Back to Law Library Collection Development Policies: Links By Library Type

Back to Law Library Collection Development Policies: Links By Material Type

Purpose

The collection development policy is intended to serve as a guide to the selection, acquisition and retention of materials for the use of Native American Rights Fund attorneys, Development, Accounting and Administration, generally referred to as "NARF." The policy is based on the needs of NARF. Modifications to the policy will be made as needed based on the changing needs of the library's patrons.

Mission

The National Indian Law Library serves NARF. In this regard, the Law Library's mission is to anticipate and fulfill the information needs of NARF so that it can meet its mission of preserving tribal existence, protecting tribal natural resources, promoting human rights, holding governments accountable, developing Indian law, and educating the public about Indian rights, laws and issues.

A) Acquisitions Policy for NARF

The Law Librarian is responsible for developing and maintaining a current, cost-effective collection of both print and electronic information resources that meet the information needs of NARF. All new purchase requests and subscription renewals need to be reviewed, approved and processed by the Law Librarian before they are sent to accounting for payment. Non-attorney, department specific (development, accounting, etc.) purchase requests must be approved by department heads and forwarded to the Law Librarian for processing. The Law Librarian will evaluate all new purchase and renewal requests based on the recommendations and consensus of the NARF attorneys and/or staff as well as the selection criteria listed below. The Law Librarian may seek guidance from the LMC in making decisions if clear consensus can not be reached. Generally, if costs are not excessive, requests for purchase of "office copies," or publications for a particular case can be made by a single attorney without consensus within budget constraints. "Office copy" requests must also be forwarded to the Law Librarian for processing.

B) Library's relationship with other libraries

NILL is located in close proximity to both the University of Colorado main library (Norlin), and the University of Colorado Law School Law Library (Fleming). Both of the libraries provide major research collections and are open to the public. The resources of these libraries affect NILL's acquisitions determinations. The library utilizes the University collections for NARF research and refers local patrons to their resources when appropriate. In addition, the University of Colorado Law Library has agreed to house NILL's tribal self-governance archival materials.

C) Interlibrary Loan

NILL offers interlibrary loan services and document retrieval services to NARF attorneys and staff. The library, when cost-effective, encourages the use of interlibrary loan services to provide materials that are not currently in the collections and are expected to receive a single use. Interlibrary loan transactions will be evaluated to determine whether the requested materials should be purchased.

D) Cost Containment

The Law Librarian will look for ways to reduce or contain the NARF library budget while continuing to meet the needs of the organization. Once or twice a year, the Law Librarian will audit the collection, and if appropriate, will recommend canceling and/or replacing subscriptions based on the selection criteria below. Before canceling any titles, the appropriate individuals will receive written notice of intent to cancel and will be given at least three weeks to respond to the proposal. If needed, meetings will be held to discuss cancellation of titles. In addition, as per above, the library will encourage the use of interlibrary loan to obtain books and other materials as a cost-effective way.

E) Centralized Ordering

All publication requests should be forwarded to the library for centralized ordering and processing. Reasons for centralized orders through the library include:

1) monitoring the budget and streamlining the invoicing process;

2) obtaining and negotiating discounts;

3) ensure that orders are being filled in a timely way;

4) calendaring publication review time limits if they exist for new purchases;

5) preventing duplicate orders;

6) establishing routing lists;

7) making sure the request meets our selection criteria; and

8) cataloging, processing and general announcement of new titles.

F) Selection Criteria

1. Need

The major reason to acquire a new publication is that it is necessary to an area of practice of the Native American Rights Fund. Proposed acquisitions are evaluated based on the significance of the subject area to the firm, the projected use of the material, and whether the material is duplicative.

2. Cost

Cost factors considered in connection with proposed new purchases include the cost of the original title, the cost of supplementation, staff time required to update the publication, and shelf space required. The cost is also evaluated compared to other similar resources and as part of the total library budget.

3. Quality

The quality of library materials is judged by a review of the contents, and by the qualifications and reputation of the publisher, author, and editor, and compared to similar works on the subject. We also consider: whether the item appears on one or more "recommended titles" lists or critical selective bibliographies; whether the item has been favorably reviewed in scholarly legal periodicals or similar evaluative tools; and whether the requested item is a standard work in the subject area which is frequently cited in court cases, briefs or scholarly legal writing.

4. Duplication

Duplication within the collection will be avoided unless there is a demonstrable need for additional copies. Each publication is evaluated in relation to the other materials in that subject area to avoid duplication. We will also take into consideration overlap or duplication of content in electronic resources such as Westlaw, CD-ROM and reliable Internet sites.

5. Currentness

The currentness of the publication is judged by the publication date and by the publisher's projected supplementation schedule and the efficacy of the supplementation format (loose-leaf, pocket parts etc.).

While both current and retrospective materials are essential to the needs of the legal researcher, current materials will generally receive higher priority.

6. Availability

For less frequently used or very costly materials the decision to purchase will also be evaluated in terms of how quickly and conveniently the material can be borrowed from area libraries, and how easily and/or economically it can be accessed via an online database.

G) Reviewing resources - Internet resources (Amazon.com, Booklist etc.), Book Review Index, Book Review Digest, Legal Information Buyer's Guide and Reference Manual Legal Information Alert.