UWF Libraries Collection Development and Management Policy

Appendix II: Professional Studies Library - Collection Development Policy

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of the Professional Studies Library (PSL) is to support the professional growth of students in Criminal Justice, Education, and Social Work. Its objectives are to support the course offerings of the Departments of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Instructional Design and Social Work, and the School of Education, and to provide a wide variety of quality instructional materials for inspection, evaluation, and use in the pre-K through grade twelve classroom.

II. SCOPE

The PSL currently houses six collections - Curriculum Materials, Juvenile, Manipulatives, Media, Professional Studies, and Textbooks/Course Reserves. The Juvenile collection includes fiction and non-fiction materials for PreK-12th grade. The Curriculum Materials collection contains teaching materials for PreK-12th grade, including curriculum guides developed by the State of Florida, textbooks adopted by Escambia County Public Schools, activity guides, lesson plans, workbooks, and other instructional materials. The Manipulatives collection includes non-textual resources intended for use in education settings such as flash cards, educational games and toys, models, maps, globes, equipment, and scientific samples. The Professional Studies Collection includes scholarly materials in Criminal Justice, Education, and Social Work. The Textbooks/Course Reserves collection provides access to required undergraduate textbooks. 

III. SELECTION

A. Responsibility
Selection of curriculum materials is the primary responsibility of the Head of the Professional Studies Library. Recommendations for purchase of resources are also solicited from the faculty of the School of Education, the Departments of Criminal Justice, Instructional Design and Technology, and Social Work.

B. Criteria
In addition to the general selection criteria for the UWF Libraries, additional selection criteria for the PSL include:

• suitability of content to audience
• scope
• technical quality of the material under consideration

For the Juvenile, Curriculum Materials, Manipulatives, and Media Collections:

• Grade level - appropriateness for use in K-12 settings
• Educational soundness and recency: selections should be timely and relate to current trends in education
• Learning/teaching styles: materials should represent a variety of learning and teaching styles
• Multi-cultural/diversity: the collection should reflect society in terms of multi-ethnic, racial, religious, social, and sexual characteristics

C. Tools
The Head of the Professional Studies Library examines items first hand when possible. Evaluative bibliographies are also consulted. In addition to using review sources and basic selection tools, School Library Journal, Booklist, Horn Book, and Best Books for Children are used.

IV. COLLECTION AREAS/FORMATS

A. Textbooks
Textbooks in all disciplines, specifically those appropriate to pre-K through grade twelve, are collected. Textbooks approved for use by public schools in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are primary candidates for purchase. Alternate texts may also be considered for purchase, as may other textbooks authorized by the State of Florida. The library will maintain copies of textbooks from at least two adoption cycles prior to the textbooks currently in use. Some older texts may be kept for their research value. The PSL Librarian will make every effort to acquire both teacher and student editions of textbooks. If budgetary considerations force a choice between the two editions of a textbook, the library will prioritize acquiring the teacher’s edition.

B. Curriculum Guides
The current curriculum guidelines authorized by the State of Florida are collected. These include The Florida Curriculum Framework: Sunshine State Standards and Instruction Practices for each discipline area. Since additional curriculum guides are widely available through online sources, they are not collected in print.

C. Juvenile Literature

• The Juvenile collection consists of print materials for children and young adults and serves primarily to meet the instructional needs of undergraduate and graduate students in teacher education programs.
• Included in the collection are fiction and non-fiction titles for K-12. Special emphasis is placed on acquiring subject-specific materials related to the K-12 curriculum as defined by the State of Florida and outstanding examples of each genre and subject area.
• Selected examples of fiction and literature are collected to support the integrated curriculum (e.g., folk literature, historical fiction, mythology, children’s classics, beginning-to-read books, picture books, wordless picture books, modern fantasy, and poetry). Notable award books are purchased each year. Winners of the Randolph Caldecott, John Newberry, and Coretta Scott King awards will receive priority consideration. To ensure that books representing all aspects of youth literature are part of the collection, budget permitting, the Professional Studies Library will also collect winners of the following awards: Michael L. Printz Award, American Indian Youth Literature Award, Asian/Pacific American Literature Award, Mildred L. Batchelder Award, Odyssey Award, Pura Belpré Award, Schneider Family Book Award, Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, Stonewall Book Award, Sydney Taylor Book Award, YALSA’s Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award, Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.
• Selection aids used include School Library Journal, Hornbook, Booklist, and Gillespie’s Best Books titles for elementary, junior high, and senior high readers.

D. Scholarly and Professional Literature
The Professional Studies Library will maintain a limited collection of resources related to the disciplines of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Education, and Social Work. Additional materials on these subjects are located in the John C. Pace and Emerald Coast Libraries.

E. Reference Collection
The PSL maintains a basic ready-reference collection that includes manuals of style, dictionaries, thesauri, atlases, and references applicable to the disciplines the PSL supports, such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

F. Non-book materials
Audiovisual, multimedia, manipulative materials, and realia are acquired for demonstration purposes and to provide resources that students use in lesson preparation.

G. Tests and Test Preparation Materials
A very selective sampling of standardized tests used in public schools, including some used for special education, is housed in the PSL. The Librarian selects study guides for the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations and Florida Educational Leadership Examination, with priority given to new editions of the General Knowledge Examination and Professional Education Examination. The library will also maintain a collection of preparation materials for individual subject tests as budget permits. The PSL Librarian will assess the currency of the study guides annually.

H. Gifts
The PSL accepts gifts in accordance with the UWF Libraries’ gift policies and procedures. Items that meet the same selection criteria as purchased materials, enhance the quality and usefulness of the collection, are of current value, and are complete and in good physical condition are welcomed.

V. COLLECTION MANAGEMENT

A. Annual Inventory
A Biennial inventory is conducted to determine the availability and condition of materials, as well as the accuracy of accession information.

B. Deselection
Removal of obsolete materials, replacement or discarding of items in poor condition, and removal of resources which no longer meet the needs of the students and faculty are all part of the deselection process. As needed, expert assistance from faculty is requested. As discipline specific materials are reviewed, knowledgeable faculty are invited to aid in the decision to discard or retain.

C. Evaluation
To assure the collection’s usefulness and currency, it is continually evaluated with regard to curriculum and educational trends. This evaluation is conducted by comparing annual circulation and holdings statistics. Standard lists, catalogs, and bibliographies are consulted and, when holdings gaps are noted, action is taken to remedy the oversights.

 

Adopted: January 2023