A. Degree
Programs
1. Art History
2. Comparative Literature
3. Computer Science
4. European Studies
5. French Studies
6. International Affairs
7. International Business
Administration
8. International Communications
9. Intenational Economics
and Applied Economics
10. History and Social Sciences
B. General
Education / Electives
Foreign Languages
Gender Studies
Mathematics
Social Sciences
Psychology
Sociology
I.
COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY
The Library has a Collection Development Policy to aid
in the selection of books, periodicals and databases. It helps the library
plan what to purchase and aids the acceptance and processing of gifts. The
library collects those items which help fulfill its
mission. The library has to select carefully and wisely to create the
best collection possible within the limits of physical space and budget.
II. PRIORITIES
AND RESPONSIBILITIES
A. The highest priority in the selection
of materials is given to those disciplines taught at the University, and
in particular to the established and projected degree programs. The purchase
of highly specialized or research materials required primarily for the
personal research of individual faculty members cannot be accommodated
at present. The Library will assist faculty members in locating such materials
in other specialized libraries through the document delivery
service or in buying their own copy.
Because of the location of the University
and its budgetary structure, those engaged in selection must consider not
only the existing American University Collection, but also the collections
of the other libraries in Paris which are available to students of the
University.
B. All faculty members have a responsibility
to evaluate the collection in their fields of expertise, and to maintain
familiarity with them on a continuing basis. As new courses are added to
the curriculum, the professor, or in his absence, the Departmental Chairman,
will insure that a core collection of books is available in the
Library or on order.
Recommending the titles which should be
acquired is the responsibility of the teaching faculty since they are the
most apt at defining the needs of their students while the University's
academic programs continue to be developed and refined. The Library Faculty
select reference tools in areas not covered by the teaching Faculty or
useful to a combination of disciplines.
C. The procedure for recommending
titles is explained in Section V.
III. FUNDING
A library acquisitions budget is allocated
annually for books and periodicals. The book allocation is divided into
funds for Reference books, General/Electives and each degree program taught
at the University. The allocation is established according to the relative
needs for Library materials of each program using a 1-3 index figure where
1 represents a minimal need for library books and 3 a maximum need. This
allocating process is reviewed annually by the Committee taking into consideration
variations in needs and the curriculum.
When the Library receives funds from non-University
sources, these are earmarked as restricted funds and kept separate from
the acquisitions budget. Developmental funds can be allocated by the Library
Committee on a single year basis to be used to fill in gaps of historical
materials or to provide support for newly created courses. The librarian
in charge of collection development coordinates the actual spending and
control of the acquisitions funds with Library Committee members who are
responsible for their relevant degree program book funds. The librarian
in charge of collection development is responsible for the following funds:
Reference, General/Electives, Periodicals, and certain other specially
designated funds such as Bindery, Replacements, ESLSCA, etc.
Library Committee members determine which
books should actually be ordered against the allocations in function of
the fund status reports provided by the Library, indicating the amounts
spent and encumbered.
IV.
SELECTION OF MATERIALS
No Library materials will be excluded from
consideration for purchase because of the race or nationality of the author(s),
their political, moral or religious views.
Titles can be selected through various
means. Selection based on a single reference in a publisher's catalog or
prepublication announcements is discouraged. It is preferable to examine
a copy of the work whenever possible and to consult critical reviewing
media and major selection tools.
V. SUBMITTING
RECOMMENDATIONS
A. BOOKS
Titles selected must be submitted to the
Library on a recommendation form with the bibliographic information necessary
to place the order. Students are also encouraged to make suggestions. These
forms are distributed to all new faculty with information on the book selection
process.
B. PERIODICALS
Recommendations for starting or cancelling
periodical subscriptions are accepted throughout the year. The decision
to cancel or add a title for the next fiscal year is made once a year when
the other budget allocations are determined. Each title is considered by
the Library Committee and priorities are set based on the following criteria:
-
Curricular needs and usefulness for various
courses
-
Inclusion in a major index
-
Coverage of subject by journals already received
-
Availability in other libraries in Paris or
online
-
Cost: Subscriptions will only be placed for
titles for which there is a long term need; short term needs will be met
with electronic access and document delivery.
To be considered for the following fiscal
year a title must be recommended before a February deadline. A list of
titles submitted by the deadline is compiled and distributed to Department
Chairmen and Degree Committees as well as those who originated the requests.
The consideration of recommendations received after that deadline is postponed
until the following year.
The above applies to all periodicals, even
those offered free of charge.
When a new subscription is placed, a decision
is made concerning the need to acquire retrospective files. Funds for back
issues are deducted from a degree book fund. The acquisition of single
issues is avoided. An individual article may be obtained for the Reserve
Collection. A file of photocopied articles is maintained for reserve purposes.
VI.
TYPES OF MATERIALS ACQUIRED
A.
BOOKS
1. Currency
The first priority is to acquire the most
important recent books in each degree program area and discipline taught.
Retrospective titles still in print are only ordered after carefully evaluating
existing collections, those available in other Paris libraries, present
and future program goals, and the more recent publications in the field.
2. Textbooks
Books are considered as "textbooks" when
they have the following characteristics:
-
Material is presented and organized primarily
for instructional purposes
-
The information is revised and updated on
a frequent and regular basis
-
Book has been selected as required reading
for an entire class to accompany and/or complement classroom instruction
Textbooks available on sale in the University
Bookstore as required readings for courses are not purchased automatically.
Copies are added to the collections only when a supply problem occurs in
the Bookstore, or when no other material is available on the subject, or
when the format does not fit the definition above.
3. Out-of-print materials
All American out-of-print materials are
automatically checked against current out-of-print market availability.
When a copy is located, it is acquired if it is not available at other
libraries in Paris and there is demonstrated need.
4. Other categories of books
a. Bound vs. Paperback
Hardcover editions are acquired by preference.
Titles available only in soft-cover format will be acquired and bound when
paper and margins are adequate. Paperback books available in another edition
will not be acquired.
b. Annual reports of companies are not
collected.
c. Workbooks, lab manuals, opera libretti,
and programmed learning books. These are not added to the collections, but
may be placed on reserve by written request of a professor for as specific
course.
d. Catalogs of universities and colleges.
American university catalogs are available in the Library in microform
or through web sites. International university catalogs are available in
the counseling center.
5. Multiple copies and variant editions
There is a general policy of no duplication,
i.e. only one copy of each book is acquired. Exceptions are made when a
second copy is received as a gift, or when more than one copy is needed
on reserve.
Variant editions of the same work are ordered
only when it has been ascertained that the material is unique or revised
and updated. Superseded editions are discarded after it has been verified
that the same material has been included in the later edition, and after
the appropriate professor has confirmed that an older edition on the shelves
is not useful and may even be detrimental.
6. Special Collections.
While rare and out-of-print books are
not actively purchased, a selection of private press publications representative
of American typography, binding and illustration especially of the 1920's
and 30's have been acquired through donations. Other unique items contained
in the Special Collections include books on American History and Literature,
as well as documents from the Civil War and the First World War.
Holdings include books from the Sylvia
Beach Shakespeare & Co. collection, reflecting the leisure reading
tastes of the Lost Generation.
Representative works of contemporary American
private press publications appearing in Paris are also purchased.
B.
PERIODICALS
AND STANDING ORDERS
1. New periodical subscriptions are entered
once a year only to begin with the first issue of the volume for that calendar
year or academic year.
2. Retention policy. All periodicals (with
the exception of newspapers) which are retained on a long-term basis and
are expected to receive heavy use are bound to facilitate storage and handling.
Exception is made for those periodicals with inadequate margins, paper
of insufficient durability to justify binding, or for which a microform
version is available.
3. Standing Orders for annual or irregular
publications (S.O.). To insure that the Library receives, or is informed
of, new publications of important organizations, standing orders are established.
There are three types of standing orders, depending on the publications
or organizations:
a. When an approximate cost is
known and paid in advance,publications are forwarded directly.
b. When the cost and title of publications
are unknown but a blanket order for all publications is possible and desirable,
publications are sent and billed automatically.
c. When the cost and title of publications
are unknown and a blanket order is not desirable and/or possible, pro formas
are requested and publications are purchased selectively.
C.
NON-BOOK MATERIALS
1. Microform or CD-Rom editions
of periodicals, large series and out-of-print publications are acquired
for space conservation reasons.
2. Audio-visual materials:
Slides, filmstrips, maps, charts, and
records are not acquired as part of the Library collections. Videos and
audio cassettes are acquired only as support for instructional programs
and for reserve purposes.
3. Computer Software
Software applicable to microcomputers
in use at the University is on file at the Computer Lab. Only software
accompanying library books is kept onfile in the Library.
D.
GIFTS AND
EXCHANGES
The University Library encourages donations
from individuals and institutions on the following conditions:
1. The Library in consultation
with appropriate faculty reserves the right to decide which materials are
kept or discarded, and in what manner either is done.
2. The Library cannot provide value appraisals,
but can help locate a dealer/appraiser or an informal estimate from a third
party for income tax purposes.
3. Substantial donations are recognized
through a formal acknowledgment.
E.
LOST
BOOKS, WITHDRAWALS, AND REPLACEMENTS
1. An inventory of the book collections
is held on a regular basis. The list of titles found missing is reviewed
by the librarian in charge of Collection Development and Library Committee
members who earmark the titles which should be reordered immediately.
Replacement copies are charged to a separate
Replacement Fund created from overdue fines and the billing of unreturned/lost
books.
2. The teaching faculty is encouraged to
recommend titles which should be withdrawn from the collections. Criteria
for withdrawal include:
-
Lack of currency
-
Ephemeral character
-
Irrelevance to the University curriculum
-
Low circulation rate
-
Physical condition
3. In cases where a more recent title or edition
should be ordered as a replacement, this information will accompany the
request for withdrawal.
The Library faculty selects titles for
withdrawal or replacement on a systematic basis during the inventory, and
occasionally through circulation (damaged materials) and the processing
of current acquisitions (superseded editions).
F. LANGUAGE
Priority is given to works in English,
unless the subject matter is not covered by materials in English or the
English translation has not been published within two years of the original
publication date. Works in foreign languages should not be acquired unless
the students of the degree programs are required to read the language in
question. No works are acquired in a language not taught at the University.
Exception is made in the case of bilingual editions and dictionaries. The
collection development policies for foreign literature are outlined below.
When the English translation of a work
already in the collections is published, it is considered for acquisition.
VII.
COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICIES FOR SPECIFIC AREAS
A.
DEGREE PROGRAMS
1. Art History
The degree program in art history includes
all periods of Western art from prehistory to the present day and Islamic
art and architecture, methodology and historiography. Works on Parisian
architecture and urban planning of all periods are more specifically acquired
to support a course offered in the Department. Art from other regions is
covered for comparative purposes and in view of future expansion of course
offerings.
The collections include monographs and
exhibition catalogs on major artists. Acquisitions cover current issues
and backfiles of major international art journals.
Exhibition catalogs form an important part
of the Art History collection. An effort is made to acquire the catalogs
of the major Paris museum collections and exhibitions. All exhibition catalogs
are classified as non-circulating but a circulating copy is purchased in
caes of exceptional need.
2. Comparative Literature
Resources for the Comparative Literature
and Freshman English programs include primary and critical texts in: British
and American literature, literature written in the languages taught at
the University ; bilingual editions and/or English translations of these
and other relevant literatures. (For further description of French literature
acquisitions, see 5 below).
Acquisitions cover all genres and all periods.
Wherever possible, but particularly for works in foreign languages or written
before 1800, the standard critical edition, as cited in the standard critical
bibliography in the field, is purchased, since the notes and annotations
are essential to the understanding of the text.
Works of literary theory (classical, formalist,
Marxist, psychoanalytic, linguistic, etc.) as well as cross-national criticism
and theory (genres, themes, etc.) are acquired.
Strong holdings exist for many major American
authors, including complete works, often first editions, and critical texts.
Popular fiction books are not acquired.
3. Computer Science
The Computer Science Degree Program concentrates
on fundamental aspects of the subject rather than on any specialization
(such as business data processing). Courses include Programming, Computer
Architecture, Operating Systems, Articifical Intelligence, Software Engineering
and Graphics.
Acquisitions include books on all the above
subjects plus background materials such as the history, social repercussions
of computers, etc., suitable for undergraduates. In addition, selected
journals of major professional organizations are collected (ACM, IEEE,etc.).
Collections in the more specialized areas such as computer graphics, artificial
intelligence are rapidly superseded and must be frequently updated. A wide
variety of introductory texts on programming and programming languages
is acquired.
4. European Studies
This program has an interdisciplinary curriculum
composed of European Art, European History, European Literature and European
Philosophy. Collection development in European Art, History and Literature
focuses on interdisciplinary studies of these disciplines. Resources are
provided for courses offered in the Department in European History and
philosophy, from ancient Greece to the present day. The philosophy and
religion collections cover primarily Western works.
Publications on European cities and urban
history are acquired in support of the courses on European urban culture.
5. French Studies
The French Studies Program includes courses
in French language and literature as well as French civilization, history,
politics. etc.
The French literature collection contains
a balance of standard critical editions (including Classiques Garnier),
bilingual editions and major works of criticism on individual authors representing
all periods and genres. Unless a justification for an exception is made,
the complete works of major authors are acquired in the Pléiade
edition. Acquisitions emphasize literature and criticism of the modern
period, though basic works on earlier periods still need to be acquired
to complete present holdings.
Recent and significant French publications
on all topics including the recipients of major literary awards, are acquired
selectively in consideration of the availability of local lending library
collections.
A good general collection on French civilization
and contemporary culture complements the literature collection. Works of
this type are acquired whenever possible in English translation so that
they may be of use to students of international relations, political science,
sociology, etc.
The most representative French newspapers
and magazines are acquired to provide students with information on current
events and the diversity of opinions regarding them.
6. International Affairs
The program covers the process and institutions
by which all nations conduct their international activities as well as
the forces and factors which influence national policies. It emphasizes
Europe as a study area with courses on individual countries and the Common
Market. The politics of all nations active in an increasingly interdependent
world are studied through courses on major regions of the world.
To support this regional and global approach,
the Library acquires monographic studies primarily in English or in French
which take into consideration the economic, historical, political and social
factors of the national political systems studied.
The study of American federal government
and foreign policy is well supported by extensive holdings on American
history and civilization,
Official publications of governments and
international organizations are collected selectively because of the accessibility
of resources on the Internet and in local depository libraries. In general,
only major annual statistical and survey series are acquired.
7. International Business Administration
The program teaches an understanding of
organizational behavior, human resources management, management sciences
and quantitative methods. The areas covered include: finance, marketing,
operations management, personnel/labor relations, business policy, and
business law, with the primary focus on Western Europe and the U.S., and
the impact of international business.
Due to the dynamics of the field the choice
has been made to concentrate on the most representative of the periodical
literature in the field rather than monographic works. Major statistical
abstracts and directories covering the relevant areas of activity are acquired.
An effort is made to provide current information on companies through standard
reference tools and online services.
As a result of a cooperative agreement
with a French graduate business school, the collections in business reflect
a specialization beyond the undergraduate level particularly in the fields
of taxation, French commercial law, accounting, marketing and banking.
8. International Communications
The International Communications major
is an interdisciplinary program dealing with media and press systems around
the world as well as questions of intercultural, interpersonal and corporate
communications.
Monographs are collected in English on
media systems throughout the world, globalization and technological development.
Orthographic works for the study of intercultural communications are also
acquired.
Priority is given to access representative
world media.
9. International Economics and Applied
Economics
These programs focus on the world of international
economic relations and examine the structures, functioning and interaction
of economic systems. The areas covered include micro- and macroeconomics,
economic history, international finance and trade, public finance, the
international monetary system, comparative and development economics.
Special consideration is given to the acquisition
of basic annual, national and regional statistical reports, the publications
of development organizations such as the OECD, the International Monetary
Fund, the World Bank, etc. The periodicals collection is being developed
in the fields of economic theory, international economics, public policy
and development economics.
The collected works of major economists
and fundamental reference works in the fields above are acquired.
As a result of the cooperative agreement
with a French graduate school, the collections in Economics reflect a specialization
beyond the undergraduate level, particularly in the fields of French public
finance and economic theory.
10. Modern History
The program is designed to provide
an understanding of the events that have shaped the contemporary world.
A special focus is placed upon the challenge posed by the spread of European
civilization to the rest of the world since the sixteenth century.
Emphasis in the collections is on works
of twentieth century Europe and as needed on North America.
B. GENERAL
EDUCATION/ELECTIVES
Resources for the following disciplines
are acquired with a concern for minors and current awareness rather than
comprehensiveness, keeping in mind that the courses taught are of an introductory
nature and that it is unlikely that a degree program will be developed
in most of these areas.
-
Foreign Languages (German,
Spanish, Italian): The Library collections include dictionaries (bilingual
as well as some monolingual), grammar books, and some basic readers in
these languages. Access to the general interest periodical literature of
each language taught at the University is provided.
-
Gender Studies: The library collections
support this minor through the acquisition of interdisciplinary works in
both the humanities and social sciences.
-
Sciences: Students can choose from
a selection of courses in Biology, Astronomy,`Geology, Physics, Environmental
Science and on the Planet Earth. In these courses an emphasis is placed
on current issues related to each subject and therefore, library acquisitions
are primarily focused on periodicals and basic survey texts.
-
Mathematics: A wide range of courses
from elementary to advanced does not make extensive use of the Library
but a selective collection of fundamental works in this field is available.
-
Social Sciences
-
Psychology: includes both human and
animal behavior, personality, psychoanalysis, child and developmental psychology.
Selective texts are acquired to support these courses.
-
Sociology: Library resources needed
include a broad collection covering both methods and techniques, as well
as contemporary societies from underdeveloped countries to the industrialized
world. Special acquisitions focus on France, to support an individual course
devoted to that country.
Revised by the Library Committee,
1997
