Vermont Collection Development Policy

I. Purpose of Policy

A. To guide librarians in the selection of materials and provide consistency in selection over the years.

B. To inform our users about the principles, scope and limitations upon which selections are made.

II. Definition of Book Selection

"Selection" refers to the decision that must be made either to add material to the collection or to retain material already in the
collection.

III. Responsibility for Selection

Ultimate responsibility for material selection for the Vermont
Collection rests with the Associate Librarian, who functions as
curator of the collection. Faculty, students and staff may recommend materials for consideration.

IV. General Principles of Selection

A. Selection is based on the merits of a work in relation to satisfying the information, reference and research needs of the Middlebury academic community.

B. Starr Library will try to complement rather than compete with unique strengths of other Vermontiana collections in the state.

C. Cooperative projects will be supported when it is clearly in the interest of the Library to do so.

1. In case of unsolicited material, if it is unclear in which institution in the state such materials ought to be kept and preserved, then we will discuss location in terms of the best interest of the citizens of the state.
2. Where several institutions in the state each have parts of what together would constitute a integral and substantial collection of materials on a subject, we will make every effort to see that they be brought together at one institution so that they can be more easily accessible and future additions to the collection may be more easily acquired.

V. Responsibilities of the Collection

Inherent responsibilities include cataloging and organizing the collection for ready access, offering guidance and encouragement in its use, and preserving the collection for future generations of users.

VI. Scope and Limitations

The Vermont Collection is a special collection which documents life in Vermont from its earliest days to the present. This includes histories of towns, churches, religious groups, businesses, civic and fraternal organizations, labor, ethnic groups, fine and decorative arts, architecture, music, industry, and folklore.

The collection will strive to be comprehensive for Addison County. Beyond Addison County we will emphasize material covering the central and southern portions of the state to compliment UVM's recognized concentration on the northern portions of the state.

State and local government publications are a basic part of the collection. Annual reports will be collected for all towns in Addison County and selectively for other towns in the central and southern portions of the state. Genealogical material will be acquired selectively with an emphasis on Addison County families.

The following categories of material will not be included in the Vermont Collection:

A. Early Vermont Imprints.

B. Addresses in Congresses by U. S. Congressmen from Vermont, unless the addresses specifically pertain to Vermont.

C. Sermons in Vermont churches or by Vermont ministers unless they are commemorative for a church or town.

D. Reprints of specific sections of the Vermont Statutes Annotated.

College Archives and publications by Middlebury College faculty will be part of Special Collections rather than a part of the Vermont Collection.

Material printed up to 1820 (the cut-off date for McCorison's Vermont Imprints), or material which is valuable, in a deteriorating condition or otherwise irreplaceable is kept in Special Collections. Postcards, tape recordings, and photographic prints or negatives will also be kept in Special Collections rather than in the Vermont Collection.

Reference works, such as the following titles, will be kept "Latest in Reference" with earlier volumes being transferred to the Vermont Collection: Vermont Economic Almanac, Vermont Facts and Figures, Vermont Legislative Directory and State Manual, and the Vermont Yearbook.

Statistical publications acquired from the Vermont State Data Center, based on the decennial Census of Population and Housing, will be cataloged for the Vermont Collection. Added copies of the Vermont volumes from the decennial Census of Population and Housing, which we receive as a State Data Center affiliate, will be shelved by SuDoc number in the Government Documents collection.

Duplicate copies of material likely to be heavily used will be acquired when available and the more general interest titles may be cataloged for Starr stacks when deemed appropriate.

A desiderata list is maintained to identify gaps in our collection which we would like to fill if copies become available in the out-of-print market at a reasonable price.

VII. Circulation

Pre-1900 materials, periodicals and reference sets such as the Laws of Vermont will not circulate and are stamped "Not to be taken from the Library" inside of the back cover. Other materials may be charged out only with special permission from one of the reference librarians.

We will loan books in the Vermont Collection to other libraries, condition permitting, for twentieth century imprints which are not irreplaceable or worth more than $100. Decisions for loaning through ILL will be made on a case-by-case basis by the Associate Librarian.

VIII. Copying

We will permit copying of our material, condition permitting, in accordance with the copyright law and any restrictions imposed by donors.

IX. Non-book Material

Paintings and museum objects will not be collected but other types of non-book material may be collected, including manuscripts, photographs, photographic negatives, microforms and tape recordings. Printed materials we collect include books, dissertations, pamphlets, periodicals, newspapers, serials, documents, maps, atlases, clippings, and postcards. Preservation and space considerations mandate acquiring newspapers only on microfilm.

X. Gifts

Selection of gifts should be governed by the same principles and criteria applied to selection of an item for purchase. The Library reserves the right to microfilm all or parts of gift collections and to dispose of gifts by transferring appropriate titles to other institutions, and selling or discarding material, unless specifically forbidden by the donor.

Approved: April 1982
Revised: October 1992