidelines for the collec- tion, including subject scope, depth of coverage, and types of material to be in- cluded. Second, it provides an opportu- nity for coordinating the reference col- lection with reference service. Since the reference collection is a working collec- tion, materials should be chosen, locat- ed, and, if necessary, duplicated, to serve the needs of reference librarians and users. Third, the reference collec- tion policy is an effective orientation de- vice for training new staff in making reference decisions. Finally, the policy spells out the cooperation and division Kathleen Coleman and Pauline Dickinson are senior assistant librarians in the San Diego State University Library, San Diego, California. of labor which takes place between pub- lic service departments or, in very large institutions, between libraries, so that duplication is planned rather than un- intentional. Elements to Include in a Reference Collection Policy To be an effective document, the ref- erence collection policy should include the following elements: 1. A statement of objectives, indicat- ing the purposes of the policy. 2. Information about the subject scope of the collection, preferably within the framework of the cur- riculum and other needs of the academic institution as a whole. 3. The optimum size of the reference collection, if set by the depart- ment. 4. Criteria for including or exclud- ing publications within each of the major categories of reference ma- terials. (Are all foreign language dictionaries kept in the reference department or only those for lan- guages taught at the institution? How comprehensive must a bibli- ography be in order to be consid- ered a reference book?) 5. Responsibility for selection, as I 227 228 I College & Research Libraries • May 1977 well as procedures followed. 6. Priorities followed in selection, such as needs of the institution, favorable reviews, recency, and language of publication. 7. Procedures for updating and weed- ing the reference collection. Preparation of a Reference Collection Policy for San Diego State University Library In June 1974 the chairperson of the Department of Reference and Instruc- tional Services, San Diego State U niver- sity Library, appointed a four-member Reference Collection Committee to co- ordinate the acquisition of new refer- ence materials and to draft a reference collection policy. After performing a nearly fruitless literature search on the subject of reference collection policies, the committee decided to survey other university libraries for ideas and re- quested reference collection policies from sixty American and Canadian uni- versities which, like San Diego State University, have an enrollment in excess of 20,000 students. Many libraries re- plied that they had no policy as yet but intended to write one in the near fu- ture. Fourteen policies of various types were received including selection poli- cies for the entire library and reference service policies, as well as guidelines for the reference collection. The documents from University of Alberta, McGill University, University of Toronto, Uni- versity of Nebraska, and University of Massachusetts were especially helpful in drafting a policy at San Diego. The reference collection policy, now rati£ed by the department, is divided into seven parts: policy objectives, sub- ject scope of the collection, collection size, types of material included, acquisi- tion of new materials, weeding the col- lection, and inventory. The text fol- lows: REFERENCE COLLECTION POLICY OF THE RESEARCH AND REFERENCE SECTION, REFERENCE AND INSTRUCTIONAL . SERVICES DEPARTMENT, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY I. Objectives of the Reference Collec- tion Policy A. To establish guidelines, as con- crete and definite as possible, for both the subject scope of the ref- erence collection and the materials included in it. B. To set procedures for acquiring new materials and for weeding the collection which will ensure the development and mainte- nance of a complete, current, and convenient reference collection. II. Subject Scope of the Collection A. The Research and Reference Sec- tion provides basic and in-depth information sources in the social sciences and humanities, includ- ing education. The section also provides selective coverage of subjects of current interest not di- rectly within these academic dis- ciplines. B. In addition, Research and Refer- ence collects some other materials which have call numbers Q-V, usually within the scope of the Sciences and Engineering Li- brary. These materials are needed to supplement service in the areas named above, and include: 1. Directories of manufacturers. 2. Test manuals in scientific fields. 3. Biographical dictionaries in scientific fields. 4. Guides to travel accommoda- tions. C. Research and Reference excludes the following subjects and cate- gories of materials, except for items very directly related to the social sciences and humanities: 1. Computer technology ( includ- ed in the Sciences and Engi- neering Library) . 2. Environment and ecology (in- cluded in the Sciences and En- gineering Library) . 3. Recreation materials on sub- jects such as bicycling, back- packing, and camping (kept in the Sciences and Engineering Library). 4. Coin and stamp catalogs. 5. Genealogy, except for works pertaining to general history studies. 6. Children~s literature (kept in the Education Resource Cen- ter). 7. California~ United States~ and United Nations publications (kept in the Department of Government Publications)~ ex- cept for duplicate copies of such frequently-used sources as Statistical Abstract of the United States. 8. Pure and applied sciences (in- cluded in the Sciences and En- gineering Library) . III. Size of the Reference Collection The Research and Reference Section does not designate an absolute limit on the size of the reference collection. However, prevailing demand, changes in the curriculum, and student enroll- ment figures in various disciplines serve as guidelines to the relative growth rates of subject areas within the collection. IV. Types of Materials Included in the Collection A. Almanacs and yearbooks. Re- search and Reference collects cur- rent editions of major publications for the United States and foreign countries. B. Annual reviews. The collection in- cludes those for major disciplines. C. Bibliographies. Those with narrow subject scope, such as single au- thor bibliographies, are normally kept in the stacks. More general Reference Collection Policy I 229 bibliographies on broad topics are included in the reference collec- tion. Exceptions are made for top- ics in great demand or of consid- erable current interest. Research and Reference collects the nation- al bibliographies of major coun- tries. For trade bibliographies, the policy is as follows: 1. The entire collection of Cumu- lative Book Index is kept in Research and Reference. 2. The last two years of Books in Print and its foreign equiva- lents are considered reference materials; earlier editions are sent to the stacks. D. Biography. Research and Refer- ence collects comprehensive works dealing with professional, national, and international biography, in- cluding both retrospective and current biography. E. Concordances. Only concordances for very important authors and works are included in the refer- ence collection; others are housed in the stacks. (Examples of works collected are concordances for Shakespeare and the Bible.) F. Dictionaries. Research and Ref- erence provides unilingual, bi- lingual, and polyglot dictionaries in major languages~ as well as bi- lingual dictionaries for as many languages as possible~ including minor ones. The section also pro- vides specialized dictionaries (for example, covering slang, idio- matic expressions, and historical aspects of language) for major languages. Dictionaries with very limited use are not retained on ref- erence. G. Directories. The reference collec- tion includes the current edition of major directories in all fields within the social sciences and the humanities. Research and Ref- erence has city directories for San Diego only. H. Encyclopedias. The reference col- lection includes all the major gen- eral encyclopedias, both single volume and multivolume. Re- 230 I College & Research Libraries • May 1977 search and Reference also collects important foreign language en- cyclopedias. The section will at- tempt to acquire revised editions of Encyclopaedia Britannica, En- cyclopedia Americana, and Col- lier's Encyclopedia, one per year, on a rotating basis, as funds per- mit. In addition to the general encyclopedias, Research and Ref- erence collects authoritative ency- clopedias in specialized subject areas to support research in the social sciences and the human- ities. I. Geographical sources. Research and Reference provides authorita- tive atlases, maps, and gazetteers covering all areas of the world. The section does not collect topo- graphical or geological maps, which are provided by the Sci- ences and Engineering Library. J. Handbooks. Research and Refer- ence attempts to collect current and authoritative handbooks in all fields of the social sciences and the humanities. K. Indexes. The section provides as many indexing and abstracting services as possible in the social sciences and the humanities, with- in budgetary limitations. L. Legal materials. Reference materi- als-legal encyclopedias, diction- aries, digests, citators, etc.-are kept in Research and Reference. Some of the most often used case reporters, such as the Supreme Court Reporter, are kept in the reference collection, but the less frequently used ones are sent to the stacks. The Federal Reporter is shelved in the stacks rather than in Research and Reference b~cause of its large physical vol- ume and rapid growth rate. M. Library catalogs. Research and Reference acquires catalogs for important collections of major li- braries, emphasizing subject fields not well controlled by indexes and bibliographies. N. Plot summaries. The section pro- vides major, comprehensive col- lections of plot summaries. Less comprehensive works, such as Monarch Notes, are kept in Lim- ited Loan. 0. Sacred books. Research and Ref- erence maintains a small collec- tion of major translations of the Bible in English, as well as Eng- lish translations of sacred works significant to major world reli- gions. P. Style manuals. The reference col- lection includes all major style manuals, excluding those in scien- tific fields. Q. Telephone books. Research and Reference has telephone direc- tories for major U.S. cities and a selected group of large foreign cities. There are also directories for most California cities. R. Theses. The section provides bib- liographic information about aca- demic theses and dissertations with Dissertation Abstracts Inter- national and other sources, in- cluding some in specific subject areas. S. Uncataloged 17Ulterial. The collec- tion includes some materials not listed in the card catalog: the Ad- vertising Resources Center ( ma- terials related to advertising); the vertical file (pamphlets and clip- pings on all subjects in the social sciences and humanities) ; and film distributors, catalogs. V. Acquisition of New Reference Materials A. A four-member Reference Collec- tion Committee has the primary responsibility for pursuing a sys- tematic and continuous acquisi- tion program for Research and Reference. The members are ap- pointed by the department chair- person for a two-year term, two members being appointed each year. Two members of the com- mittee have social science back- grounds and two have humanities backgrounds. B. The following principles, not in order of importance, serve as guidelines for the Reference Col- lection Committee in deciding which titles will be ordered: 1. Judged usefulness of the pub- lication, considering the exist- ing collection. 2. Strengths and weaknesses of the existing collection related to current needs of the uni- versity. 3. Favorable reviews or inclusion in basic reference collection guides. 4. Reputation of the author. 5. Currency of the topic. 6. Date of publication. 7. Price of the publication. 8. Language of the publication. C. The Reference Collection Com- mittee searches relevant profes- sional literature to ensure that im- portant reference works within the subject scope of Research and Reference are in the collection. This literature searching consists primarily of: 1. Scanning review sections of these journals regularly: Booklist Choice College & Research Libraries I ournal of Academic Librarian- ship Library I ournal RQ RSR Wilson Library Bulletin 2. Examining publishers~ leaflets and catalogs. 3. Reviewing annual lists of ref- erence books, such as Amer- ican Reference Books Annual. 4. Checking Winchell's Guide to Reference Books and Walford~ s Guide to Reference Material against the library's holdings in the main card catalog. The committee will do this in order to evaluate the reference col- lection and determine locations of titles not in the reference collection. D. Subject bibliographers are re- sponsible for checking approval form slips and reviews in their re- spective areas for titles to be or- Reference Collection Policy I 231 dered on reference funds. Sub- ject bibliographers and teaching faculty should justify all titles re- quested on reference funds to en- sure that the publications will be expeditiously ordered. Order cards for titles rejected by the Reference Collection Committee are returned to the recommend- ing party with reasons for the re- jection. E. The Reference Collection Com- mittee follows these procedures in ordering new materials: 1. The committee maintains a desiderata file of order cards received from subject bibliog- raphers, teaching faculty, and committee members and bro- chures on newly published ma- terials. The file is organized in broad subject categories. The committee meets often, once a week if possible, to re- view the file and make final decisions on materials to order. Each committee member re- views the file and indicates his I her recommendations. Or- der cards for recommended publications are sent to the Department of Bibliographic Preparation for processing. 2. The Reference Collection Com- mittee maintains a file of photo- copies of order cards submitted to the Department of Biblio- graphic Preparation. Like the desiderata file, this file is or- ganized in broad subject cate- gories. Each photocopy is stamped with the submission date to enable the committee to control orders which have been held up in Bibliographic Preparation. 3. The committee completed a count of the cards in each Li- brary of Congress classifica- tion in the reference collection shelflist, in order to determine the subject strengths and weaknesses of the collection. F. The budget year extends from July 1 to April 1. The reference ,. 232/ College & Research Libraries • May 1977 fund is divided into nine monthly allocations and encumbered ac- cordingly, as much as possible. Hopefully, this timetable will al- low the committee to be both equitable and flexible in allocat- ing the fund. VI. Weeding the Reference Collection A. Periodic evaluation of the works already in the reference collec- tion is as important as acquisition of new materials, since the refer- ence collection is a working col- lection of important, frequently consulted publications. Careful, regular, and systematic weeding removes older, less desirable works from the reference collec- tion. B. Reference librarians follow the same principles and guidelines in weeding as in acquisition of new materials. Since each discipline covered by the reference collec- tion requires different types of materials, it is impossible to estab- lish absolute standards to be fol- lowed in weeding. For some dis- ciplines the reference collection should provide current material only; for others it must also pro- vide retrospective and historical works. However, some general criteria which should be consid- ered in weeding are: 1. Significance of the publication. 2. Age and currency of the pub- ' lication. 3. Availability of later editions. 4. Physical condition of the pub- lication. 5. Duplication of the contents in more recent works. 6. Language of the publication. C. The reference collection is weed- ed in two important ways: auto- matic weeding of older editions of a work and periodic weeding by librarians. 1. Older volumes of many publi- cations, particularly continua- tions such as directories and yearbooks, are automatically weeded from the reference col- · lection because the designa- tion "Last Volume Reference" ( L VR) appears on the official shelflist card. 2. The reference collection is weeded systematically each year. Each librarian in the Ref- erence and Instructional Ser- vices Department is responsi- ble for weeding one or more areas in the reference collec- tion. Reference librarians who are subject bibliographers are responsible for their areas of specialization. If the subject bibliographer for an area is not a member of the Reference and Instructional Services De- partment, a reference librarian is assigned primary responsibil- ity for weeding in the area. Reference librarians may seek the opinions of subject bib- liographers and of appropriate members of the teaching fac- ulty as needed in making weeding decisions. D. Weeding is carried out in this way: 1. The chairperson of the Refer- ence and Instructional Services Department is responsible for assigning subject areas to in- dividual librarians. The chair- person will revise the weeding assignments if necessary each year. 2. Weeding activity is staggered throughout the year to mini- mize work-How problems for the support staff in the Refer- ence and Instructional Services Department and in the De- partment of Bibliographic Preparation. The major part of the weeding activity should ideally be carried out before June 30 of each year. 3. Each librarian, after gathering together materials to ··be con- sidered for weeding, takes them to the Reference and In- structional Services office. The staff places decision slips in the publications· to get the opinions of all librarians in the depart- L ment on the proposed weeding. The librarian in charge of weeding the particular subject area notifies the subject bib- liographer and/ or appropriate teaching faculty members that the materials are available for review. 4. The support staff in the Ref- erence and Instructional Ser- vices Department collects sta- tistics of weeding and prepares a report for the department each year. VII. Inventory of the Reference Collection The Reference and Instructional Ser- vices Department takes a periodic in- ventory of the reference collection. The Reference Collection Committee is responsible for ordering replace- ments for missing volumes. CHECKLIST OF CRITERIA FOR ACQUISITION OF NEW MATERIALS 1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the existing reference collection in the sub- ject area in question? 2. Is this topic an important one in the uni- versity curriculum? 3. Is this topic a current or popular one? Is it likely to be a passing fad or to be of con- tinued importance? 4. Is this topic likely to be important in the future? 5. Has the work received favorable reviews? 6. Is the work included in one or more basic reference collection guides? 7. What are the author's qualifications and reputation? 8. What is the date of publication? (In gen- eral, order works with recent publication dates if possible. Exceptions are made if the publication is a standard reference work in its subject or if the older material is of current value to the collection. ) 9. How much does the publication cost? ( Ti- tles costing more than $50 are screened carefully. When a very expensive title is Reference Collection Policy I 233 under consideration, the Reference Col- lection Committee consults other area li-· braries to determine whether or not they intend to purchase the title. ) 10. Does the work duplicate material in titles already in the collection? 11. What is the language of publication? (Works in English and major foreign lan- guages will be purchased in preference to those in minor languages.) CHECKLIST OF WEEDING CRITERIA 1. How important is this publication? a. Is it included in a general guide to ref- erence works, such as Walford or Win- chell? b. Is it listed in a subject bibliography, produced either here or elsewhere? c. How do teaching faculty members and/ or the subject bibliographers rate it? 2. How comprehensive is this publication? Are its scope and depth such that it be- longs in the reference collection? 3. Is the discipline one which requires a large group of reference works? If not, is this work truly essential, or is it a marginal one which could be sent to the general collec- tion? 4. What is the language of the publication? If it is not English, will its use be very light? 5. How frequently is this publication ·likely to be used in the future? 6. Is there a later edition which supersedes this publication? . 7. How old is the publication? If it is an older work, is the subject matter such that cur- rent information is required by the vast majority of patrons? 8. Is the work a continuation? If so, should some or all of the older volumes be sent to the stacks? 9. Is the material in this work largely or en- tirely duplicated in other reference works? If so, does demand justify the duplication? 10. Are there multiple copies of this title in the reference area? If so, are they justified by heavy demand on the publication? 11. Is the book badly worn, defaced, or other- wise in poor condition? If so, can it (or should it) be replaced?